Ubik, 1969. Philip K. Dick.

I have been writing about some of Philip K. Dick’s short stories and adaptations for a few years now, and it is time that I started to take a closer look at his novels. I have always felt like an outsider in many ways, but Philip K. Dick has had a significant impact on my life. Science fiction, it may be, but the psychological benefit of his writing has helped me figure out my place in the universe far more than any other outside influence has ever managed. His writing is personal, his thoughts precise, and his visions can often be brutal. Alternatively, I find a lot of humour and warmth in his words, which are just as invaluable to me as a reader. I feel that warmth and humour in Ubik 1969. Time Magazine placed Ubik in the Top 100 novels since 1923, and it is one of Philip K. Dick’s most acclaimed stories. I am also starting to understand that Philip K. Dick’s stories are not something I can read once and move on. However, this is not a problem for me, as I learnt more on my second read, and it felt like a new story in many ways. I am deep into this world now, and long may it last. I want to point out that I am still learning about this story. And I’m still unsure how it ends. Maybe this is a question I may never have an answer to, and I am happy to accept that. My review is more like a bookmark for me, so I can come back and see how my thoughts change over time. Did I have any idea that Ubik was a metaphor for God? I will save that for my conclusion, but I think a Philip K. Dick story can be anything you want it to be. I am just a student of his work and wouldn’t want it any other way.   Let me begin. 

Humanity has colonised the Moon, psychic powers are used by many, and death can be prolonged with a technology called half-life. The year is 1992, and Joe Chip of Runciter Associates is about to come to grips with everything this modern landscape offers. Glen Runiceter needs the services of his best technicians and intertials to secure a lunar facility for his customer, Stanton Mick. The team is assembled, and Runicter’s finest have arrived. Also joining them is a mysterious girl with unique psychic abilities. If they are going to bring down these psychic intrusions, they need all the help they can get to survive. 

It took me a while to fall into the scenery of this book. However, once you begin to visualise the world that is created, it is wonderfully chaotic. I can believe that the biggest commercial industries are residing on the Moon. I also believe that psychic abilities are something that humanity will have to face one day. However, the cruel reality that any modern society is always looking for more effective ways to empty the pockets of its citizens is the most believable of all. 

“I think otherwise,’ the door said. ‘Look in the purchase contract you signed when you bought this conapt.’ In his desk drawer he found the contract; since signing it he had found it necessary to refer to the document many times. Sure enough; payment to his door for opening and shutting constituted a mandatory fee. Not a tip. ‘You discover I’m right,’ the door said. It sounded smug.”

Joe Chip is not a perfect character, but his flaws are what make him the ideal protagonist. I said earlier that there is some warmth and humour in Philip K Dick’s writing, and the more I read his work, the more those feelings seep through the pages. I know the world Joe Chip lives in, the desperation, the pleasure-seeking and the annoyance of the technology that imprisons him. It may be the future, but human emotions will always be the same. Maybe I get the humour and warmth from his distaste for the environment around him. I can’t say that I wake up hungover every day and squander my weekly supply of stimulants, but I have had my struggles. At first, I didn’t like the character so much, but after a while, I could understand the decisions he made. Maybe I didn’t warm up to him, because it was holding up a mirror to my flaws. Joe Chip is no hero and that is why I feel the humour in his situation, and the warmth comes from my personal view that his scenario in life is pretty tragic, and we can all relate to that. Unless you are perfect, of course. Do I find it funny that he can’t save any money, is unable to pay his bills and cannot even get out of his own front door? Damn right, I do, because he feels real, has depth, and is relatable. Joe Chip’s life is a catastrophe waiting to happen, and it will all begin with a knock on the door. 

However, this is when things become far more complicated, depending on how far you are willing to go. I appreciate how every character in this story feels familiar, and I could recognise them in any walk of life. But, this is where the familiarity ends, and the world inside of Ubik becomes unrecognisable from the reality we all share. I have to say that some of the interpretations I have read about Ubik are wild, and I am not sure where I stand yet. I suppose I should start with the basics first. Glen Runiceter’s wife, Ella, is now in half-life, a process that allows the deceased limited time to communicate with their loved ones until their consciousness leaves for another real realm. Unfortunately, there are issues, and those in stasis can share their thoughts and crossover in this place between worlds. In the meantime, Joe Chip is introduced to Pat Conley, who has telepathic powers but can also manipulate the past and ultimately change the future. Joe Chip and Glen Runciter have doubts about Pat but take her to the moon base, along with ten other physic agents. However, the contract is a trap, soon becoming a tragedy. There is a bomb on the facility, and the blast kills Runciter, leaving Joe Chip in charge of getting the remaining team home. Easy to digest, but this is when Philip K. Dick takes us deep inside a world of endless possibilities. 

‘I’ve heard of this,’ Runciter said to Joe. ‘It’s a self-destruct humanoid bomb. Help me get everybody out of here. They just now put it on auto; that’s why it floated upward.’ The bomb exploded.”

Joe Chip has to get Runciter in cold-pac and to the Beloved Brethren Moratorium, where his wife Ella resides. However, clues start to appear, and maybe all is not what it seems. Joe Chip tries to light a cigarette, but the tobacco is dry and stale. The dreamlike quality of the story that follows is wonderfully satisfying and confusing. The deterioration of reality becomes more apparent for Joe Chip and the rest of the group as they try to bring order to chaos. The reality they share is moving through time, and manifestations of Runciter begin to appear, including his image on coins. I like the character of Pat Conley, and her unique abilities make me believe I am still missing something about her involvement in all of this. However, Philip K. Dick will always leave you doubting your decisions, as the world is psychically changing for Joe Chip and those around him. So, how do I try to explain a story when I don’t even know where it ends? I need something to help me out, maybe something to clear my mind a little, something like  . . . 

“Taken as directed, Ubik provides uninterrupted sleep without morning-after grogginess. You awaken fresh, ready to tackle all those little annoying problems facing you. Do not exceed recommended dosage.”

I think it is time I got back to basics again. I now realise I will never be finished with Ubik. Once this review makes its way into the world, my thoughts and feelings will be changed even more as the discussions begin. I love the words Philip K. Dick uses to create an environment that is constantly fluctuating. I mentioned a dreamlike quality earlier, and it is the perfect example of dreaming without sleeping, and it is a wonderful experience. Joe Chip and the agents soon fall deeper into this fractured world. One by one, they begin to feel tired, and most of them become a husk of dust, with only the remnants of a past life existing. Eventually, Glen Runciter proclaims that he is alive and they are dead. So, Joe Chip is in half-life? At first, I wasn’t sure about that, because every detail is open to interpretation after the bomb blast. I know it is pointed out that it is a child called Jory who is killing all the agents in half-life as a source of amusement. However, this revelation never affected me. Because I was always wondering what was real or not. 

“A boy, he said to himself. Disorganized and immature. A cruel, unformed, peculiar personality. This may be it, he said to himself. It would fit in with what we’re experiencing, the capricious, contradictory happenings. The pulling off of our wings and then the putting back. The temporary restorations, as in just now with me here in this hotel room, after my climb up the stairs.” 

Ubik, or ubiquity, is the fact of appearing everywhere or being very common. So, Ubik can bring salvation to Joe in an instant and bring stability to this fractured world. I have read that Ubik is a metaphor for God, and some of the psychics who enter this void have a way to control half-life. However, my first conclusion about the story was a little less dramatic than that. I simply believe that with this technology, we will be in new surroundings that will be a new beginning for those who enter half-life. Joe Chip is penniless and unhappy in the real world, and Jory is just a child. Still, that does not make any sense at all. In conclusion, I realised I was trying to make sense out of something that has no real meaning. 

“Listen, Mr Chip, it wasn’t like any dream I’ve ever had before. A great hand came down from the sky, like the arm and hand of God. Enormous, the size of a mountain. And I knew at the time how important it was; the hand was closed, made into a rocklike fist, and I knew it contained something of value so great that my life and the lives of everyone else on Earth depended on it. And I waited for the fist to open, and it did open. And I saw what it contained.’ ‘An aerosol spray can,’ Don Denny said dryly.”

Dreams are an enjoyable experience, most of the time. One minute, you are spending time in a situation you recognise, and the next moment, you are playing a trumpet in front of an audience of cats for no apparent reason. Okay, maybe Ubik is a metaphor for God, and the theory of half-life is meant to be taken seriously, and I should believe that there are people with higher powers in this world before death. Still, it is happening in a place we can only dream about at this moment in time. However, Ubik does have all the qualities of a dream and it felt like a unique experience. Every time Joe Chip tries to change direction in this realm, something unexpected and irrelevant to the situation appears. I like the idea that Joe Chip’s journey is one that he is taking alone, and this is what he discovers on his way to a place beyond reality. I know people will say I am wrong, and the book is far more complex than that, but I think I have taken it as far as I can imagine for now. Trying to find logic in an illogical situation could send a person crazy, and I am not ready for that just yet. It gives me a bit of faith that maybe our journey has only just begun. However, half-life sounds like hell, and I would prefer to leave the old-fashioned way. I love reading the work of Philip K. Dick, but writing about it is far more complicated, but I feel it is important for me to remember these first impressions of the story, as they will be gone forever as soon as I learn the thoughts of others. I had a great time reading this story and trying to work out its secrets. Right or wrong, interpretations are irrelevant as long as you have a good time. Ubik is a metaphor for lots of things to me, and no one can take those thoughts away from you, regardless.

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