Rx for Chaos [Prescription for Chaos] [Anthology]

Anvil has a rare ability to combine fast-moving adventure with humor, deftly skewering the bureaucratic mind, whether human or alien. Science and technology have made our lives easier, cured diseases, with achievements that an earlier age would have considered impossible. But once in a while, the law of unintended consequences breaks loose. Christopher Anvil considers the two faces of technological innovation: Sometimes the result is a literal life-saver; but at other times a breakthrough may not break quite the way it was supposed to. A new wonder drug has the unexpected side effect of making people happy. Not a problemeverybody should want to be happy, right? But should people be happy all of the time? Suppose being happy required you never to disappoint anyone, no matter what theyre requesting... Then there was the energy source for every home that would free the country from its dependence on foreign oilexcept that the prototype was rushed into production a bit too fast. Back on the bright side, another device not only couldnt possibly work by every known law of science, but didnt have any obvious uses. Then alien invaders landed and suddenly the crackpot device was the worlds only hope. The upside and downside of marvelous new gadgets, as told by a master of science fiction adventure with a prescription for fun. "Modern science and technology have made our lives easier, cured diseases, and made routine achievements that an earlier age would have considered impossible. But once in a while, the law of unintended consequences breaks loose. Christopher Anvil considers the two faces of technological innovation: Sometimes the result is a literal life-saver; but at other times a breakthrough may not break quite the way it was supposed to." "A new wonder drug has the unexpected side effect of making people happy. Not a problem - everybody wants to be happy, right? But should people be happy all the time? Suppose being happy requires that you never disappoint anyone, no matter what they're requesting ..." "Then there was the energy source for every home that would free the country from its dependence on foreign oil - except that the prototype was rushed into production just a bit too fast." "Back on the bright side, another device not only couldn't possibly work by every known law of science, but didn't have any obvious uses. Then alien invaders landed and suddenly the crackpot device was the world's only hope."--Jacket Cinderella, Inc. (Imagination, 1952) Roll Out the Rolov! (Imagination, 1953) The New Boccaccio (Analog, 1965) A Handheld Primer (Amazing, 1978) Rx for Chaos (Analog, 1964) Is Everybody Happy (Analog, 1968) The Great Intellect Boom (Analog, 1969) Interesting Times (Analog, 1987) Superbiometalemon (F&SF, 1982) Speed-Up! (Amazing, 1964) Rags from Riches (Amazing, 1987) Bugs (Analog, 1986) Positive Feedback (Analog, 1965) Two-Way Communications (Analog, 1966) High G (If, 1965) Doc's Legacy (Analog, 1988) Negative Feedback (Analog, 1994) The New Way (Beyond Infinity, 1967) Identification (Analog, 1961) The Golden Years (Analog, 1977) No Small Enemy (Analog, 1961) Not in the Literature (Analog, 1963) Considers the benefits and consequences of technological innovation in a volume that examines a new wonder drug that has the effect of making people happy all of the time, an advanced energy source that could free the country from dependence on foreign oil, and a strange device becomes the only hope of repelling an alien invasion Rx for Chaos is the seventh book in the Complete Christopher Anvil series. This collection contains twenty-two stories plus acknowledgements by the author. These stories were initially published between 1952-1994.