The Addicts by Joseph Samachson
"The Addicts" by William Morrison is a science fiction novella written in the early 1950s. The story unfolds aboard a lonely asteroid lighthouse where the protagonist, Jim Palmer, struggles with his addiction to a drug called marak, which is both pleasurable and debilitating. The central theme revolves around addiction and the lengths Palmer is willing to go to ensure his wife, Louise, shares in his euphoric experience, reflecting on love, dependency, andthe contrasting attitudes towards life and death. The narrative follows Palmer and Louise as they navigate their precarious existence amidst looming death due to external threats from alien creatures. Palmer believes that by making Louise an addict as well, he can cure her unhappiness caused by their dire circumstances. However, in a twist of fate, Louise cleverly administers an antidote to Jim, forcing him into sobriety and a clearer mindset. As he grapples with the harsh reality of their situation without the comforting veil of marak, he ultimately must confront the external dangers waiting outside the lighthouse. The story culminates in a dramatic irony where, liberated from addiction, Jim's newfound clarity allows him to take decisive action against the threats, even as he longs for the joy marak once provided. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Samachson, Joseph, 1906-1980 |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Emshwiller, Ed, 1925-1990 |
| Title | The Addicts |
| Series Title | Produced from Galaxy Science Fiction January 1952 |
| Note | Reading ease score: 83.5 (6th grade). Easy to read. |
| Credits | Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature |
| Subject | Science fiction |
| Subject | Short stories |
| Subject | Spouses -- Fiction |
| Subject | Drug addicts -- Fiction |
| Subject | Asteroids -- Fiction |
| Category | Text |
| EBook-No. | 51240 |
| Release Date | Feb 17, 2016 |
| Copyright Status | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 153 downloads in the last 30 days. |
| Project Gutenberg eBooks are always free! | |
