Plus X was written by an Englishman, Bad Medicine by an American. Both stories were first published in 1956, in the classic pulp science fiction magazines Astounding Science Fiction and Galaxy respectively.
Plus X is about a human prisoner of war on an alien planet; Bad Medicine is about a homicidal maniac in New York. Both men use psychological methods to escape their condition.
I don’t want to be a spoiler, so will say only a little more about the stories.
Plus X by Eric Frank Russell
John Leeming is the hero of this story. He is a prisoner of war, captured by a reptilian race. He escapes by fooling the enemy, persuading the reptilians that earthmen and their alien allies have invisible, and dangerous, companions.
For me, one of the best scenes is when one of the enemy aliens interrogates another earthman prisoner - who knows nothing about Leeming’s lies - about these companions to get some independent confirmation. This man has no idea what his captor is talking about, but manages to give very good answers that confirm the story.
He says, “Where did you get this information?”, and when asked whether the invisible companions might manage to take over some of the reptilians, says with great menace, “I wouldn’t be surprised.”
It is all very amusing and very clever.
Some clarification: I am talking about the original short story as published in Astounding Science Fiction, not the expanded versions later published as the books Next of Kin and The Space Willies.
The original Plus X had illustrations by the great Frank Kelly Freas. They are as good and amusing as the story and enhance it greatly.
By amazing luck, I found a copy of the original ASF issue in a charity shop. The universe got me into the right place at the right time: someone had just donated a large collection of classic pulp SF magazines, and I found some treasures.
The ASF issue where Plus X first appeared:
Bad Medicine by Robert Sheckley
Elwood Caswell is the hero of this story. He is a homicidal maniac, a psychotic who continually fantasises about killing his friend Magnessen.
Magnessen has done nothing to deserve this enmity. His crimes against Caswell are all in Caswell’s mind. Magnessen is such a good friend to Caswell that he even offers to help out when he thinks that Caswell must have defaulted on some payments because the police are looking for him.
Caswell knows that he needs help, so he buys himself a therapy machine. I like the scene where he uses it for the first time:
“Nothing happened. Caswell settled himself more comfortably on the couch. He scratched his shoulder and put the headband at a more comfortable angle. Still nothing. His thoughts began to wander.
Magnessen! You noisy, overbearing oaf, you disgusting-
'Good afternoon,' a voice murmured in his head. 'I am your mechanotherapist.'
Caswell twitched guiltily. 'Hello. I was just--you know, just sort of--'
"Of course,' the machine said soothingly. 'Don't we all?'”
I quoted a few more lines in an article about revenge.
There is a brilliant twist at the end of this story.
Bad Medicine is in the public domain and can be found on Project Gutenberg.
Humour as a defence against the darkness
I try to ration myself when re-reading books and stories that I like very much because I don’t want them to end up seeming like chewing gum that has lost all flavour.
I gave myself permission to re-read these stories a few days ago because I wanted to build up my defences in preparation for a difficult meeting with a bunch of bureaucrats and consultants, including a hatchet man and a ‘professional persuader’. I hoped that the humour in the stories would dispel some of the fear and stress I was feeling.
I thought of how John Leeming had won a one-man psychological war against an alien race. They had the advantage in numbers but he was very clever and fooled them all.
I looked around the table at the enemy, and imagined Caswell dwarking them one by one in a vlendish manner!
It worked very well. My mood lightened; I stayed calm and was able to state my position effectively. Our inner states affect the people around us; some of the enemy became less hostile, almost human even.
So I am very grateful to both Eric Frank Russell (1905 to 1978) and Robert Sheckley (1928 to 2005). They may no longer be with us but their stories live on. I am sure that they will continue to have a positive effect in the lives of many more people for many years to come.
I try to ration myself when re-reading books and stories that I like very much because I don’t want them to end up seeming like chewing gum that has lost all flavour.
I gave myself permission to re-read these stories a few days ago because I wanted to build up my defences in preparation for a difficult meeting with a bunch of bureaucrats and consultants, including a hatchet man and a ‘professional persuader’. I hoped that the humour in the stories would dispel some of the fear and stress I was feeling.
I thought of how John Leeming had won a one-man psychological war against an alien race. They had the advantage in numbers but he was very clever and fooled them all.
I looked around the table at the enemy, and imagined Caswell dwarking them one by one in a vlendish manner!
It worked very well. My mood lightened; I stayed calm and was able to state my position effectively. Our inner states affect the people around us; some of the enemy became less hostile, almost human even.
So I am very grateful to both Eric Frank Russell (1905 to 1978) and Robert Sheckley (1928 to 2005). They may no longer be with us but their stories live on. I am sure that they will continue to have a positive effect in the lives of many more people for many years to come.
