The Simulacra - Conclusion

In a bit of irony, I feel like Ive gotten a bit ahead of myself. When we were reading Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, I was convinced and in awe by my new realization that humans could be on the decline, evolutionarily. I am currently taking a Zoology class and through learning about the progression of life forms (from oceanic, to animals possessing throats, tissues and organs, to predators), I wonder what has made humans so prolific. I still haven't come to my own conclusion. However I do believe that most people don't give this a grain of thought. It seems- to be honest- a concept out of a science fiction novel.

I suppose, I just mean to say, that I feel unfathomably elated at the fact that I am not the only (or first) person to have thought and realized this. Clearly, after reading The Simulacra, Philip K. Dick had thoughts of the same breed. It is refreshing to say the least.

The finish of The Simulacra was sadly not what I was expecting. I feel the book could've been more succinctly written as a short story. What was the overall significance of Duncan and Miller's storyline? They end up emigrating. I honestly cant see anything that would be lost by cutting it out entirely.

 Secondly, I really feel that PKD dropped the ball by not giving character descriptions. Other than the terribly single minded, slightly sexist "high round breasts" and the "she was smaller up close" type descriptions. Notice those are both females. There are a grand total of 6 females in this novel. Countless males. So please, for my brain's sake, I hope the next novel has at least more character descriptions.

Other than those major overlooked flaws, I enjoyed this novel- but only moderately. The point of "EVOLUTION IS AWESOME" was better brought home by The Preserving Machine.

I am immensely looking forward to absorbing more PKD novels.

The Simulacra Part 1

After reading chapters 1-8 of The Simulacra by Philip K. Dick, I have been left confused.

Although these 8 chapters were extremely short, they were confusing, packed with conversation (unlike Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep), contained PKD's famous made-up descriptors, and last but not least, contains a fair bit of German phrases, and German names. I hope I was not the only one who found this the most difficult to read writing this semester. Unfortunately, it just started to hit a possibly interesting spot at the finish of chapter 8! "Chuppers", or genetic human throwbacks to neanderthals!? Who knew! I just hope this strange turn of events turns out to be the mark of a more comprehensible plot, and doesn't lead us all into more rabbit-hole-esque conversation between a million and three characters.

Short Stories

After reading the short stories: The Golden Man, Roog, The Preserving Machine, and If there Were No Benny Cemoli, I have a few comments.

I don't think that I expected the reoccuring theme of evolution in PKD's writing. I know that it is science fiction, and I should have expected it to ome extent. But I am really suprised about how positive and pro-nature the stories tend to be!

In "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep", there is a comment that Deckard thinks to himself that sums this all up: 

"The life force oozed out of her, as he had so often witnessed before with other androids. The classic resignation. Mechanical, intellectual acceptance of that which a genuine organism- with two billion years pressure to live and evolve hargriding it- could never have reconciled itself to."

In "The Preserving Machine", the entire story is simply about how creatures evolve and it is unavoidable and uncontrollable.

As a biologist, I really take heart to themes like this. I think life is important to think about. Another theme I enjoy is that humans in his story have evolved to some extent. And many times the humans have started to decline, evolutionarily and socially. It is sobering to think that one day humans will have the short nd of the evolutionary stick, and it will show with declining populations, increased government control and overall quality of life- decreasing.