Divine Invasions: A Life of Philip K. Dick
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53. The Dark-Haired Girl (w. 1972, 1975, p. 1988). See Chapter 8 for discussion of The Dark-Haired Girl, "The Evolution of a Vital Love," and "The Android and the Human," the three major pieces included in this volume. This eclectic collection of letters, essays, a story, and a poem will fascinate those who crave a front-seat roller-coaster ride through the psyche of Phil the lover. The romantic letters included in The DarkHaired Girl run the gamut from breathtaking ecstasy to vicious spleen. As Paul Williams notes in his astute "Introduction," the judgments passed by Phil on the personalities of the women he adored are not necessarily trustworthy. At his most bitter, Phil could mergebriefly-with the uncomprehending android state he normally despised. At his most adoring, he is irresistible-to the reader, at least, if not always to the women he courted. This volume is as naked a portrayal of a writer's inner life as you will find. As noted in Chapter 8, Phil later had reservations as to the worth of the Dark-Haired Girl letters. "Man, Android and Machine" (1975), a twisting, sophisticated essay (originally intended to be delivered as a speech at a London SF conference that Phil never attended) that explores the concept of "orthogonal" or "layered" time, is a good introduction to this key theme of the Exegesis. Rating: 6.
54. Radio Free Albemuth, originally titled Valisystern A (w. 1976, p. 1985). Record producer Nicholas Brady and SF writer Phil Dick do battle against the Empire that never ended. See Chapters 2, 10, and 11. Albemuth was purchased in 1976 by Bantam editor Mark Hurst, a staunch ally of Phil's work. When Hurst suggested changes in the manuscript, he had no idea that Phil, never one for minor rewrite tinkering, two years later would produce an entirely new and different novel, to wit, Valis, his masterwork, as to which Albemuth stands as a preliminary study. In Albemuth, Phil appears as an explicitly named autobiographical character for the first time. But fellow protagonist Nicholas Brady is also Phil: the Phil of his Berkeley youth, who never became an SF writer but instead took that A & R job Phil said he was offered by a record company back then. Nicholas sees himself standing beside his bed, just as Phil did in the early fifties, and has a vivid, eight-hour vision of Mexico, just as Phil did in 1971. The events of 2-3-74 are spread through the fifties and sixties for Nicholas, who is contacted (controlled?) by Valis (God? a satellite constructed by Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence? other?) as part of the battle of light against the darkness of Ferris Fremont (Richard Nixon) and the oppressive Empire that has never ended. Brady's handling, in Chapter 15, of the Xeroxed shoe ad parallels Phil's handling, in March 1974, of the "Xerox missive"; Brady's prior agonies of conscience over how much to cooperate with the Friends of the American People (FAP) parallel Phil's own with respect to his 1974 communications to the FBI. Rating: 6.-
55. Valis (w. 1978, p. 1981). See extensive discussion in Chapters 10 and 11. Rating: 10.
56. I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon (w. 1953-80, p. 1985). This posthumous collection, edited by Mark Hurst and Paul Williams, includes, most notably, an entertaining 1978 speech with the aptly Phildickian title "How to Build a Universe That Doesn't Fall Apart Two Days Later" (in which Phil confesses that he rather enjoys creating universes that do fall apart), as well as three first-rate stories published in 1980: "Chains of Air, Webs of Aether" (adapted into The Divine Invasion), "Rautavaara's Case" (in which the brain activity of a dying human astronaut is utilized by research-oriented Proxmen as a window into the next world), and "I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon" (first published as "Frozen Journey"-a spaceship computer tries without success to find happy life memories to occupy the mind of an astronaut awakened from cryogenic slumber during a ten-year space voyage). Rating: 7.
57. The Divine Invasion, originally titled Valis Regained (w. 1980, p. 1981). See Chapter 12. Rating: 7.
58. The Transmigration of Timothy Archer, originally titled Bishop Timothy Archer (w. 1981, p. 1982). See Chapter 12. Rating: 8.
59. The Owl in Daylight. Phil's last novel project. See Chapter 12.
SOURCES AND NOTES
I have thought it best to avoid the clutter of tiny endnote reference numbers throughout the narrative. These endnotes should allow interested readers to readily trace primary sources. Specific references (by page number) are provided for all direct quotations. Sources that provided especially useful bits of information or inspiration (but were not directly quoted in the text) are listed generally for each chapter.
Much general information in the narrative comes from unpublished PKD manuscripts, letters, and other material in both the PKD Estate Archives (in Glen Ellen, California; Paul Williams, literary executor) and the Special Collections of the University of California-Fullerton Library (Linda Herman, chief librarian), as well as the over one hundred personal interviews conducted by the author. Specific citations of these sources are provided only when they are directly quoted. In the case of all direct quotations, all bracketed material is my own. In the case of quotations from the Exegesis and other unpublished manuscripts, I have taken the occasional liberty of correcting obvious misspellings.
As there are many different editions of most of the novels of Philip K. Dick, I have, for uniformity's sake, referenced quotations from all of them by chapter rather than by page number, along with the year of first publication. For the same reason, quotations from stories are referenced simply by the title and year of first publication. As to the Exegesis, references are to the numbers assigned to the manila folders in which the pages are presently being stored in the PKD Estate Archives; as most of Phil's entries are undated, the years of composition provided are often my estimates based on internal textual evidence.
In the case of Phil's unpublished letters, journals, and manuscripts (copies of all such, with noted exceptions, are in the PKD Estate Archives), the reference is to the date and (for letters) the intended recipient. Quotations from all unpublished works by authors other than PKD are referenced by manuscript title and chapter. In all cases where published works by other authors are used, references are to page numbers in a specific edition.
I am grateful to all fellow authors and interviewers whose labors I have drawn upon in this work. Although I have made no specific citations thereto, I must acknowledge, as an invaluable fact-checking source, PKD A Philip K. Dick Bibliography, compiled by Daniel J. H. Levack (San Francisco: Underwood/Miller, 1981). Out of the welter of previous writings on PKD, four books were of special help in the overall biographical map-making process: D. Scott Apel, ed., Philip K. Dick: The Dream Connection (San Diego: The Permanent Press, 1987); Anne Dick, Search For Philip K. Dick (written 1982-85 and as yet unpublished-which is a shame); Gregg Rickman, Philip K. Dick: In His Own Words (Long Beach, Calif.: Fragments West/The Valentine Press, 1984); and Paul Williams, Only Apparently Real: The World of Philip K. Dick (New York: Arbor House, 1986).
Introduction: If Heraclitus Is Right
Books and articles: Stansislaw Lem, "Science Fiction: A Hopeless Case-With Exceptions," in Bruce Gillespie, ed., Philip K. Dick: Electric Shepherd (Melbourne, Australia: Nostrilla Press, 1975).
Author's interviews: With Norman Spinrad, February 1986; with Harlan Ellison, March 1986.
Quotations listed by page number:
3 First discovered SF: PKD "Self Portrait," written in 1968 (perhaps at the request of a publisher, for publicity purposes), published in Philip K. Dick Society (PKDS) Newsletter #2, December 1983.
4 Write about people I love: PKD "Introduction" to story collection The Golden Man (~ew York: Berkley, 1980), xviii.
5 Fictionalizing philosopher: Exegesis 075 (1981).
6 On Pierre Menard- Jorge Luis Borges, "Pierre Menard, Author of Don Quixote," Ficciones (New York: Grove Press, 1968), pp. 54-55.
6-7 1 speak of. Typed single page dated March 21, 1975, in PKD Estate Archives.
7 Discrediting states of mind: William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience (New York: Collier-Macmillan, 1970), p. 29.
8-9 Charles Freck: C. I1 of A Scanner Darkly (1977).
9 He's crazy: Letter, PKD to Patricia Warrick, December 27, 1980.
> Chapter 1: This Mortal Coil
Books and articles. Double Feature, Canada's Newsletter for Parents of Twins, Triplets and Quads, Vol. 7, No. 2 (Spring 1984); Helen J. Landy, Louis Keith, and Donald Keith, "The Vanishing Twin," in Acta Genet Med Gemellol 31. 179-94 (1982).
Author's interviews: With Anne Dick, February 1986; with Kleo Mini, March 1986; with Barry Spatz, March 1986; with Nancy L. Segal, Ph.D. (specialist in psychology of twins), September 1986.
Quotations:
11-12 First six weeks: Letter, Dorothy Hudner to PKD, August 2, 1975.
12 Got all the milk: C. 9 of Anne Dick, Search for Philip K. Dick.
13 Bessie: "Life On Hilly Farm," in J. Edgar Dick, As I Remember Them (unpublished family memoir).
13 Difficult time: "People, More People," in As I Remember Them.
14 Got away; corporal: Interview of J. Edgar Dick by Gregg Rickman, 1982 (tape transcribed by author).
14 Gas attacks: Unpublished PKD "Headnote" (probably written in 1976 for potential use in the Best of Philip K. Dick story collection; a much shorter note was used instead) for the 1963 story "The Days of Perky Pat." In Dick Estate Archives.
15 Special event: Elizabeth M. Bryan, "The Death of a Newborn Twin: How Can Support for Parents Be Improved," Acta Genet Med Gemellol 35: 115-18 (1986).
15 Germ phobias, kissing: Letter, Dorothy Hudner to PKD, August 1975.
16-17 Get very mad: Paul Williams, Only Apparently Real (New York: Arbor House, 1986), pp. 58-59.
17 1 fear that death: "A dream, from St. Sophia," in Exegesis 005 (1975).
17 Jane-in-me-now: Ibid. Twinning: Dr. George Engel, "Death and Reunion: The Loss of a Twin," Dartmouth Alumni Magazine, June 1981.
18 1 wish I could come out: C. 10, Dr. Bloodmoney (1965).
18 Do me: C. 12, Dr. Bloodmoney. She (Jane) fights: Exegesis 013 (1978-79).
19 The changing information: "Tractates Cryptica Scriptura," in Valis (1981).
Chapter 2: Coming Of Age
PKD's works: Exegesis 005 (1975).
Books and articles: Interview of Tessa Dick by J. B. Reynolds and Tim Powers, 1986 (a complete transcript of which was kindly provided by Reynolds to the author). A slightly edited version of this interview appeared in PKDS Newsletter #13, February 1987.
Author's interviews: With Lynne Cecil, February 1986; with Neil Hudner, February 1986; with Barry Spatz, March 1986; with Laura Coehlo, September 1986.
21 No physical contact: Letter, Dorothy Hudner to PKD, August 2, 1975.
21 Friendly youngster: Letter, Child Welfare Institute to Dorothy Hudner, August 12, 1931 (Dick Estate Archives).
21 Handsome little fellow: Interview of J. Edgar Dick by Gregg Rickman, 1982 (tape transcribed by author).
22 Reactions quickly displayed: Mental Test Report, June 1933 (Dick Estate Archives).
22 Promoter: Interview of J. Edgar Dick by Rickman. Jane as cowgirl: Letter, Tessa Dick to author, July 21, 1986.
22 Psalms: Interview of J. Edgar Dick by Rickman.
22-23 White-haired beggar: Letter, PKD to Tessa Dick, August 18, 1976.
23 Edgar's disciplinary approach: C. 9 of Anne Dick, Search for Philip K. Dick.
23 Jingle snake and trapped rabbits: C. 9 of Anne Dick, Search.
23 Football game: Interview of J. Edgar Dick by Rickman. Physically lazy: Interview of J. Edgar Dick by Rickman. Illness and Dorothy's care: C. 9 of Anne Dick, Search.
24 Ted Walton: "The Father-thing" (1954). Two fathers: "Afterthoughts of the Author," in The Best of Philip K. Dick (1977).
24 Clear blue sky: C. 9 of Anne Dick, Search. Jealousy: Author's interview with Lynne Cecil, February 1986.
25 Dorothy's fight for custody: Letter, Dorothy Hudner to PKD, August 2, 1975.
25 Meemaw: Letter, Dorothy Hudner to PKD, August 2, 1975. Meemaw's disciplinary approach; Earl: Letter, Tessa Dick to author, July 21, 1986.
25-26 Molestation as child: C. 4 of Anne Dick, Search.
26 Mike in shelter: "Foster, You're Dead" (1955).
26 Separation from Meemaw: Letter, Dorothy Hudner to PKD, August 2, 1975.
27 PKD's reaction to pamphlet: Cs. 3 and 9 of Anne Dick, Search. Countryside School: School brochure in PKD Estate Archives.
27 Washington, D.C.: PKD "Self Portrait" (w. 1968), in PKDS Newsletter #2, December 1983.
27 Grief and loneliness: C. 9 of Anne Dick, Search.
28 "Song of Philip": Single-page typed MS. in PKD Estate Archives. Mother Dorothy preserved this poem along with other examples of Phil's youthful writing. My editor, Michael Pietsch, has suggested that this poem is too mature to have been written by a five-year-old, and that its author may be Dorothy. That is, of course, possible, but it seems unlikely to me-the poem seems too immature for an adult woman, and further, if Dorothy had written and titled it, surely she would have described her son in it. I believe the MS. to be Dorothy's typed transcription of the words of a precocious child.
28 Wrong one died: Author's interview with Kleo Mini, February 1986.
29 Faith in women: Letter, PKD to J'Ann Forgue, November 23, 1970.
29 Story telling: Report card in PKD Estate Archives.
29 Beetle satori: Rickman, Philip K. Dick: In His Own Words, pp. 49-50.
29-30 Childhood reading: "Self Portrait" (1968).
31 Great change: Rickman interview with J. Edgar Dick.
32 Jim's behavior: Report cards in PKD Estate Archives. Bored in school: Letter, Dorothy Hudner to Tessa Dick, August 10, 1977.
32 Concord: C 9 of Anne Dick, Search.
33 "Daily Dick": In PKD Estate Archives.
33 Visit to father: Letter, PKD to Dorothy Hudner, May 1940 (undated).
34 Phil and father: Author's interview with Kleo Mini, February 1986.
34 "He's Dead": Poem in PKD Estate Archives.
34 Oz books: PKD "Self Portrait" (1968).
35 Lure of SF: PKD, "Notes Made Late at Night by a Weary SF Writer" (w. 1968), in Eternity Science Fiction, July 1972.
35 Pearl Harbor: Letter, PKD to Laura Coehlo, April 2, 1979.
36 Girls: Author's interview with Leon Rimov, February 1986. Condoms and homosexuals: Author's interview with George Kohler, March 1986.
36 First girlfriend: Letter, PKD to Laura Coehlo, October 29, 1974.
37 "The Truth": In PKD Estate Archives.
38-39 Gather Yourselves Together: C. 15 of unpublished PKD novel in PKD Estate Archives.
39 Introvert: Author's interview with Leon Rimov.
39-40 Return to Lilliput: Interview of PKD by Mike Hodel for the Los Angeles- based Hour 25 radio program, June 13, 1976. Tape transcribed by Janice Jacobson for PKD Estate Archives.
40-41 All quotations from PKD's writings (1942-44) for the "Young Authors' Club" column of the Berkeley Gazette come from articles pasted in a softbound composition notebook (presumably by PKD, given that they are accompanied by his youthful written comments, such as the one quoted on page 41) in the PKD Estate Archives.
Gregg Rickman, in correspondence with the author, has suggested that several other poems and prose pieces published in the same column in 1944 under the pseudonym "Teddy"-some of which deal with Christian themes in a devout, traditional manner, and one of which examines the Faust legend-may be the work of PKD. Rickman's hypothesis is that "Teddy" enabled PKD to express religious sentiments that otherwise would have been awkward for him in the irreligious Berkeley climate; Rickman sees the name "Teddy" as a clue, given that PKD's father's familiar name was "Ted" and that "Teddy" was (according to Tessa Dick) the name given by PKD to an imaginary playmate (perhaps inspired by Jane). Rickman deserves credit for his research efforts here, but I am skeptical of the hypothesis for the following reasons: (1) PKD consistently described his childhood and adolescence as lacking in Christian (or other religious) convictions-see, for example, the Exegesis quote serving as an epigram for my Chapter 10, where that period of his life is described as "cultural." (2) PKD tried to start a Bible Club in junior high school-he was not afraid to
show an interest in religious matters, though his friends saw him as an agnostic, not a believer. (3) Why, in the privacy of his own notebook, did he not paste in the "Teddy" contributions as well? (4) In the Exegesis, PKD sometimes looked back on his life in hopes of finding spiritual events precursing (and thus somehow confirming) those of 2-3-74. He recalled the old, bearded beggar, the beetle saton, and the voice that gave him answers to the physics test (see my Chapters 2 and 3 for descriptions of these events) Why would he have omitted mention of the devout "Teddy" poems? (5) Finally, the "Teddy" poems don't read like PKD to me.