A Scanner Darkly

SUMMARY: Bob Arctor is a dealer of the lethally addictive drug Substance D. Fred is the police agent assigned to tail and eventually bust him. To do so, Fred takes on the identity of a drug dealer named Bob Arctor. And since Substance D--which Arctor takes in massive doses--gradually splits the user's brain into two distinct, combative entities, Fred doesn't realize he is narcing on himself. Caustically funny, eerily accurate in its depiction of junkies, scam artists, and the walking brain-dead, Philip K. Dick's industrial-grade stress test of identity is as unnerving as it is enthralling. ''From the Trade Paperback edition.''

bob Arctor Is A Dealer Of The Lethally Addictive Drug Substance D. Fred Is The Police Agent Assigned To Tail And Eventually Bust Him. To Do So, Fred Takes On The Identity Of A Drug Dealer Named Bob Arctor. And Since Substance D—which Arctor Takes In Massive Doses—gradually Splits The User's Brain Into Two Distinct, Combative Entities, Fred Doesn't Realize He Is Narcing On Himself.

caustically Funny, Eerily Accurate In Its Depiction Of Junkies, Scam Artists, And The Walking Brain-dead, Philip K. Dick's Industrial-grade Stress Test Of Identity Is As Unnerving As It Is Enthralling.

Substance D - otherwise known as Death - is the most dangerous drug ever to find its way on to the black market. It destroys the links between the brain's two hemispheres, leading first to disorientation and then to complete and irreversible brain damage. Bob Arctor, undercover narcotics agent, is trying to find a lead to the source of supply, but to pass as an addict he must become a user, and soon, without knowing what is happening to him, he is as dependent as any of the addicts he is monitoring A drug dealer of the future periodically moves away from his spaced-out world to become an informer for narcotics agents until he becomes unable to separate his two personalities see https://openlibrary.org/works/OL2172516W/A_Scanner_Darkly Once a guy stood all day shaking bugs from his hair.