Death by Cyanide!

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aruna

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You know those Lethal Pills the British SOE gave their agents when they were sent to sabotage the Nazis in Europe? They kept the (the capsules) in their mouths and if they were captured bit them, the poison was released, and they died almost instantly. If they swallowed them by mistake, they had a rubber coating to allow them to pass through the body without killing the agent. You had to bite them with your teeth to crack them open. If you ever watched the movie Downfall, you'll see Frau Goebbels administering them to all of her six children in their sleep when the game was up.

What if you cracked open one of those capsules, and emptied the contents into a glass of water to kill somebody? Would it work more slowly? If the glass was left a few hours? Maybe a half-glass would be better?

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help. Much obliged!
 

frimble3

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I know nothing about prep or timing, but what an interesting dilemma! Does a character use the pill to save herself from torture and possibly betraying others, or use it to kill the target, still be tortured and killed, but die knowing that others have been saved.
 

aruna

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But I think there would usually be little opportunity to kill the other person, as the agent would already be in captivity. In the case of this novel, there is a perfect opportunity, and it does work. But I need the water! :)
 

waylander

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The contents would be sodium or potassium cyanide, these are stable in aqueous solution so no problems with them standing for a while. If all the solution was drunk then the person would receive a dose equivalent to the pill. 3mg per Kg of body weight is a lethal dose so it doesn't take much to kill someone, two or three hundred milligrams would do it for an average size person.
 
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Girlsgottawrite

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I would think someone could taste it in a glass of water. I know you weren't asking about that, but I thought I'd put it out there. From what I've read, it burns your tongue too.
 

waylander

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I suspect it would taste salty, your taste buds are sensitive to the cation (sodium/potassium) not the anion.
 

frimble3

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So you need to disguise the burning feeling and the saltiness? Sounds like hiding it in broth would work better than water. Something savoury, at least. Or herbal tea?
 

WeaselFire

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By the time someone tastes it they have likely taken a lethal dose. Depending on the water, it could already have a taste to it anyway from the source or storage facilities.

Write it so it is plausible and it will work.

Jeff
 

Bolero

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Dying almost instantly - I've read a little bit about death from cyanide and it isn't like being given an overdose of an anaesthetic. No peacefully going to sleep. It combines with the haemoglobin in your blood displacing the oxygen - so it is suffocation. Depending on how much is ingested it can be fast, but make sure you read up on how unpleasant it is. It is a lot harder for captors to reverse than say if the agent cut their wrist.
 
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