Mark Clifton - They'd Rather Be Right

[scifimike]

They'd Rather Be Right by Mark Clifton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The beginning is the most intriguing, with two professors and a telepath on the run from oppressive authorities in near-future San Francisco. The plot is about a cybernetic brain, nick-named "Bossy," developed by the two professors and other scientists, not knowing they were being manipulated by the telepath, Joe, who has his own uses for Bossy. They believe Bossy can perform psychosomatic therapy successfully, whereas no human doctor could avoid contaminating a patient with his/her own prejudices. They try Bossy's treatment on a volunteer, while still hiding out to evade the police, and the results are even more spectacular than they hoped - the volunteer is physically rejuvenated. Word gets out, and political factions want Bossy at any cost.

At some points the writing seemed a tad un-polished, repetitive, with certain words over-used. However, the narrative works in insightful, but cynical, indictments of psychology, the scientific method, politics, etc., and kept me interested to find out how it would turn out. The title refers to the prerequisites for Bossy's treatment, primarily that the patient give up all prejudices, preconceived notions, biases and attitudes; and that most people would rather hang on to their convictions than submit to the rejuvenation. There is a clever resolution at the end.



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