"The Exit Door Leads In" is a

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

short story by American writer Philip K. Dick. First published in 1979. "The Exit Door Leads In" was written for ''

Rolling Stone College Papers Rolling is a type of motion that combines rotation (commonly, of an axially symmetric object) and translation of that object with respect to a surface (either one or the other moves), such that, if ideal conditions exist, the two are in contact ...

'', a short-lived publication. It is one of Dick's few stories created at the request of editors. It was reprinted in

Terry Carr Terry Gene Carr (February 19, 1937 – April 7, 1987) was an American science fiction fan, author, editor, and writing instructor. Background and discovery of fandom Carr was born in Grants Pass, Oregon. He attended the City College of San ...

's '' The Best Science Fiction of the year #9''.

Plot summary

Bob Bibleman is tricked into enrolling in a military college, where his accidental discovery of classified information presents him with a moral quandary.

Release

"The Exit Door Leads In" was first published in the inaugural issue of ''Rolling Stone College Papers'' in 1979. The following year it was reprinted in the ninth volume of the anthology series ''The Best Science Fiction of the Year''. It has been included in several collections of Dick's work, including the 1984 ''

Robots, Androids, and Mechanical Oddities ''Robots, Androids, and Mechanical Oddities: The Science Fiction of Philip K. Dick'' is a collection of science fiction stories by American writer Philip K. Dick. It was first published by the Southern Illinois University Press in 1984 and was ed ...

'' and 1985 ''

I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon "I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon" is a short story by American writer Philip K. Dick. The short story was first published in ''Playboy'' in December 1980, under the title "Frozen Journey". Plot summary In the story, a man (Victor Kemmings) regains ...

''. The short story has been translated into French, Dutch, Italian, German, and Japanese.

Themes

Philip K. Dick has stated that the short story "expresses some basic beliefs" that he has concerning authority.

Reception

Samuel J. Umland noted that the use of the phrase "I won't come off" marked "how the stain of Cartesian subjectivity remains forever with us, forever inscribing an "it" that reflection cannot confirm." Eric Beck remarked in ''Philip K. Dick and Philosophy: Do Androids Have Kindred Spirits?'' that the main character of Bob is indicative of Dick's prevalence of having his character being "the problem" for their respective stories, while Matt Englund has noted that the short story is a "crucial example" of how reading makes readers "the final cause of not only the world’s but for its existence".

David Langford David Rowland Langford (born 10 April 1953) is a British author, editor, and critic, largely active within the science fiction field. He publishes the science fiction fanzine and newsletter ''Ansible'', and holds the all-time record for most ...

has described "The Exit Door Leads In" as "very funny and utopian".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Exit Door Leads In, The 1979 short stories Short stories by Philip K. Dick Works originally published in American magazines