by Erica Frank

With psychotropic drugs having arrived in the national consciousness, it's not surprising that they are starting to be the subject of mainstream science fiction books:

I suspect the publisher insisted on the name for this one, because the word "psychedelic" only appears once in the book, and it's not referring to the drug PSI-40 that's the focus of the story.

The prologue nicely sets up the conflict: A young boy and his father are on the run, living in a remote rural location and trying not to be discovered by the Syndicate. They have incredible psychic powers, so they can maintain communication and view each others' surroundings, and the father insists on keeping their distance from each other to keep the boy safe. Their powers come from a drug, PSI-40, and the father makes sure to give his son the formula before the Syndicate catches up with him.

The Ultimate Drug

PSI-40 is, as one might guess, a pill that can awaken a person's psychic abilities. It doesn't work that way for everyone—just for the rare "Sensitives" and even rarer "Specials." For most people, its effects seem to be a blend of marijuana, LSD, and Aldous Huxley's "soma": rainbow lights, mellow mood, lowered inhibitions, heightened sensation, and a sense of peace and bliss.

Like marijuana, it causes relaxation and softens the emotions. Like LSD, it causes mild hallucinations: rainbow afterimages, distorted proportions, brighter lights and darker shadows, but nothing appearing real when it's not. And like soma, it has no unpleasant side effects and causes no disabilities—except for Sensitives, who are prone to intense headaches from the psychic powers it awakens.

Among the normal users, some people have religious experiences; some are overwhelmed with sensuality. It's only the Sensitives and Specials who get more than that—they gain telepathy, clairvoyance, and sometimes telekinesis. They also don't get much of the "normal" effects of the drug, so their thinking and reaction times aren't impaired from it.

The book is set in the near future; most of the events begin on the day of the presidential inauguration of 1993. (I wonder what current junior businessman or class president will be elected in 1992?) Jon Rand, security agent for the Syndicate that manufactures and controls PSI-40, is sent to Baja on a manhunt: find the rogue Special who's been eluding them for 17 years. At this point, the reader becomes aware that the hero of the prologue—young Kemp Johnson—is the target of the main story. A bit of math determines that he's probably born next year, sometime in 1966.

Of Kemp, we know nothing except that he has mental powers, and he is filled with rage against the Syndicate. Rand is not so much a cypher, but he is very much a company man, striving to make sure his faction is in the limelight when the current aging president loses control. It's not immediately apparent if he is a "good guy" working within a corrupt and power-hungry organization, or someone who happily supports their regime.

Rand Discovers the World

On his travels to look for Kemp, he encounters a woman who speaks harshly of the Syndicate but does not seem to be one of the "Antis" who object to all uses of PSI-40. He also barely escapes a murder attempt, attends a funeral with people so doped they can't grieve, infiltrates an Anti activist group, and discovers the covert machinations within the Syndicate itself. Through these adventures, Rand is shown to be a good sort of fellow.

He tries to be honest, and he is supportive of the Latino people in Baja whose connection to PSI-40 is very different from his own. He is sympathetic to their hardships, which are eased by the drug, but concerned about both a society without mourning and other deep emotions. He is troubled that the Syndicate pulls strings far beyond what's needed for a business with a product in high demand. He is increasingly uncertain about the purpose of his chase and nervous about the secrets being withheld from him, but with no obvious way to find out more, he has no choice but to move forward as assigned.

Rand starts out contemptuous of the Antis: why would anyone object to a medicine that eases sorrow and enhances joy? But as he encounters more people outside of the Syndicate, he realizes its effects aren't that simple, and there are reasons to be wary of it. Still, he recognizes foolish propaganda when he hears it—the Antis aren't concerned with PSI-40's subtle influences as much as they're caught up in hating the corporate powers that create it.

Formulaic but Not Boring

I found the story compelling and easy to follow, other than losing track of a few people's names. (Several characters were introduced in the first chapter, and not mentioned again until more than halfway through the book, and then only by their surnames.) I found the obligatory romance plausible but unnecessary. I believe that, had the "interesting but maybe-opposition" character been a man, they would've developed a friendship rather than falling in bed together. I did enjoy Rand's innate suspicious nature, and that he aimed it at his own organization as easily as he directed it at outsiders.

I both admired the world building and found it a bit dry: Jon Rand, experienced agent of the Syndicate, is apparently prone to musing over what he knows of PSI-40 when he visits seedy nightclubs, nude beaches, or churches that use the drug as a sacrament. I would like to know more about the world; several characters complained that the Syndicate rations PSI-40, but the method of rationing and the purchase price are both opaque to us. Since the poorest of laborers can afford some (although not as much as they usually want), presumably the wealthy could pass their days in a rainbow-smeared fog of euphoria. Yet we are led to believe that their world works much like ours, albeit with a few technological enhancements brought on by 30 years of peace and prosperity.

While the story was interesting enough, most of the characters were a bit flat. Even the ones with mixed loyalties were complex in predictable ways. There were questions of who will betray him but none about which of these people might be the deceiver? Honest folk were honest, and shifty people with hidden agendas seemed to be hiding something, although it wasn't immediately apparent what.

What's Missing?

Psychedelic-40 was an enjoyable read, a nice consideration of "what if LSD really did expand consciousness, to such an extent that it gave mind-reading super powers to some users?" However, it's less of a science fiction book than a spy thriller with mental instead of physical technology. The psychic powers were a tool in Rand's arsenal, like Oddjob's weaponized hat or James Bond's tricked-out car. He was a super-agent, not super-human.

We saw normal people living distorted lives under the shadow of PSI-40, but it was treated like alcoholism–people using a party drug for everyday life–rather than something that caused an actual shift in perspective or life choices. Some of that can be excused as Rand's passing contact with them, but I would've liked to get a sense of how their communities differed from ours. The Baja of Rand's world seems too much like ours. Its jobs, entertainments, and religious factions seemed very similar to our own. While we did see a church dedicated to PSI-40, it was treated as just another drug den, albeit one with religious-themed accessories.

The book missed the opportunity to consider how a society that welcomed euphoric drug use might change over time, and I wish I'd gotten to read that story, too.

Also, the cover is boring. There is amazing psychedelic and surrealist art available today! Why couldn't Bantam have found an artist in the style of René Magritte or Mati Klarwein to do the cover art?

Three and a half stars out of five: quite engaging, but lacking something.  See for yourself and tell me what you think.

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We had so much success with our first episode of The Journey Show (you can watch the kinescope rerun; check local listings for details) that we're going to have another one on April 11 at 1PM PDT with The Young Traveler as the special musical guest.  As the kids say, be there or be square!