Project Gutenberg 2005-10-01 Copyrighted. Read the copyright notice inside this book for details. 177 Sheckley, Robert 1928 2005 Barbee, Phillips Lang, Ned O'Donnevan, Finn Barbee, Phillip Bad Medicine Produced by an anonymous Project Gutenberg volunteer. HTML version by Al Haines "Bad Medicine" by Robert Sheckley is a satirical science fiction novel written in the early 21st century. The story takes place in the year 2103 and follows the peculiar and darkly humorous journey of Elwood Caswell, a man struggling with homicidal thoughts. The book delves into themes of mental health and the absurdity of mechanotherapy as a solution to psychological issues. The narrative unfolds as Caswell, a jetbus conductor, becomes fixated on killing his friend Magnessen, spurred by irrational thoughts and a malfunctioning therapeutic machine designed for Martians. In his quest for therapy, Caswell purchases the 'Rex Regenerator,' only to discover that it cannot accurately treat his Earthly problems due to its Martian programming. As he engages with the machine, a hilarious and bizarre dynamic develops, leading to an exploration of identity, sanity, and the nature of friendship. Despite its comedic tone, the story highlights the fine line between madness and clarity, culminating in an unsettling realization about Caswell’s true feelings toward Magnessen. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 78.5 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories PS Text Science Fiction Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy Category: Humour 67412 2025-07-04T07:45:05.461577 text/html 63258 2011-01-19T19:42:46 text/html 94451 2025-07-04T07:45:10.085575 application/epub+zip 93826 2025-07-04T07:45:07.827583 application/epub+zip 83313 2025-07-04T07:45:06.799568 application/epub+zip 170857 2025-07-04T07:45:11.674608 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 165142 2025-07-04T07:45:09.473594 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 131964 2022-09-04T12:52:08.063025 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 56458 2025-07-04T07:45:05.149615 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 57771 2011-01-19T19:42:36 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 19065 2025-07-04T07:45:11.792594 application/rdf+xml 11877 2025-07-04T07:45:07.282555 image/jpeg 3055 2025-07-04T07:45:07.041573 image/jpeg 23506 2011-01-19T19:43:06 application/octet-stream application/zip 22611 2011-01-19T19:43:06 application/octet-stream application/zip 91987 2025-07-04T07:45:05.467584 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia