The Eyes Have It, 1953. Philip K. Dick.

It has been a while since I looked into the short stories of Philip K. Dick. However, I felt like something was missing something. And then I realised I love being inside the mind of this writer. For months, I reviewed the Electric Dreams television show. Within that time, I was lost in another world, somewhere different but relatable. Anxiety can be a big issue for me, but in those moments, the experience is transcendental. Anyone who knows what I am talking about can understand how precious it is to find something like that. It is pure escapism at its finest. There are no side effects, only enlightenment and enjoyment. And still, I feel like my journey has only just begun. I am a newcomer to the work of Philip K. Dick, and I hope I still feel that way in the years to come.

The Eyes Have It was first published in Science-Fiction Stories, 1953. I am listening to an audio-book version of his collected works, but the story is also available for free on The Project Gutenberg website. If you would like to read it in full, click on the link below. 

The Eyes Have It, Philip K. Dick, 1953.

I’m in no rush to consume his work, I need to take my time to understand it. I will be reviewing UBIK in the next couple of months and I’m now on my second reading of the book. It is far more colourful and may I say, groovy the second time round, but I haven’t found out how I truly feel about it yet. So, these short stories are a fantastic way for me to digest his words a lot quicker. However, The Eyes Have It stopped me in my tracks for a while. I’m currently making my way through The Collected Works of Philip K. Dick, and this short story comes in at just over a thousand words. I wondered if there was enough to discuss, or if I should simply move on to the next one. Unfortunately, my brain does not work that way, and thankfully so. I soon realised that this story does have a lot to say, simply moving on would be detrimental to my way of learning about his writing. I have no shame in saying I am a slow learner, it’s the one thing in life that drives me. Anyway, let’s move on to the story.

A little whimsy, now and then, makes for good balance. Theoretically, you could find this type of humor anywhere. But only a topflight science-fictionist, we thought, could have written this story, in just this way….

As I said earlier, The Eyes Have It is not a long story. But it is highly effective. We have no name for the main character, but you instantly learn this revelation has been going on for some time, already reassuring himself that everything is fine. However, as the story continues, you realise that is far from the truth. The protagonist finds a novel that is an admittance of an alien invasion. Inside the book, he learns that the visitors are capable of horrific mutilation as they walk around disguised as human beings. Why is no one talking about this? Even the author does not attempt to conceal his knowledge.

“I can’t think of anything to do. I wrote to the Government, and they sent back a pamphlet on the repair and maintenance of frame houses. Anyhow, the whole thing is known; I’m not the first to discover it. Maybe it’s even under control.”

There are a couple of scenarios that I visualised after finishing this story. The first is the most imaginative. My conclusion was that Earth had already been invaded. Instead of ripping out hearts and pulling off legs, it’s an invasion of mind control, unaware of the forces that manipulate our protagonist. The memories of a trashy romantic novel are gone. Instead, I like the idea of love as an emotion that cannot be consumed. Imagine an alien race with unlimited control but no realisation of empathy.

“Julia, whom I had thought to be the one normal person, reveals herself as also being an alien life form, similar to the rest. Quite deliberately, Julia had given her heart to a young man.”

The second one is a little bit more down to Earth, so to speak! It could be obvious that our protagonist has had a complete mental breakdown. Here we have a character, who has a loving family and chooses to sit in a garage, believing aliens are among us, splitting themselves in half and removing eyeballs for the fun of it. Mental illness is something that is both fascinating and fearful to me. I can imagine that Philip K. Dick was well aware of the delicate nature of the mind and the psychosis that can devour it. So, I guess it is an invasion of some kind. There is no cure for mental illness, something humanity does not fully understand yet, and has no control over. Maybe that is why I enjoy his work so much. Yes, the science-fiction is beyond satisfying, but it is his attention to the human condition that brings me back every time.

“Let them come on. Let them invade Earth. I don’t want to get mixed up in it. I have absolutely no stomach for it.”

That last line is so wonderfully executed. So, am I to believe that our character has no stomach, did the aliens invade Earth? Now you are the character for a moment. It’s superb because it makes you question your own sanity, leaving chills down the back of your neck. If you choose to believe it or not, The Eyes Have It will leave you thinking about it for a long time. Wonderful wordplay, exquisite imagination and a better understanding of life on this Planet. All this in a thousand or so words, and there was me thinking I would have nothing to say. I now understand that Philip K. Dick’s short stories are just as important as his novels. I had no idea of the complexity of the world I was getting into. I know there are far more, shall I say, high-brow writers, but I feel at home here. I feel rewarded reading his books over and over. Philip K. Dick is my kind of writer.

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