Coconut Joy

**"Strictly Enforced!"**
This article contains spoilers!
If you haven't finished the game, please proceed with caution.

*"You already complain that this town is full of blithering idiots. Do we REALLY want to reduce everyone to the intelligence of a gerbil?"*
— Sally Boyle, in a letter to Dr. Anton Verloc.
**Coconut Joy** is a new, special flavour of Joy that is under development in Haworth Labs. It was originally announced back in 1953, and has had numerous formulas over the years. In recent years, the direction of the flavour has changed, with the new goal of becoming a "permanent solution".

## Overview

When originally announced, it's likely the case that Coconut was simply intended to be another type of Joy, in order to entice more of the citizens of Wellington Wells to try it. In the *How to Be Happy* guide book, Coconut is described as follows: "To the surprise of many in Wellington, coconuts are not native to Great Britain. However, Haworth Labs is hoping to create a synthetic version of this tropical treat. Ideal for those Wellies who are nostalgic for the hotter climates of the Empire." It's unknown why exactly it was never released, though it's possible that the team struggled to create a synthetic replica of a coconut without a real one to reference.

By the 1960s, direction had shifted. As demand for Joy increased, the resources required to create it dwindled, and Dr. Anton Verloc, with the backing of the Executive Committee, sought to create a "permanent solution". The goal of Coconut was now to alter the user's brain chemistry in such a way that they would be permanently happy, and never have to take Joy again. Additionally, the team at Haworth Labs wanted Coconut to work on Wastrels who have had their ability to take Joy ruined by bad batches.

## Appearance

Coconut Joy, like all other flavours of Joy, is taken in the form of a small gel capsule. Unlike other flavours, however, Coconut is uniquely coloured, with one white half and one brown half.

Interestingly, the gaseous Coconut found in Haworth Labs (Formula 752-44) is pink.

## History

Judging by a notice posted by the Executive Committee, Coconut Joy was announced back in 1953 when Joy was launched to the public. Little is known about the formula for Coconut around this time, but the fact that it was never released shows that the team could not find a working formula.

On 13 May 1956, Harry Haworth wrote a letter to General Sir Robert Byng expressing his concerns over supplies of the compounds used in Joy, warning that they will eventually run out; he suggested that the field of phrenology should be researched as an alternative, more permanent solution. At this point, Haworth dedicated more of his time to researching phrenology, and work on Coconut was pushed to the side. His Assistant Deputy for Research, Anton Verloc, disapproved of this line of research, and sought to have Haworth removed from his position as early as 9 Feb 1957.

In October 1960, Haworth would finally reach a conclusion that he felt was workable: "Applied Phrenology", which, as he puts it, is an inversion of the traditional phrenological method. While phrenology says that we can learn information about peoples' mental traits from their skull, Haworth's "Applied Phrenology" would involve reshaping a person's brain to make them permanently happy, in the same way that Joy does temporarily. Wanting immediate results from his research, Haworth applied his method to five of his lab assistants, all of which were rendered mute. In response, Haworth was pulled off of the Joy team, and admitted as a patient into his own laboratory to be used as a test subject. Shortly after, Dr. Verloc assumed Haworth's role as the Chief of Research and Production at Haworth Labs and, by mid-1961, he himself had began to think of a permanent solution. But while Haworth wanted to use pseudoscientific techniques, Dr. Verloc wanted to keep it chemical, much to the confusion of his assistant, Sally Boyle.

The earliest Coconut Joy formula known about is A-12. According to Sally, A-12 would work as an anti-depressant, but only because it would effectively lobotomise the user. Coconut would be worked on further, all the way up to A-329, which means that over 300 failed formulas of Coconut were created. A-329 similarly worked as antidepressant and memory suppressor, but caused insanity in the test subject; Vanessa Tinker-Bell, the subject in question, was noted to have difficulty performing even basic cognitive functions. Despite the massive number of failed formulas, Dr. Verloc would insist that he was close to figuring it out. He would write to General Byng on 2 Nov 1963, telling him that he was "very close" to a permanent solution.

By 1964, Dr. Verloc's narrow-minded focus on creating Coconut was having a negative effect on the quality of regular Joy. Tests of batches were showing more impurities than before, but, rather than address the problem, Dr. Verloc instead chose to ignore the problem and devote more man-power to developing Coconut. As more and more reports of bad batches came in, Haworth Labs began to offer personalised care for anyone claiming to be affected. In reality, instead of being helped, these people were being taken for testing and never seen again. Just prior to the events of the game, Dr. Verloc has once again shifted the formula for Coconut, now trying to base it off of Sally's Blackberry. After Sally left Haworth Labs, however, she took all of her notes with her, and, without them, Dr. Verloc has been unable to replicate Blackberry.

## Events of *We Happy Few*

### **Act I**

Small pieces of information on Coconut Joy and the rumoured "permanent solution" can be gathered through notes found through Act I. During Arthur's visit to The Hamlyn "O" Courant, Margaret Oliphant will tell him that most of her writers have been working on stories about the announcement of the "new" Coconut Joy. Despite the fact that the flavour was announced a decade ago, Joy usage has meant that people keep forgetting, and thus the existence of Coconut has repeatedly become new news for people.

Later, during Arthur's visit to Haworth Labs, as he ventures deeper into the building, he will eventually come across some holding cells where Coconut has been tested on human subjects. The first cell contains Harry Plantagenet, the second contains Harry Haworth himself, and the third previously held Gemma Olsen, a reporter for the "O" Courant, before she escaped. Charts opposite each cell shows that the three had been subjected to tests of Coconut Formula 752-44 over several weeks, with varying degrees of doses and reported symptoms. The player can press the button on the cell for either Harry and see the effects first-hand. Harry Plantagenet, seemingly already driven mad by Coconut, will cry out in panic, while Harry Haworth will begin violently vomiting.

Towards the end of the Act, during A Malpractice of Doctors, Arthur infiltrates the Wellington Wells Health Institute and is ambushed by a pair of Joy Doctors. The Doctors inject Arthur with another version of Coconut Joy and proceed to subject him to several visual tests. The tese produce a much stronger reaction in Arthur than the Doctors intended, much to their dismay. Arthur will hallucinate, vividly seeing his brother, Percy, reach out for help. When Arthur is on Coconut Joy, his vision becomes distorted, colours shift (similar to the effect of Histoplasma Mushrooms), the eyes of NPCs also glow red, and walls and floors become multicoloured.

### **Act II**

Sally can meet Dottie Lloyd-Ramsay, a former colleague of Sally at Haworth Labs. Dottie will explain that Dr. Verloc has recently been trying to recreate the formula for Blackberry Joy, but lacks the technical knowledge to be able to do so. Blackberry is known to be very different from regular Joy compositionally, so this possibly could explain the extreme side effects of the Coconut prototypes.

### ***We All Fall Down***

Victoria Byng, after making her way through to Haworth Labs, finds that there is a queue outside, eagerly awaiting the release of Coconut. Wellies can be found standing with white and brown balloons, and there are posters celebrating the arrival of the 'new' flavour.

Victoria makes her way inside to speak to Dr. Verloc, and he reveals that Coconut is actually nowhere near finished. He begs Victoria to bring Sally back to the lab so that the flavour can be completed, but she states that it isn't up to her to make that decision.

During the conversation, Dr. Verloc will say, *"I swear, I am this close to a permanent solution. But even if it doesn't work... at some point, you know, we'll be down to a sustainable population."* Victoria's vision of her mother will sarcastically remark, *"That certainly is a permanent solution."*

## Gallery

Advertising for Coconut Joy.Celebration of Coconut Joys arrival outside of Haworth Labs.