The Stuff

"The Stuff" by Henry Slesar is a science fiction short story that was published in the early 1960s. The narrative explores themes of human desire and the meaning of life through the concepts of healing and dreaming. It delves into the ethical considerations of a drug that allows a man to live a life in his dreams rather than in reality. In the story, a man named Andy Hills, who has been paralyzed due to an accident, is given a new drug called Senopoline that puts him in a dream state where he can live an entire lifetime as he wishes. Awakening from his paralysis, he quickly excels in tennis and pursues a career in art, eventually becoming a celebrated politician and the first World President. However, the drug doesn’t heal physically; rather, it generates a long, detailed dream until he faces the reality of mortality. The story ultimately raises questions about the value of dreams versus real life and whether one should pursue tangible achievements or find satisfaction in an illusion. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Henry Slesar was an American author and playwright. He is famous for his use of irony and twist endings. After reading Slesar's "M Is for the Many" in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock bought it for adaptation and they began many successful collaborations. Slesar wrote hundreds of scripts for television series and soap operas, leading TV Guide to call him "the writer with the largest audience in America."