Doc Phoenix, by Ted White (pulp short story, 1975)

[lb_lee]

"It's not irretrievably lost, you know. You can have it back."
"But--but--the life I've had--the things I've done--you can't just wipe them out, like wiping a slate clean!"
"No. But they can be integrated. Right now they dominate you. They can become only memories, part of the suffering you've known, but suffering from which you've learned, from which you have been tempered--like fine steel. Emotional health doesn't mean reshuffling your memories or selective amnesia. It means integration--wholeness. It means strength. It means becoming your own person."

Blurb: Doc Phoenix, a superpsychologist dream-diver, dives into the headspace of a corrupt politician who wants to change his ways... and maybe assassinate the good doctor afterward.

Why is it worth your time?: This is self-declared pulp, and it embraces that genre. Deep art it is not, but it is entertaining. Weird Heroes was a series with the self-proclaimed central message of "Respect life and enjoy it," and the idea of a hero who works to rescue people's minds from the inside out is a pretty great premise! If you just want a fun, humble psychological adventure, this is worth a shot.

Plural Tags: abuse low-focus, bodyhopping, otherworld, dreamfolk, visions

Content Warnings: contain spoilers; see comments

Access Notes: This short story was in the anthology Weird Heroes, vol. 2, edited by Byron Preiss at Pyramid Books. Unlike the sequel, this book has been digitized on Anna's Archive! Uncertain whether it is screenreadable.

Misc Notes: Got a book-length sequel, called the Oz Encounter (or Weird Heroes Vol. 5: Doc Phoenix: the Oz Encounter), which is also worth reading, though apparently that one has never been digitized! Obviously I should fix that.