Fast-penta

Fast-penta is an interrogation drug that cannot safely be used on a person who has received the relevant allergy treatment: in the case discussed during the investigation, it would be fatal. Its importance lies not in an interrogation it enables, but in the interrogations it prevents, forcing the investigators to rely on imperfect evidence and personal pressure.

Use and medical constraint

Haroche explains that the person under suspicion had received allergy treatment upon promotion to his current position, making fast-penta unusable. The drug is therefore not presented as an available way to settle the case: administering it would kill the subject. The exchange does not describe its effects or specify a general screening procedure, but it makes the fatal risk decisive in this instance.

Effect on the investigation

The immediate case against Duv Galeni rests on circumstantial material. Haroche says that physical evidence has long since been destroyed, and that the investigators must weigh access, knowledge of the bioengineered prokaryote, and possible motive. Fast-penta cannot supply a confession to fill that evidentiary gap. Haroche asks Miles Vorkosigan to use his knowledge of Galeni and his powers of persuasion; Miles refuses to do so unless he believes Galeni guilty.

Proposed interrogation of Haroche

Later, Miles argues that the investigators should question Haroche while he is still off-balance, before he can recover his composure and demand a military defender. Fast-penta is again unavailable, this time in the proposed interrogation of Haroche. Miles asks Simon Illyan to conduct it, while Illyan doubts that moral pressure will overcome a man willing to have him taken out. Gregor then interrupts with a different idea, leaving the interrogation's course unresolved in this passage. Across both proposed interrogations, the drug's fatal risk marks the limit of chemical questioning and sharpens the contrast between physical evidence, persuasion, and the uncertain pursuit of a confession.