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"the [science fiction] writer should be able to convince the reader (and himself) that the wonders he is describing really can come true...and that gets tricky when you take a good, hard look at the world around you."
- Frederik Pohl
 |
| Alcodote | ||
| A compound that maintains sobriety while drinking. |
An enjoyable use for this idea, beloved by sf fans.
| He gave his coffee cup back to the robot and got to his feet. "Get a little rest, for a couple of hours. Then draw some aldodote-vitamin pills from the medic. As soon as things are secured, there'll be parties all over the ship, and we'll be expected to look in on every one of them, have a drink, and say 'Well done, boys.'" |
| From Space Viking,
by H. Beam Piper. Published by Analog in 1962 Additional resources -
|
Thanks to Winchell Chung at Project Rho for the tip on this item.
This idea has been popular for a long time. Compare with the sobriety ray from Lewis Padgett's 1942 story The Twonky. Compare to the killalc pills from Harry Harrison's 1970 novel The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge.
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