''Our Friends from Frolix 8'' is a 1970 science fiction novel by American writer Philip K. Dick.

Plot summary

In the 22nd century, the

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object 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 sur ...

is ruled by the "New Men", who have superhuman mental abilities, and the "Unusuals", who possess psionic abilities such as

telepathy Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic ...

telekinesis Psychokinesis (from grc, ψυχή, , soul and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), or telekinesis (from grc, τηλε, , far off and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), is a hypothetical psychic ability allowing a person ...

and

precognition Precognition (from the Latin 'before', and 'acquiring knowledge') is the purported psychic phenomenon of seeing, or otherwise becoming directly aware of, events in the future. There is no accepted scientific evidence that precognition is a ...

. (In its use of psychic abilities as a major plot element, this work is similar to Dick's novel ''

Ubik ''Ubik'' ( ) is a 1969 science fiction novel by American writer Philip K. Dick. The story is set in a future 1992 where psychic powers are utilized in corporate espionage, while cryonic technology allows recently deceased people to be maintaine ...

''.) Thors Provoni, who has gone deep into space to find help for his resistance to the ruling groups, is returning with a sentient protoplasmic alien being, a "Friend from Frolix 8" known as Morgo Rahn Wilc, to fight for the "Old Men", human beings who have none of the rulers' powers. Nick Appleton is a tire regroover - a lowly, if skilled, job; his son Bobby fails a Civil Service examination that is deliberately geared toward failing "Old Man" applicants. At the same time, Terran authorities are holding the "Under Man" activist Cordon in prison and preparing for his execution. Appleton becomes politicised, and falls for Charlotte ("Charley") Boyer, a sixteen-year-old subversive. She is involved with alcoholic Denny (in this future, alcohol

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholi ...

has returned as a social policy). After the authorities discover that Appleton has become "subversive", they attempt to apprehend him and Charley, whom Willis Gram is also obsessed with. Meanwhile, Thors Provoni's craft has eluded Terran fleet defences and is rapidly nearing Earth, leading to paranoid fears among the ruling elite about the possibility of violent alien invasion. In the event, Provoni does land, but Morgo Rahn Wilc protects him from an assassination attempt. Provoni is actually a "New Man" and an "Unusual" at the same time, and, with the assistance of his alien companion, he strips all Unusuals of their psionic abilities, and all New Men of their advanced cognitive abilities, rendering the New Men intellectually disabled and capable only of childlike cognition.

External links

Official PKDick website review
{{DEFAULTSORT:Our Friends From Frolix 8 1970 American novels 1970 science fiction novels American science fiction novels Novels by Philip K. Dick Ace Books books