In this chillingly plausible work of speculative fiction, Thomas M. Disch imagines an alternate 1970s in which America has declared war on the rest of the world and much of its own citizenry and is willing to use any weapon to assure victory. Louis Sacchetti, a poet imprisoned for draft resistance, is delivered to a secret facility called Camp Archimedes, where he is the unwilling witness to the army's conscienceless experiments in “intelligence maximization.” In the experiment, Prisoners are given Pallidine, a drug derived from the syphilis spirochete, and their mental abilities quickly rise to the level of genius. Unfortunately, a side effect of Pallidine is death.
- ISBN10 0575078774
- ISBN13 9780575078772
- Publish Date 10 August 2006 (first published April 1968)
- Publish Status Cancelled
- Out of Print 17 November 2005
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Gollancz
- Format Paperback
- Pages 288
- Language English