Annotation: Medievalist rediscovers lost manuscript in which Roger Bacon provides the formula for _mandragordeum_, a drug that induces “transportation of the mind.” Taking it, the experimenter finds himself freed from his body and journeying to Venus; a vivid vision of life on the second planet ends only when the drug wears off. Fearing addiction, he never tries the drug again, though he admits a temptation to more tripping. —————————————————————————————— Author: Harris, Clare Winger Title: The diabolical drug Journal: _Amazing Stories_, Vol. 4, No. 2, 156–161 Publisher: Experimenter Publishing Company, New York Date: May 1929 Format: Short story Descriptor: Drugs as mind-controllers Annotation: Scientist develops a chemical which, by retarding the voltage of the brain’s electrical activity, halts the aging process. An experiment on a human is performed, the subject being the scientist’s beloved, who is six years older than he is; he intends to hold her at the same age until he has caught up. She sinks into a kind of stasis. Unable to perfect an antidote, he injects himself also, and the two of them enter a strange suspended animation in which extreme psychological effects of the metabolic slowdown manifest themselves. —————————————————————————————— Author: Huxley, Aldous Title: Brave New World Publisher: Chatto & Windus, London, England Pages: 214 pp. Date: 1932 Format: Novel Descriptor: Drugs as panaceas Annotation: In mechanized, standardized utopian world of the future, where human beings are synthetically produced in incubators and conditioned for optimum social stability, a drug called _soma_ serves as the utopiate of the masses, distracting and tranquilizing those who might otherwise become restless in their too-comfortable lives. —————————————————————————————— Author: Keller, David H. Title: The literary corkscrew Journal: _Wonder Stories_, Vol. 5, No. 8, 867–873 Publisher: Continental Publications, New York Date: March 1934 Format: Short story Descriptor: Drugs as intelligence enhancers Annotation: Satiric story. A professional writer discovers he can write only when in physical pain, and requires his wife to drive a corkscrew into his back to get him started. But the pain of the corkscrew is impossible to sustain for long, and they seek medical help. The doctor they consult discovers that it isn’t the pain itself but rather certain hormones secreted as a response to the pain that encourages literary production, and synthesizes a drug that makes writing easier. Doctor takes his own drug and writes a best-seller. —————————————————————————————— Author: Fearn, John Russell Title: He never slept Journal: _Astounding Stories_, Vol. 13, No. 4, 56–67 Publisher: Street & Smith, New York Date: June 1934