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"[Science fiction] has become big business, where books are merchandised and promoted and distributed and placed on sale like slabs of bacon or cans of soup."
- Frederik Pohl
 |
| Bendix Anxiety Reducer | ||
| Machine-based psychotherapy. |
Elwood Caswell knew he was a homicidal maniac. That's why he hurried into the Home Therapy Appliances Store.
| "Oh," said the clerk, glancing distrustfully at Caswell's bloodshot eyes. "You seem a little nervous. Perhaps the portable Bendix Anxiety Reducer."
 (Mechanotherapy devices from 'Bad Medicine') "Anxiety's not my ticket either. What have you got for homicidal mania?" |
| Technovelgy from Bad Medicine,
by Robert Sheckley. Published by Galaxy in 1956 Additional resources -
|
Science fiction readers have had plenty of sessions with computer therapists; consider the Sigfrid von Shrink from Frederik Pohl's 1970 novel Gateway, Dr. Smile from Philip K. Dick's 1965 novel The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch and the machine psychologists from James Blish's 1957 novel Cities in Flight.
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More Ideas
and Technology from Bad Medicine
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and Technology by Robert Sheckley
Tech news articles related to Bad Medicine
Tech news articles related to works by Robert Sheckley
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Science Fiction
Timeline
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'Maybe the individual intelligence of each Cubic pools into a group intelligence...'
'Looks like she has bought the Avatar Construction Set and put together her own...'
'Across the ground something small and metallic came, flashing in the dull sunlight of midday.'
'A broken circle with arrows pointing to a right-hand flow appeared in the chalf.'
'The object seemed melted together like wax — nothing was distinguishable.'
'Midges have many capabilities. To the untrained eye, they look like sparrows.'
