Panacea: Difference between revisions

The '''panacea''', named for a Greek goddess of healing, is a mythical substance able to cure any illness or poison and even prolong one's life. This basic form of wish-fulfillment, a medicine that instantly fixes everything, is an [[Older Than Feudalism|old idea]] and takes many forms in various mythologies and subsequent fiction.

* The Grand Panacea from ''[[Baccano (Light Novel)|Baccano!]]''. Its perfect form also [[Immortality Inducer|grants immunity to aging]].

* Chopper's dream in ''[[One Piece (Manga)|One Piece]]'' is to become a living Panacea, capable of curing any illness.

* Rapunzel's hair in ''[[Tangled (Disney)|Tangled]]'', and the flower that she got her magic from.

* In the first ([[Anachronic Order|plotwise]]) book in ''[[The Chronicles of Narnia]]: [[The MagiciansMagician's Nephew]]'', the apples of a particular [[World Tree|tree]] in a special garden have the power to cure disease. The scenario was written to reference [[The Bible (Literature)|the garden of Eden]], and the fruit enfolded a [[Secret Test of Character]]: after taking one, Diggory is told that had he eaten it for his own gain, he'd have been cursed, but because he wanted it for his terminally sick mother, he was able to bring it back home and cure her.

* The Athelas weed, aka Kingsfoil, in ''[[The Lord of the Rings (Literature)|The Lord of the Rings]]'' has unspecified medicinal properties; it may not be good for everything, but it is able to cure several ailments, most notably the Black Breath, a curse brought on by contact with the corruption of Sauron. The process of preparing the remedy suggests that magic is involved. The same plant is used in ''[[The Silmarillion (Literature)|The Silmarillion]]''.

* In ''[[Harry Potter (Franchise)|Harry Potter]]'', a bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and can resolve most, though not all, poisons. Despite the seeming mundanity of the origin, bezoars seem to be quite rare as they are mentioned to be expensive, and the school's potion ingredients store contains only a few.

** Finally, drinking unicorn blood can sustain one's life no matter how serious the affliction, but the drinker is [[Curse|cursedcurse]]d thereafter because of how evil it is to hurt a unicorn.

* On ''[[Gor (Literature)|Gor]]'' the Caste of Physicians have created a pretty good panacea in the "Stabilization Serums," a series of shots which effectively make you immortal and stop aging. You can still die due to injuries of course, and it doesn't work 100% of the time; more like 98%. In book 27 there's a newer version which de-ages you 10 years per treatment. And the Priest-Kings - the [[Insectoid Aliens]] [[Powers That Be]] of Gor - have perfected them even more: Misk the Priest-King is over 6,000,000 years old. The physicians have also cured almost all diseases except "the Holy Disease" which is believed to be a punishment by the Priest-Kings.

* Lansip fruits in ''[[Tales of Kolmar (Literature)|Tales of Kolmar]]'' can cure just about anything, and can even reverse aging. However, they're extremely hard to come by, as lansip only grows on an island that is protected by strong storms - ships can only get through about once every hundred years.

* [[Codex Alera (Literature)|Codex Alera]] has the mushroom called the Blessing of Night, which grows in only one place and can heal injuries, poisoning and {{spoiler|also infertility}}.

* ''[[Dungeons and Dragons (Tabletop Game)|Dungeons and& Dragons]]'' has the [[Philosopher's Stone]] item, which can be broken open and used to make a potion which can heal anything up to and including death.

** ''[[Pathfinder (Tabletop Game)|Pathfinder]]'' also has this item. In addition the Alchemist class can (at high levels, and if they take the relevent skill) make one.

* In ''[[Tales of Vesperia (Video Game)|Tales of Vesperia]]'' Yuri, Karol, and Estelle try to use a panacea bottle to heal the big cherry blossom tree in Halure and, from then on, it becomes a regular item that cures both physical and magical ailments.

* Panacea is a summonable item in ''[[Scribblenauts (Video Game)|Scribblenauts]]'' ([[The Dev Team Thinks of Everything|along with everything else]]). In the sequel it heals any sick or diseased creature, and renders an already healthy one invincible.

* The goal of one subplot in ''[[Okamiden (Video Game)Ōkamiden|Okamiden]]'' is to make a perfect medicine in order to cure a terminally ill girl.

* In ''[[Cave Story (Video Game)|Cave Story]]'', you retrieve a "cure-all" pill from the abandoned hospital in the labyrinth. The full curative abilities of this medicine are unknown, but it heals Curly Brace (who is a ''[[Ridiculously-Human Robots|robot]]'') from unspecified debilitating injuries.

* [[SCP Foundation (Wiki)|SCP Foundation]] has [http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-500 SCP-500], pills that cure any disease, but there's just about fifty of them and they're impossible to replicate perfectly (though knockoffs ''can'' work if you're lucky).

[[Category:PanaceaMagic Items Index]]