Prescription for Chaos by Christopher Anvil Page A

outside.
    Banner and Hommel were on their feet at once. Banner seized a heavy cane he used for occasional bouts of rheumatism, and they went through the outer office, and reached the hall door just as there was a louder scream.
    Hommel threw the door open, to see Viola Manning, one of his assistants, rush past.
    Right behind her came Peabody, Hommel's promising young research chemist. Peabody's eyes were lit up in a kind of greenish murky light. Both his hands were stretched out after Viola Manning.
    Hommel shouted, "What is this? Stop! "
    Peabody didn't stop.
    Banner shot out his heavy cane, entangling Peabody's legs.
    Peabody's arms flailed, he hurtled forward off balance, and hit the floor with a crash.
    Banner recovered his cane, and watched Peabody alertly.
    Peabody groaned, sat up, and felt cautiously of his nose and face. He staggered to his feet.
    Hommel eyed him coldly. "And just what the devil were you doing?"
    "I . . . ah—"
    From somewhere came a sound of sobbing, and a reassuring feminine voice giving words of comfort.
    Peabody glanced around nervously. "Did I—"
    Hommel said angrily, What were you doing ?"
    "I . . . I was dissolving some powdered Nullergin-200 in ethyl alcohol, and I . . . it occurred to me to wonder what the physiological effect—"
    "You drank it?"
    Peabody stared at his toes. "Yes."
    Banner said, "How much?"
    "Just a little . . . a few milliliters . . . hardly any—"
    Hommel said, "You were dissolving it in pure ethyl alcohol?"
    "Yes, but I diluted it. I poured in some water, shook in a little . . . er . . . sucrose . . . and—"
    Banner said, "How many pills did you grind up in this punch?"
    "The . . . the dissolved Nullergin-200 couldn't have been the equivalent of a tenth of a pill."
    Hommel said grimly, "Then what happened?"
    "I . . . ah . . . Viola—She had just come in, and—All of a sudden I saw her in a different light—" His face reddened. He said helplessly, "It was like friendship—only a lot more so."
    Hommel said disgustedly, "Next time, stick a little closer to the planned experiment."
    "Yes, Dr. Hommel. I will."
    "Does Viola realize what happened?"
    "I—No."
    Banner said, "Did you drink up all of that stuff, or is there some left?"
    "There's some left."
    "Save it."
    Hommel nodded. "And write it down, as accurately as possible, the quantities you used. Then you'd better take a few minutes to decide what you'll say to Viola Manning."
    Peabody nodded grimly.
    Hommel said, "I'll try to explain to her that it was a . . . er . . . toxic effect. Possibly you can find some better explanation."
    When Peabody had gone off, pale and shaken, Banner went back into his office, and Hommel had the job of explaining to Viola Manning.
    That evening, when Hommel got back to his apartment, the daily paper told of a town in the mid-west that had found the way to peace and friendship—through putting Nullergin-200 in the water supply.
    When he got up the next morning, the news broadcast told of two daring bandits who, late the previous afternoon, had walked into a bank in a friendly town in the mid-west, and cleaned it out. The bank guard explained, "I just felt too friendly to stop them."
    What riveted Hommel's attention was the bank president's comment: "The trouble with those boys was just that they haven't been drinking our water. I wonder if there's any way to spray the friendship medicine in the air ?"
    "'Friendship medicine,'" muttered Hommel. Then he headed out into the morning traffic jam. This business of waiting out delays at intersections, while drivers politely waved each other ahead, was getting on his nerves.
    Late in the week, Banner called Hommel to his office.
    "How's the antidote coming, Mort?"
    "Assuming there is an antidote, we might find it faster with . . . ah . . . fewer complications in interpersonal relationships."
    "How's Viola Manning taking it?"
    "She looks around with a start when the door opens."
    "How about