The novel presents two key subcultures. One of these is the drug subculture and the other is the homosexual subculture. The two are united early in the novel by the narrator's assumption that he would be punished more harshly for engaging in homosexual activities than he would for selling illegal drugs. Both subcultures are presented, often side by side, as the defining characteristics of a fantasy society in which both acts would be considered commonplace and normal.
The drug culture is present throughout the first sections of the novel as the narrator describes the members of the inner circle of drug dealers and the techniques they use to keep themselves supplied with drugs at all times. The descriptions of procuring and injecting drugs show the reader the details of the social mechanisms that.....
