Drug Themes in Science-fiction, By Robert Silverberg

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E IL 85,1/;?~ I N ETATE LI9Mx Research Issues

D R U G THEMES I N SCIENCE F ICTIO N

I/Lk? 2 3 bSz/y NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON Dli.UG ABUSE


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RESEARCH ISSUES SERIESDrugs and EmploymentDrugs and SexDrugs and Attitude ChangeDrugs and Family/Peer InfluenceDrugs and PregnancyDrugs and DeathDrugs and Addict LifestylesA Cocaine Bibliography - NonannotatedDrug Themes in Science FictionDrug Themes in Fiction

Cover IllustrationWilliam Blake. The figure of Urizen or the Ancient of Days.Frontispiece from Europe. Illuminated printing.


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DRUG TH EMES I N SCIEN C E F IC T IONbyRobert Silverberg

November 1974

National Institute on Drug Abuse-1400 Rockville PikeRockville, Maryland 20852

MAINE STATE L I B W Y


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This volume, part of a Research Issues Series, was prepared for the National Insti tuteon Drug Abuse by Documentation Associates, Box 25892, Los Angeles, California,under Contract Number HSM-42-73-222.

DHEW Publication No. (ADM) 75-190Printed 1975


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FOREWORD

The is su es of drug use and abuse have ge ne rate d many vol-um es of word s, a l l wr i t te n in an a t ternpt to expla in the "prob lem"and sug gest the "solu t ion . " Data have been gene r a t ed by r e se a r ch -e r s f r o m m a n y d i s c i p l in e s , e a c h lo o ki ng a t a p a r t i c u l a r a sp e c t ofan i s sue . The pre se nt bookle t i s one of a new s e r i e s in tended toa id r e se a r ch er s who f ind i t di f fi cu lt t o f ind the t im e to s can , l e ta lone read a l l the informat ion which exis ts and which cont inues tobe publ ished dai ly in thei r a r e a of in tere st . An a t t empt has beenmade to focus p redominan t ly on em pi r i ca l r e se a r ch f ind ings andm a j o r t h e o r e t i c a l a p p r o a c h e s .

Included in volume s 1 thro ugh 7 of t he s e r i e s a r e s u m m a r i e sof the maj o r r es ea rc h f indings of the l a s t 15 ye a r s , f o rmula tedand deta i led to provide the re ad er wi th the purpo se , methodology,f indings and conclusio ns of prev ious s tud ies done in the topic ar ea .Ea ch topic was chosen because it r ep resen ted a cha l l eng ing i s sueof c u r r e n t i n t e r e s t t o t he r e se a r c h c o m m un i ty . As addi t ionali s s ue s a r e iden ti fi ed, t he r e l evan t r e se a r ch wi l l be pub li shed a spa r t of th i s se r i e s .

S e v e r a l of t h e v o lu m e s i n t h e s e r i e s r e p r e se n t a d e p a r t u r ef r o m t h e a bo v e d e sc r i p t io n . T h e s e a l s o r e p r e s e n t c ha ll en gi ng i s s u e s ,a n d i s s u e s of c u r r e n t i n t e r e s t ; t h e y a r e , h o w e v e r, v i rt u a ll y u n e x -p l o r e d a r e a s w h i ch ha v e r e c e i v e d l i t t l e a t te n t io n f r o m t he r e s e a r c hw o r l d . F o r e x a m p l e , t h e su b j e c t s of d r u g s a nd t h e v i su a l a r t s ,sc i ence f i c t ion , and f ic t ion - - as pe c t s of con t emp ora ry l i fe wh ichimpa c t on a l l of us - - a r e e x p l o r ed h e r e by w r i t e r s w ho h a ve b e e ndeeply involved in those f ie lds . The i r con ten t i s pe rhap s p rovoca t ive ,and ce r t a in ly s t imula t ing .

Th e R e se a r c h I s su e s s e r i e s i s a g r o u p p r o j e c t of s t a ff m e m -b e r s of the National Inst i tute on Dru g Abuse , Divis ion of Re se ar ch ,Behav io ra l and Soc ia l Sc iences Branc h . S p e c i a l t h a n ks a r e d u e t othe continued guidance and suppo rt of Dr. Lou ise Ric ha rd s andDr . Norma n Krasneg or . Se lec t ion of a r t i c l e s fo r inc lusion wasgr ea t ly a ided by the sugge st ions of a pee r review g rou p, r e s e a r c h -e r s themse lves , each of whom rev iewed a top ic of pa r t i cu la r in t e r -e s t . It i s m y p leasu r e to acknowledge the i r con t r ibu tion to thep r o j e c t h e r e .

Dan J . Le t t i e r i , P h . D.P r o j e c t O f f ic e rNat ional Inst i tu te on Drug Abuseiii


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Robe r t S i lve rbe r g i s the au thor of many sc iencefiction novel s, including The Ma sks of T ime,Son of Man, A Ti m e of Chan ges , Dying In sid e,a nd o t h e r s , a s w el l a s n u m er o us s h o r t s t o r i e s .He ha s won two Hugo Aw ards and thr ee Nebulasfo r nove l and sho r t s to r y . He i s a pas t p res iden tof the Scien ce Fic t ion W rit ers of Am eric a .M r . S i lv e rb e rg h a s a l s o wr it t e n s e v e ra l no n -f ic t ion books on h is t or ic a l and archaeo logica lsubjec ts , including The Puebl o Revolt , MoundBu ilde rs of Ancient Am eric a , The Chal lenge ofC l im a te , a n d Th e Re a lm of P r e s t e r J o h n. Bo rnand educated in New York City, M r . S i l v e r b e r gnow l ives in Oakland, Cal i fornia .


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P R E F A C E

The explos ive upsu rge in the use of mind -a l te r ing drug s bymiddle -c la s s Ame r icans in the pas t decade h as been a consp ' cuousand much -dis cus sed phenomenon of ou r t im es. Beginning in the mid -1960's and peaking, pe rh ap s, abou t 1970, the us e of ma rij ua na , LSD,and even he ro in has taken on the c ha ra c t er of a n epide mic , not onlyamong the young but among man y c i t izens of m at ur e ye ar s . Thougha t pre sent the s prea d of he ro i n addic tion appea rs to be once m o re con-f ining i tse l f to low-income groups and LSD has become less fashion-able among the ex pe r ime nta l -minded , ce r ta in ly m ar i ju ana h as e s t ab -l i shed i t se l f a s a n a lmos t un ive rsa l drug ured regula r ly by mi l l ionsof Amer icans , and use of m or e potent mi nd -a l te r e r s r em a ins heavyif no longe r grea t ly acce le ra t in g .

During the per iod of s oc ia l dis loca t io n- -ma rke d by rad ica lchanges in s tyl es of c lothing and d r e s s , ass ass in a t i on s of pol i t ica llead e rs , d i s rupt ion of the gove rnmenta l pro ces ses a s a r e spo nse toa war commonly se en a s im mo ra l , r ampa nt inf la t ion , and o the rt raum as and upheavals - - tha t cor resp on ds to the spr ead of drug usein the Uni ted Sta te s , sc ience f ic t ion ha s becom e one of the mo st pop-u la r spec ia l ized subgenres of l i t e r a tu re , Once the obscure amu sem entof a few thousand cul t is ts , sc ie nce f ic t ion i s now read by mil l io ns ;such novel is ts as Ku rt Vonnegut , Vladi mir Nabokov, Michael Cr ic h-ton, and oth ers have reached the be s t- se l le r l i s ts wi th works of sc ien cef ic tion ; mot ion p ic tures such a s 200 1 have won wide aud iences andsc ience f ic t ion has been conspicuous in the t hea ter and in the th emesof popular mu sic . While this in cr ea se in the popular i ty of sc ie ncef ict ion i s in pa r t a r e spo nse to the wide publ ic i ty a cc r rd ed the s paceexp lor atio ns of the United Stat es and the So vie t Union, I think i t i smuch m or e to be a s c r ib ed to som e of the sa me fo rces tha t have s t im -ula ted so m uch in te r e s t in dru g - tak ing . Tha t i s , in a pe r iod of so c ia lupheaval su ch as we have exper-ienced sin ce the dea th of Jo hn F.Kennedy and the esc ala tio n of the Vie tna mes e wa r, conventional mo desof behavior lose the ir app eal , and fasc ina t io n with the biz ar re , thea l ien , the ur fa mi l ia r , the s t r ang e , wi th a l l sor t s of s t imula t ionthat provide e scape f ro m the rea l i t i e s of the mom ent , inc rea ses a t agr ea t ra t e . Sc ience f ic t ion not only offers those .va lues in abundancebut a l so , in i t s facer; ~s s a t i r i c a l commentary on the h e re -and -nowwor ld , p rovides a pe rspe c t ive on our rap id soc ia l changes th a t ha sgr ea t appea l to re ad e r s , e spec ia l ly the young.

Surv eys have shown tha t the audience for sc ien ce f ic tion ispr imari ly adol-escent aad above -averag e in inte l l igen ce; mos t of ther e a d e r s a r e b e tw ee n 15 and 25 yea,rs of age (though of c ou rs e sornerem ain addic ts of the gen re thssughout the ir l ives! . Th ere fo re , ther e


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i s g r e a t co r r espond ence be tween the m ain d ru g -using and sc i e nce -f ict io n-rea ding s eg me nt s of the populat ion, and it i s wor thwhi le to ex -amin e sc ie nce f ic t ion fo r ins ights in to the use of mind -a l te r ing drug sand for v iews of what drug use m ay l ie in the fu ture .

F o r t he p r e s e n t r e s e a r c h p r o j e c t I have compi led a group ofEngl ish- language sh or t s tor ie s and novels which dea l wi th the use ofmind - a l t e r ing d rug s , a l l wr i t t en s ince 1900 and f a l l ing with in the l i t -e r a r y ca tegory of sc i ence f i ct ion . I have avoided inc lusio n of thatl a rge body of s to r i e s dea l ing wi th d rugs whose e f f ect s a r e p r i ma r i l yon the body r a th e r than the mind : imm or ta l i ty se ru m s , fo r examp le .Some of these s t o r i e s da te f r o m the ea r l i e s t yea r s of the sc i e nc e-f i c t ion genre , no tab ly f r om the 1920 ' s and 1930 ' s when m as s -m ark e tsc i ence - f ic t ion magaz ines f i r s t began pub l ica tion. Not su rp r i s i ng ly ,howev er , the ma jo r i t y of the s tor ie s wi thin the s tudy date f r o m thepost -1965 per iod , when the use of drugs f i r s t pervaded the nat ionall if e to i t s p r e sen t exten t. Fo r r eas ons expla ined in the accompany ingin t roduc to ry ess ay , sc i e nce f i ct ion i s m or e o f ten a r e f l ec tion of ex i s -t ing soc ie t a l t r ends than a pred ic t io n of t rend s to come. The ups urgei n d r u g u se i s p r e c i s e l y m i r r o r e d by t he u p su r ge i n th e u se of su c hthemes in sc i ence f i ct ion.

Sc ience f i c tion i s a s much a g ui de t o w h e r e we a r e a s i t i s av is ion of whe re we a r e going. A l i t e r a tu re s o popu la r wi th the young ,comm anding s o int en se and devoted a fol lowing, ca n be of sig nif ic antva lue in r evea l ing the pa t t e rns con t emp ora ry soc ie ty i s t ak ing andwil l take in the ye ar s jus t ahead.


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

P a g eP R E F A C E. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vOVERVIEW O F DRUG THE ME S INSCIENCE FICTION ..................................... 1ANNOTATED B IBUOGRA PHY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

P r i m i t i v e P e r i o d . c . 1900.1935 .................... 11P r e d i c t i v e P e r i o d . c . 1935- 1965 ................... 1 7C o n t e m p o r a r y P e r i o d . c . 1965- 1973 ................ 31

AUTHOR /TITLE INDEX ................................ 53

vii


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OVERVIEW O F DRUG THE MES IN SCIENCE FICTION


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OVERVIEW OF DRUG THEMES IN SCIENCE FICTION

Defining sc ien ce f ic t ion i s no eas y task. Some of the def ini t -ions that have been proposed a r e s o loose that they would qual i fy abo ok l i k e S in c l a i r L ew i s ' A r r o w s m i t h a s s c i en ce f i c t io n - - i t s u r e l y i s" fi c tion abou t s c ience" - -and o ther s a r e d ra wn so nar row ly tha t theywould exclude m uch of what i s publ ished today in s cie nce - f ic t ion mag -azin es and books. With that cav eat in min d, the ref ore , I of fer one ofthe m o re f lexible def ini t ions , one which I th ink does cov er the gre at erpa r t of what I unders tand to be scien ce f ic t ion:

Science f ic t ion i s that bran ch of fanta sy which engages inimagina t ive speculat ion about , he imp ac t of technology onhuman soc ie ty .By c las s ing sc ien ce f i c t ion a s a b ranch of f an tasy , I mak e i t a

subdivis ion of that vas t l i t er ar y gen re that includes Ho me r Is Odyssey,M i l to n ' s P a r ad i s e L o s t , th e N o r s e s ag as , A l ice i n Wo n de r lan d, m u chof Po e, and s o for th . Placing the em ph as i s on technology, however ,r eq u i re s s c i ence f ic t ion to have a ce r t a in sys tem at ic con ten t , an under-lying r a t iona le of theme. A s to ry abou t a vam pi r e i s pure f an tasy ; as to ry tha t r a t iona l i zes va mp i r i s m in t e r ms of metabo l i c phenomenai s sc ie nc e f ic t ion. I t i s the a t tem pt a t inducing a wi l ling susp ens io n ofdisbelief by supplying a plausible s caffolding f or the impla usi ble thatgives scie nce f ic t ion i t s ident i ty wi thin the gre at er re a lm of fantasy.

But because sc ien ce f i c t ion-s a fo rm of f an tasy , i t i s idea l lysu i t ed fo r t he exp lora t ion of d rug - r e la ted phenomena . A drug i s ak ind of mag ic wand; bu t i t i s a c hem is t ' s magic wand , a l abo ra to ryproduct , car ryin g wi th i t the cachet of sc i en ce. By of fer ing his cha r -ac te rs a v ia l of gre en pi l l s or a f lask of myste r iou s blue f luid the au -t h or i s ab l e t o w o r k w o n d e rs a s e a s i l y a s a s o r ce r e r ; and by r i g o r o u s -ly examin ing the consequences of h is a ct of ma gi c , he per fo rm s theexplorat ion of spe culat ive idea s which i s the esse nc e of sc ien ce fic t ion.

So in the nineteenth ce ntury Ro ber t Louis Stevenso n producedDr . J eky l l and Mr . Hyde , Ma ry Wol l s tonecra f t She l ly dev i sed ane l ix i r of immor ta l i ty in The Mor t a l Im mo r ta l , and H. G. Wel ls c r e -ated a whole shel f of drug - re la ted s t or ie s , speeding up hum an mot ionin "The New Acce le ra to r , " tu rning beas t s in to me n in The I s l and ofDr . More au , depic ting an unseeab le phan tom in The Inv i s ib le Man.And in the pr es en t century the us e of min d-al te r ing o r mind-control l ingdrug s has beco me one of the pr im e vehicle s fo r the spec ulat ions ofscien ce f ic ionis t s .


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In pre par ing this s tudy of dru g themes in sc ienc e f ic t ion, I haveemployed the following c a tego r ica l d es ignat ions :

Drugs a s Euphor ic s : Drugs tha t give p leas ure in s imple uns t r -uc tured ways , th rough re le as e f ro m depr ess io n and tens ion, much a sa lcohol does in o ur so c ie ty ( though a lcohol is not s t r ic t ly speaking aeupho ric , of co ur se ) .

Drugs a s Mind Expanders : Dru gs tha t provide "psychedel ic"vis ions of oth er t imes o r places o r tha t offer a sens a t ion of onene sswith the co smo s a s a whole ; ana logous to LSD in our soc ie ty.

Drugs a s Pan aceas : Drugs which, through t ranqui l iz ing o rneutra l iz ing effec ts , ca lm the mind without nec ess ar i l y inducingeuphor ia .

Drugs a s Mind Cont ro l le r s : Drugs that enable one entity tol imi t or d i re c t the ac t iv i t i e s or d es i re s of anothe r ; ana logous tobra in-washing , and gen e ra l ly a s soc ia ted with to ta l i t ar ian ac t iv i t i e s . .

Drugs a s In te l l igence -Enhan ce rs : Drugs which have the spe -c ific pro pe r ty of extending o r amplifying the ra t iona l pro ce ss es of themind.

D r ugs a s Se ns a t i on - Enha nc e rs : Drugs whose e f fec t s a r e ach-ieved through amplified o r extended bodi ly sensa t io n-res pon se , p e r -haps ana logous to ma r i ju an a in ou r soc ie ty .

Drugs a s Rea l i ty -Tes te r s : Drugs which pe r mi t the us e r topene tra te the " rea l" rea l i t i es beyond the su rfa ce manifes ta t io ns ofda i ly l i fe.Drugs a s Mind- In jure r s : Drugs used a s weapons in b iochemica lw a r f a r e , a im e d a t the m ind .

Drugs a s Means of Communica t ion: Drugs tha t have the sp ec -if ic p ro pe rt y of opening hith er to unknown chan nels of co mmu nicationbe tween min ds .

Two dis t inc t a t t i tudes toward the us e of mind - re la ted dru gshave mani fe s ted themse lves in sc ience f ict ion . One i s caut iona ry :tha t any ex t ra ord i na ry indulgence in ex t rao rd in a ry drug s i s l ike ly tor o t t he m o ra l f ibe r of the us e r , l eading to l a s s i tude and gene ra l de -cay of the individ ual o r of soci ety , and ult im ately , pe rh ap s, aidingthe es ta bl i sh men t of a t o t a l i ta r i a n o r d e r . The o the r i s v i s iona ry andutopian: tha t through the employm ent of dru gs mankind can a t ta insp i r i t ua l o r psychologica l powers not ord ina r i ly ava i lab le , and by sodoing can ent er into a new and higher ph ase of exi s tenc e .

Th i s l a t t e r a t t i t ude ha s be c om e f a r m o r e w ide s p r ea d s i nc e 1965 ,when mid dle -clas s us e of hallucin ogenic and eup hor ic dru gs in we s t -e r n indus t r ia l c iv i l i za t ion f i r s t began to t ake on the a s pec t of a m a j o rcul tura l sh i ft . The cu l tu ra l a s sumpt io ns of sc ien ce f ict ion a s a wholecan c lea r ly be se en to fo l low, ra th e r than to l ead , public opinion:mo s t sc ience f ic t ion publ ished in the twentie th cen tury has been m as s -


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m a r k e t c om m e r c i a l f ic ti on w h ic h, how eve r da r ing i t s de pa r tu r e s f r omeveryday rea l i ty , has g enera l ly tended to adopt the convent ional m o ra ldogmas of middle -c la s s soc ie ty , a s does mo s t c om me rc ia l f i ct ion.Science f ic t ion of the 1920's and 19 30's rev eals a rem ark ab le de gre e ofrac i sm no longe r acceptable to gene ra l r e ad e rs i n wha t they rea d( though they m ay c l ing to pre ju dices in da i ly l i fe ) . Sc ience f ic t ion ofthe 1940 's and 1950 's i s mark ed by ca sua l sex i sm l ikewise no longe rofficial ly acceptable . And sc ien ce f ic t ion in gen er a l has shown as t rong, if imp l ic i t , b ias in favor of cap i ta l ism , the work e thic , P u r -i t an sexua l mor a l i ty , and o the r p i l l a r s of wes te rn indu s t r ia l soc ie ty .Drug-u se rs in sc ience f ic t ion s to r ie s unt i l qu i te r ecent ly were ana log -ous to heavy us e r s of a lcohol in m a in s t r ea m fic tion : the i r r e l i an ce ona consc iousness -a l te r ing substance was se en as a s ign of weakness ofcha.racter. In the pas t decade the re has been a ma jo r c u l tur a l sh i ftin our so c ie ty toward hedonis t i c behavior , a t f i r s t fur tive ly , now open-ly ; and th i s , a f te r the cu s tom ary lag , has been t ran s la ted in to a sh i f t inthe d i rec t ion of pe rm iss iven ess in the convent iona l m o ra l a tt i tudes e x-press ed by popular en te r ta inm ent , (The pr iv a te behavior of individ-ua l s i s a lm os t a lways fa r mo re scanda lous than the s ta nda rds of be -havior the publ ic demands i n en te r ta inment o r f r om e lec ted of f ic ial s ,but as taboos dissolve in pr iv a te l i fe they weaken, to a le ss er e x-tent , in off icia l publ ic mor a l i t y . )

Sc ience f ict ion wr i te r s tend to be no m or e ra d ic a l a s a g roupthan any o the r randomly se lec ted c ro ss - sec t ion of midd le -c la ss ed -u c a t e d ~ o n t e l r ~ p o r a r yi t iz e n ry , s o f a r a s m y e x te n si v e p e r s o n a lacquaintance with them ha s shown; howev er fo rwar d - looking the irf ict iona l v i s ions may be , they a r e , in the ma in , f a r f ro m a typica l indaily l i fe s tyle . Not only do they con form to prevai l ing cul tur a l be -l ie f s m or e than outs ide rs a r e like ly to suspec t , bu t, a s i s t ru e ofmo st who depend for the ir l ive l ihoods on m a ss -audience accep tance ,they quite readi ly espou se a surp r is in g cons erv at is m of philosophy inthei r work . In the pas t , the re fore , p rofess iona l sc ience - f ic t ion is t sa lmos t au tomat ica l ly chose a caut iona ry pos i t ion for s to r ie s embody-ing drug - re la ted them es, the drug s be ing symbolic of decay ra th erthan growth, and i t i s on ly in the l a s t few yea rs tha t some w r i t e r shave fe l t f r ee to depic t the use of c er t a in mind drug s in a pos i t ive - -even evan gel ic a l- - l ight .

The extent of the shif t m ay be s t be i l lu s t ra ted f r o m the workof a w ri te r who, although he wro te sc ien ce fiction, cannot be con -s idered a pro fess io nal s c ienc e - f ic t ionis t nor an advocate of co nven-t ional mo ra l i ty , and whose c a r ee r was conduc ted a lmo s t en t i re lyouts ide the taboo-r idden assum ption s of m a ss -m ar ke t publ ishing:Aldous Huxley.

Huxley ' s Ehave New World (1932) i s a b i t te r sa t i r ' ic novel


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that , a s i t s sa rd onic t i tl e ind ica te s , dep icts a utopian worl d of thefu ture in which ch i ldren a r e bor n in bot t le s a t a S ta te Ha tche ry andConditioning Ce nt er, designed by the benevolent world st at e to f i t apar t icu lar economic niche, and, a s adul ts , kept in l ine by a generou sbread -and -c i rc use s pol icy . Res t le s s ness i s cured by a wondrous drugcal led som a: "... f ev er by som e unlucky chance such a c r evic e of t im eshould yawn in the solid subs tan ce of the ir d istra ctio ns , f Huxley tellsus , " the re i s a lways som a , de l icious som a , ha lf a gram me for a hal f -hol iday , a g r a m m e f o r a w ee ke nd , tw o g r a m e s f o r a t r i p to thegorgeous Ea s t , th re e for a da rk e te rn i ty on the moon; re turn ing whencethey find them selv es on the othe r side of the crev ice , safe on the so -l id ground of daily labo r and distrac tion . . Those malcontents andnoncom formis ts who cannot acce pt the sof t mechanica l ple asu res ofHuxley ' s b rav e new wor ld a r e ex i led to remote i s lands . I

Som a, in Brave New World, is impl ic i t ly condemned as anopiate , a mind - lu l le r , an ins t rumen t of r epr ess io n . Huxley 's nega -tive outlook toward the drug i s not, though, an ex pr ess io n of wo rk -o r ie n te d Pur i t a n m o r a l i t y s o m uc h a s a c l a s s i c l i be r a l - hum a n i t a r i andi st ru st of technology: the Huxley of 1932 plainly believed that m a n -kind coddled by dru gs was some thing le ss than what mankind cpuldbe. The young Huxley fe l t contempt f or those who needed me chan ica l 1aid s o r who depended on anything oth er than the fo rce of t hei r ownin te l lec t s . Many yea rs l a t e r , however , a ve ry d i f feren t Huxley e x -per ienc ed the psychedel ic ma rv el s of m e s caline and LSD, whichkindled in h im s t rong e s the t ic de l ight and someth ing ak in to sp i r i t -ua l ecs tasy . When he next a t temp ted the f ic t ional constru c t ion of autopian commonw eal th, i n Is land (1962) , his outlook on mind -a l te r ingdrug s was far m or e sympa thet ic . In this id ea l s ta te of the future oneuses not the sopo r i f ic soma but the ecs ta sy- invokingmoksha , a mind -expanding ha l lucinogen. Concerning mok sha one ch ara c te r say s ,"Having had the misfor tun e to be brought up in Europe , Murugan ca l lsi t dope and fee ls about i t a l l the disap prov al tha t, by condi tioned r e -flex, the di rt y word evokes. We, on the co nt rar y, give the stuff goodna m e s - - the mo ksh a -medic ine , the rea l i ty - reveale r , the t ruth -and -beauty pil l . And we know, by d ir ec t ex pe rie nc e, that the good na me sa r e d e se rv e d . 1 1 2 Huxley is re a l ly talking about LSD, and his tone isthat of the acid -ev ang elis t.

Drug as contemptible anodyne, drug a s ga teway to higherrea l i t y- - tho se a r e the poles bounding the handl ing of d ru gs in sc ie nce

1. Huxley, Aldous . Bra ve New World. New York: Ha rp era nd B r o th e r s Pub l i s he r s , 1946. p. 67.

2 . Huxley, Aldous. Isla nd . New York: H ar p er and Row,Publ i she rs , 1962. p. 157.

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f ic t ion . The o lder sc ien ce f ic t ion was prepo ndera nt ly negat ive , a s ,for example , Ja me s Gunn ' s The Joy ma ker s , pub li shed in 1961 butw r it t en ha lf a d e c a d e e a r l i e r , i n w hi ch a r e p r e s s i v e g o v e r n m e n t su s -tains i t se l f through ma nda tory use of eup hor ics . Th e s a m e t h e m e c a nbe found in Ha r t l e y ' s Fac ia l Ju s t i ce (1960) , and in o the r wor ks . Ev e nwhen no t used a s an ins t ru men t of to t a l i t a r i an i sm, d rugs a r e o f t enseen a s dangerous se l f - indu lgence, as i n W e l l m a n ' s D r e a m -D us t f r o mMars (1938) , Smi th ' s He l lf lower (1953) , o r Poh l ' s wha t - to Do Unti lthe Analyst Co mes (1956) . The proto types fo r the ima gin ary drug sdesc r ibed in these s t o r i e s a r e a l coho l and he ro in - -d ru gs which b lu rthe mind and lower the consciousness .

Much rec en t sc i enc e f ic t ion , how ever , tak ing cognizance of suchnewly popu la r d rugs a s LSD, m ar i j uan a , and mes ca l i ne , show soc ie tyt r ans fo rmed , enhanced , and r a i s ed up by d rug use . S i lv e rbe rg ' s -Time of Changes (1971) po r t r ay s a dou r , se l f -hating cu l tur e in to whichcomes a d ru g tha t s t imula tes d i r ec t t e l epa th ic con tac t be tween humanminds and br ings in to being a sub cul ture of love and opennes s . Th i sc rea te s a g re a t convu l s ion in the soc ie ty , but the impl i ca t ion i s t ha tthe cbange the d rug b r ings i s benefi c i a l. S imi la r ly , i n Pan sh i n ' sHow Can We Sink When We C an F ly ? (1971 ), a drug ca l l ed t empus tha tinduces t r av e l in t ime is pa r t of the educat ional pro ce ss of a fu turesociety. In The Pe ac oc k King by McC omb s and White (1965) LSD isused as a t r a ining dev ice to p rep are as t ron au t s fo r the r ig o r s of in t e r --s t e l l a r t r a v e l , and in H. H. Holli s ' Stoned Counse l (1972) hal lucinogen -i c d rugs have become rou t ine aspec t s of cou r t ro om work . Ano therv iew of a so c ie ty t r ans fo rm ed bu t no t nec ess a r i l y in ju red by m a s sdrug us e i s Wyman Guin 's Beyond Bedlam , dat ing f ro m 1951, in whichsch izophren ia i s des i r ed and encouraged and i s induced by drugs. InSi lv erb erg 's Downward to the Ea r t h ( 1971) hal lucinogens p lay a pa r tin ecs t a t i c r e l ig ion on ano ther wor ld .

A var ian t of the mind -expanding dr ug is the intel l ige nce -enhan -c ing d rug , long a common theme in sc i ence fi c tion . Some r ecen texponen ts of the theme a r e Br unn er ' s The S tone Th a t Never Ca meDown (1973), D ickson ' s The R-M as t e r (1973) , and Dis ch ' s C ampConcentrat ion (1968).

Not a l l dep ic t ion of d rug s in r ece n t sc i ence f i c t ion i s sym path -e t ic , of cou rse . Aldiss ' Bare foot in the Head (1970) shows a ll ofEurope thrown in to confusion by the "acid-hea d wa r , " in which a nArab power d ose s the whole cont inent wi th psych edel ic weapons. (Al -d i ss does ind ica te a t l ea s t pe r iphe ra l ly tha t the new t r ipped -ou t cu l -t u r e e m e r g i n g i n w a r - w re c k e d Eu r o p e i s n ot e n t i r e l y i n f e r i o r to i t sp r e d e c e s so r . ) Ch es te r Ander son ' s l i gh thea rt ed The Bu t t e r f ly Kid(1967) depic ts hal lucinogenic dr ugs as weapons employed by a l ie ns ,


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whether mind -expanding, mind -contract ing, o r mind -control ling. Inthe hor rendou s ly overpopu la ted fu tu re of Ha r ry Ha r r i s on ' s Make Room!Make Room! (1966) , LSD and ma r i ju ana a r e the bes t ava i l ab le escap esf ro m the da i ly n igh tmare tha t i s l i fe ; in a s im i la r ly c rowded wor ldimagined by Dor i s P i tk in Buck in Come Where My Love L ies D re am -ing (1964) the dru g of choice is nothing we hav e today, but rat h e r one-hat g ives the us e r the vicar i ous e xper ienc e of exis tence a s a d i n o sau r !However d i f f e ren t the d e ta i l s , though, the s t or ie s say the sa m e thing:that for t i tude i s not enough, tha t chemica l a ss i s t a nce wi l l be needed .

T h e s t o r i e s i n th e s am p l e ch o sen f o r t hi s p r o j ec t il l u s t r a t e th ewhole range of drug the mes i n sci en ce fic t ion, f ro m the plausible tothe fantast ic , f r o m the horr i fy ing to the ecs asy- inducing. In a worldw h e r e m an an d h i s t e ch n o lo g ica l m a r v e l s m u s t co ex i s t al on g an u n -eas y in te r f ace , sc i enc e f i c t ion ind ica tes so me of the poss ib le impa c ta r ea s i n th e d ecad es and cen t u r i e s ah ead .


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A N N O T A T E D BIBL IO G RA PH Y


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ANNOTATED B IBLIOGRAPHY

PRIMITIVE PERIOD(19 0 0 - 1 9 3 5 )


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A uthor: P r a t t , F l e t c he r a nd Le s t e r , I r v inTit le : The Roger Bacon for mu laJourna l : Amazing S to r ie s , Vol. 3 , No. 10, 940-9 48Pub l isher : Ex per ime nte r Publ ishing Company, New YorkDate : Jan ua ry 1929F o r m a t : S h o rt s t o r yD e s c r ip to r : D r ugs a s m ind- expa nde r sAnnotation: Medieva l i s t r ed i sc ov e rs lo s t manusc r ip t in which Roger

B a con p r ov ide s t he f o r m ula fo r m a ndr a por de um , a d r ugthat ind uces " tr ans po rta tio n of the mind. I' Taking i t , the expe r ime nte rf inds himself f r ee d f r o m his body and journeying to Venus; a vivid vis ionof l i fe on the second planet ends only when the drug w ea rs off. Fea r in gaddict ion , he nev e r t r i e s the drug aga in , though he admits a tempta t ionto mo re t r ipp ing.

A u tho r: H a r r i s , C l a r e W ingerTi t le : The diabol ica l dru gJou rnal: Amazin g St or ies , Vol. 4, No. 2, 156-161Pub l isher : Ex per im ent er Publ ishin g Company, New YorkDate: May 1929F o r m a t : S h o rt s t o r yD e s c r ip to r: D r ugs a s m ind- c on t r o l le r sAnnotat ion: Sc ient is t develops a che mi cal which, by re ta rdi ng thevol tage of the br a i n ' s e l ec tr i ca l ac t ivi ty , ha l ts the agingpro ces s . An expe r imen t on a human i s pe r fo rmed , the subjec t be ingthe sc i en t i s t ' s be loved , who i s s ix yea rs o ld e r than he i s ; he in tends tohold he r a t the sa me ag e unti l he ha s caught up. She sin ks into a kindof s tas is . Unable to per fec t an ant idote , h e injec ts himself a ls o, andthe two of them en ter a s t ra ng e suspend ed anim at ion in which ext rem epsychologica l e f fec ts of the metab ol ic s lowdown man ifes t them selve s .


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Author: Huxley , AldousTitle: Br av e New WorldPublisher: Ckatto & Windus, London, EnglandPages : 214 pp.Date: 1932Format: NovelDescr ip tor : Drugs a s panaceasAnnotation: In mechan ized, stan dar diz ed utopian wo rld of the futur e,wh ere human beings a r e syn thet ical ly produced in incu-bators and condit ioned fo r opt imum s ocial s tabi l i ty , a drug cal led s omaser ves a s the utopiate of the ma ss es , d is t rac t ing and t ranqui l iz ingthose who might otherwis e become re st le ss in thei r too- comfortablelives.

Author: Ke lle r, David H.Tit le : The l i t e ra ry cork screwJournal: Wonder Sto ries , ol. 5, No. 8, 867-873Publisher: Ccntinental Pub licat ion s, New YorkDate: M ar ch 1934Format : Shor t s to ryDescriptor: Drugs a s intell igence enha ncersAnnotation: Sat i r ic s tory. A profe ssiona l wr i te r disc ov ers he canwr i te only when in physical pain, and req ui r es his wifeto drive a cor kscre w into his back to get him star ted. But the pain ofthe cork screw is im possible to s ust ain fo r long, and they see k -medicalhelp. The doctor they consul t d is cov ers that i t i s n ' t the pain i t sel f butra ther cer t a in hormon es s ecr e t ed a s a resp onse to the pain that en-courages l i t e r a r y produc tion , and syn thes izes a d rug tha t makes wr i t ingeas ie r . Doctor t akes h is own drug and wr i t es a bes t -se l l e r .


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Author: Fe a rn , John Ru sse l lT i t l e: He neve r s lep tJourn al: Astounding St or ies , Vol. 13, No. 4, 56-67Pub l i s he r : S t r e e t & Smith, New YorkDate: June 1934For m a t : Short s t o r yDesc r ip tor : Drugs a s in te ll igence - enhan ce rsAnnota tion: Sc ient is t concocts a prote in -based drug tha t f r ee s thes ub j e ct f r o m a l l ne e d t o s l ee p . N a r r a to r t a ke s t he d r ugand ent er s into a condition of enhan ced percep tiv ity in which he i scapable of penetra t ing the vis i on ary re c es se s of his own mind andv i si ti ng t he d r e a m - c r e a t i ng p r o c e s s e s . The exper ience eventua l lyexhau sts him, but unable to give up use of the drug, he looks for war dto de ath a s t he only r e l e a s e f r om i t s e f fe c ts .

Author: Her be r t , BensonTi t le : The cont ro l drugJourna l : Wonder St or ies , Vol. 6, No. 6 , 669-675Pu bl is her : Cont inental Pub l ica t ion s , New YorkDate: Nov embe r 1934For m a t : Shor t s t o r yD e s c r ip to r : D r ugs a s e uphor i csAnnotation: Sc ien t i s t invents a xenon-de r ived drug tha t se em s tooffer a "paradise" effec t- -br ie f gl imp ses of the Divine,f ree dom f r om the ma te r ia l body, e tc . But fur t he r r e -se a r ch shows i t s dread long - te rm e f fec t s : "The s tuff doesn ' t exa l t youor ene rg iz e you. . .What i t does i s to re le as e the emot ions f ro m a l i fe -t im e of c ivi l ized control and suppress io n. It take s the bonds off s ec re tdes i re s . I t s subt le phys io logica l ac t ion leaves you wi th no cont ro lwha teve r . " Natura l ly he des t roy s the drug and takes h i s own li f e .


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t Author: Ham ilton , Edmo ndTitle: The tru th ga s

1 Journal: Wonder St or ie s, Vol. 6, No. 5, 1060-1071It Publisher: Continental Pub licati ons , New York

Date: Fe br ua ry 1935Format: Short s to ryDescriptor: Drugs a s mind-co nt rol lersAnnotation: A sc ien t is t who be l i eves tha t a l l s in and c r im e s t em f ro mdeceptiveness per fec t s and re l e ase s into the a tmo spherea drug that " causes a shor t -ci rc ui t between the br ain ' s thought-centersand i ts mo tor -ce nte rs of speech " s o that lying bec ome s impos sible. Theresult ing compulsive honesty leads to im possible social s i tuat ions a s thewhole veneer of tact and diplomacy van ishe s; i t bec ome s ne ce ss ar y todevise and re le as e a n antidote.

Author: Ba rte l , Phil i p J.Title : The el ixi r of pr og re ssJournal: Wonder Sto rie s, Vol. 6 , No. 11, 1286-1304Publish er: Continen tal Pub licati ons , New YorkDate : April 1935Format: Short s to ryD e s c r i p t o r : D r u g s a s e u p h o r i c sAnnotation: Sat i r ic s to ry of the quest in the yea r 3903 fo r redis cov eryof the lo st ancient d rug that provided st imulat ion andenergy and del ight to ea rl y man- -coffee.


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ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

P R E D I C T I V E P E R I O D( 1 9 3 5 - 1 9 6 5 )


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Author: Smith, Cla rk AshtonTit le: The Plutonian drugJou rna l: Amazing St or ies , Vol. 9, No. 5, 41-48Publ isher : Teck Publ icat ions, New YorkDate: Septe mbe r 1934Form at : Shor t s to ryD esc r i p to r : D rugs a s m i nd-expande r sAnnotat ion: Among the many dru gs brought back to E a rt h by spa ce

exp lor ers i s Plutonium, a powder fr om Pluto that pro-duces a hashish-l ike derangem ent of t ime - percept ion, permi t t ing theuse r t o t r ans fo r m t i m e in to sp ace and go on psychedelic voyages.The sub jec t pene t ra t es f ive or s ix hou rs into the pas t , an ineffable ex-perie nce that en ds with a vision of hi s own death soon fulfi l led in real i ty .

Documents

Drug Themes in Science-fiction, By Robert Silverberg