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Second Variety (1989 Collection)
''Second Variety'' is a collection of science fiction stories by American writer Philip K. Dick. It was first published by Gollancz in 1989 and reprints Volume II of ''The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick''. It had not previously been published as a stand-alone volume. Many of the stories had originally appeared in the magazines ''Fantasy Fiction'', ''Fantastic Universe'', ''Space Science Fiction'', ''Imagination'', '' If'', ''Amazing Stories'', ''Science Fiction Quarterly'', ''Startling Stories'', ''Cosmos'', ''Orbit'', ''Astounding'' and ''Planet Stories''. The 1990 Citadel collection ''We Can Remember It for You Wholesale'' is identical except that it has "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale" instead of "Second Variety". Contents * Introduction, by Norman Spinrad * " The Cookie Lady" * " Beyond the Door" * "Second Variety" * " Jon’s World" * " The Cosmic Poachers" * " Progeny" * "Some Kinds of Life" * "Martians Come in Clouds" * " The Commuter" * "The World She Wante ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philip K
Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularized the name include kings of Macedonia and one of the apostles of early Christianity. ''Philip'' has many alternative spellings. One derivation often used as a surname is Phillips. It was also found during ancient Greek times with two Ps as Philippides and Philippos. It has many diminutive (or even hypocoristic) forms including Phil, Philly, Lip, Pip, Pep or Peps. There are also feminine forms such as Philippine and Philippa. Antiquity Kings of Macedon * Philip I of Macedon * Philip II of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great * Philip III of Macedon, half-brother of Alexander the Great * Philip IV of Macedon * Philip V of Macedon New Testament * Philip the Apostle * Philip the Evangelist Others * Philippus of Croton (c. 6th centur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Second Variety
"Second Variety" is a science fiction novelette by American writer Philip K. Dick, first published in ''Space Science Fiction'' magazine, in May 1953. Set in a world where war between the Soviet Union and United Nations has reduced most of the world to a barren wasteland, the story concerns the discovery, by the few remaining soldiers left, that self-replicating robots originally built to assassinate Soviet agents have gained sentience and are now plotting against both sides. It is one of many stories by Dick to examine the implications of nuclear war, particularly after it has destroyed much or all of the planet. The story was adapted into the movie '' Screamers'' in 1995. The short story "Jon's World", written in 1954, serves as a sequel. Plot "Second Variety" occurs in the aftermath of an extensive nuclear war between the Soviet Union (sometimes referred to as Russia) and the United Nations. Early Soviet victories forced the North American government and production to fle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Hood Maker
"The Hood Maker" is a short story by Philip K. Dick, originally published in the June 1955 issue of the magazine ''Imagination''. It was adapted by Matthew Graham into an episode for the 2017 TV series, '' Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams''. Plot The Free Union, a repressive regime, uses people with telepathic powers called "teeps" to root out and eliminate its political opponents. Walter Franklin, a government appointee, is caught up in a struggle between the teeps and ordinary humans when he receives a hood which blocks his thoughts from being read. He is accused of subversion, called "deviation" by a teep named Ernest Abbud and forced to flee. When he meets the titular "hood maker", James Cutter, he learns a secret that could put an end to the teeps' plans to seize power. TV adaptation The story was loosely adapted by Matthew Graham for '' Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams'', which aired on September 18, 2017 on Channel4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public br ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Present For Pat
A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes''. It is similar in shape to the Ancient Greek letter alpha, from which it derives. The uppercase version consists of the two slanting sides of a triangle, crossed in the middle by a horizontal bar. The lowercase version can be written in two forms: the double-storey a and single-storey ɑ. The latter is commonly used in handwriting and fonts based on it, especially fonts intended to be read by children, and is also found in italic type. In English grammar, " a", and its variant " an", are indefinite articles. History The earliest certain ancestor of "A" is aleph (also written 'aleph), the first letter of the Phoenician alphabet, which consisted entirely of consonants (for that reason, it is also called an abjad to distinguish it fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Breakfast At Twilight
"Breakfast at Twilight" is a science fiction short story by American writer Philip K. Dick. It was received by the Scott Meredith Literary Agency on January 17, 1953 and first published in ''Amazing Stories'', July 1954. It appears in the second volume reprint of Philip K. Dick's short stories ''Second Variety''. Plot After experiencing a terrifying explosion, a middle-class American family finds their home in the middle of a wasteland. American soldiers burst in looking for survivors and supplies, under the family's amazed and frightened eyes. The soldiers are just as surprised, finding the home filled with items that are no longer available, and carrying away their food. The soldiers explain that their home is one of the few to survive the ongoing nuclear war, which is now largely automated with underground factories on both sides of the conflict building missiles and destroying the other country square by square. The soldiers and family soon realize the home is out of its ow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Trouble With Bubbles
"The Trouble With Bubbles" is a 1953 science fiction short story by American writer Philip K. Dick. The story first appeared in '' If'' magazine, September 1953, and was first printed in book form in ''Second Variety'', volume two of the five-volume ''The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick'', in 1987. Plot summary The story is set in a future where mankind has attempted to reach other intelligent lifeforms through space exploration, and found nothing. In light of this yearning to connect with other lifeforms, people can buy a plastic bubble known as a ''Worldcraft'', the tagline of which reads "Own Your Own World!". The owner of the ''Worldcraft'' is able to create a whole universe, controlling all the variables inherent to its development. Within the universe, lifeforms just like humans exist. In the story we see Nathan Hull, the protagonist, attending a contest to judge who has created the best ''Worldcraft'' universe. A contestant subsequently smashes and destroys her bubble af ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only place in the universe known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surface is made up of the ocean, dwarfing Earth's polar ice, lakes, and rivers. The remaining 29% of Earth's surface is land, consisting of continents and islands. Earth's surface layer is formed of several slowly moving tectonic plates, which interact to produce mountain ranges, volcanoes, and earthquakes. Earth's liquid outer core generates the magnetic field that shapes the magnetosphere of the Earth, deflecting destructive solar winds. The atmosphere of Earth consists mostly of nitrogen and oxygen. Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere like carbon dioxide (CO2) trap a part of the energy from the Sun close to the surface. Water vapor is widely present in the atmosphere and forms clouds that cover most of the planet. More solar energy is receiv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Surface Raid
A, or a, is the first Letter (alphabet), letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is English alphabet#Letter names, ''a'' (pronounced ), plural English alphabet#Letter names, ''aes''. It is similar in shape to the Greek alphabet#History, Ancient Greek letter alpha, from which it derives. The Letter case, uppercase version consists of the two slanting sides of a triangle, crossed in the middle by a horizontal bar. The lowercase version can be written in two forms: the double-storey a and single-storey ɑ. The latter is commonly used in handwriting and fonts based on it, especially fonts intended to be read by children, and is also found in italic type. In English grammar, "English articles, a", and its variant "English articles#Indefinite article, an", are Article (grammar)#Indefinite article, indefinite arti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The World She Wanted
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the most frequently used word in the English language; studies and analyses of texts have found it to account for seven percent of all printed English-language words. It is derived from gendered articles in Old English which combined in Middle English and now has a single form used with nouns of any gender. The word can be used with both singular and plural nouns, and with a noun that starts with any letter. This is different from many other languages, which have different forms of the definite article for different genders or numbers. Pronunciation In most dialects, "the" is pronounced as (with the voiced dental fricative followed by a schwa) when followed by a consonant sound, and as (homophone of the archaic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Commuter (short Story)
"The Commuter" is a science fiction short story by American writer Philip K. Dick, first published in the August-September 1953 issue of'' Amazing Stories''. It has been reprinted over 20 times, including Croatian, Dutch, French, German and Italian translations. As with much of Dick's fiction, it is an exploration of the boundary of existence. Plot A railway station manager encounters the eponymous commuter, who speaks of a town that cannot be found on any normal map. The commuter literally vanishes on close questioning about this ephemeral town. Based on the information the manager extracts from the commuter, he undertakes an investigation and boards a train the commuter claimed was scheduled to stop at the town. The station manager finds himself arriving at the non-existent town. Subsequent investigation reveals that the town ''nearly'' existed. It was narrowly voted out of existence during a planning meeting, and the narrowness of this vote is directly reflected in the ephem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Martians Come In Clouds
Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, has appeared as a setting in works of fiction since at least the mid-1600s. It became the most popular celestial object in fiction in the late 1800s as the Moon was evidently lifeless. At the time, the predominant genre depicting Mars was utopian fiction. Contemporaneously, the mistaken belief that there are canals on Mars emerged and made its way into fiction. '' The War of the Worlds'', H. G. Wells' story of an alien invasion of Earth by sinister Martians, was published in 1897 and went on to have a large influence on the science fiction genre. Life on Mars appeared frequently in fiction throughout the first half of the 1900s. Apart from enlightened as in the utopian works from the turn of the century, or evil as in the works inspired by Wells, intelligent and human-like Martians also began to be depicted as decadent, a portrayal that was popularized by Edgar Rice Burroughs in the ''Barsoom'' series and adopted by Leigh Bracket ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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