Can-D

Can-D symbolizes the desire to escape life and its tribulations, even if only temporarily. Can-D is an illegal drug that people use in order to have pleasant, all-encompassing hallucinations. The drug appears to be popular among both Earth-dwellers and colonists for its ability to offer an escape from the pain of daily life. The narrative often juxtaposes Can-D with religion in serving similar functions.

Chew-Z

Chew-Z symbolizes the potential instability of conventional conceptions of reality and perception. Palmer Eldritch claims that Chew-Z does not create illusions, but instead allows a person to enter an actual alternate realm that can be altered and controlled. These alternate realms appear to possibly have links and connections with the realm called reality. Moreover, after being injected with Chew-Z, people may be permanently untethered from stable perception of, and interaction with, reality.

Robot Stigmata

Palmer Eldritch’s cybernetic body parts—referred...