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The Variable Man
Predictability has come a long way. The computers of the future can tell you if you’re going to win a war before you fire a shot. Unfortunately they’re predicting perpetual standoff between the Terran and Centaurian Empires. What they need is something unpredictable, what they get is Thomas Cole, a man from the past accidently dragged forward in time. Will he fit their calculations, or is he the random variable that can break the stalemate? � The Variable Man first appeared in the September, 1953 issue of Space Science Fiction magazine.
Approx. 3 hours
Approx. 3 hours
100 pages, Audiobook
First published September 1, 1953
163 people are currently reading
1,512 people want to read
About the author
Philip K. Dick
1,797books21.7kfollowersPhilip K. Dick was born in Chicago in 1928 and lived most of his life in California. In 1952, he began writing professionally and proceeded to write numerous novels and short-story collections. He won the Hugo Award for the best novel in 1962 for The Man in the High Castle and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best novel of the year in 1974 for Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said. Philip K. Dick died on March 2, 1982, in Santa Ana, California, of heart failure following a stroke.
In addition to 44 published novels, Dick wrote approximately 121 short stories, most of which appeared in science fiction magazines during his lifetime. Although Dick spent most of his career as a writer in near-poverty, ten of his stories have been adapted into popular films since his death, including Blade Runner, Total Recall, A Scanner Darkly, Minority Report, Paycheck, Next, Screamers, and The Adjustment Bureau. In 2005, Time magazine named Ubik one of the one hundred greatest English-language novels published since 1923. In 2007, Dick became the first science fiction writer to be included in The Library of America series.
In addition to 44 published novels, Dick wrote approximately 121 short stories, most of which appeared in science fiction magazines during his lifetime. Although Dick spent most of his career as a writer in near-poverty, ten of his stories have been adapted into popular films since his death, including Blade Runner, Total Recall, A Scanner Darkly, Minority Report, Paycheck, Next, Screamers, and The Adjustment Bureau. In 2005, Time magazine named Ubik one of the one hundred greatest English-language novels published since 1923. In 2007, Dick became the first science fiction writer to be included in The Library of America series.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 207 reviews
May 28, 2019
This Philip K. Dick novella (first published in Space Science Fiction in 1953) is inventive and interesting, but it lacks the reality-challenging perspective that characterizes most of his best work.
In the second century of the second millennium, the Terrans, new to intergalactic conflict, are at war with the old empire of Proxima Centauri. Recently, their conflict has been a “cold war� of sorts—consisting of weapons development, intelligence gathering, and probability estimates—but the Terrans have now developed a weapon so original and devastating that they are determined to use it. They have almost perfected Icarus, a bomb which not only travels at a speed greater than light, but uses its increased mass from traveling at such speeds as an integral part of its power. Recent probability estimates have been distinctly in favor of Terra, until, of a sudden, they begin to fluctuate wildly: due to a technological glitch, an itinerant 19th century “Mr. Fix-it� type has been scooped up and dropped into the world of present-day Terra. He is Thomas Cole, “The Variable Man,� and now that he has entered the Terran time continuum, all bets are off.
I thought this was a fine idea for a short story, stretched to novella length by a conventional (and uninspired) account of Cole’s flight and Terra’s pursuit. Nevertheless, it makes for pleasant reading, and redeems itself with a surprising and thought-provoking conclusion.
December 12, 2018
I listened to the Audible Audiobook whilst gardening, at just over 3 hours it made the time pass inordinately quickly, a good story and a narrater with a great voice in Chris Lutkin.
The story centres around a war between Earth, just escaping to the stars and an older civilisation from Centaurus. Our vitality and technological advances are gradually outstripping a corrupt and stagnant galactic empire, however the possibility of winning a war and reaching our destiny is still very close according the giant machines that digest all data and predict the outcome for Earth's leaders.
Into the mix add a man literally dragged mistakenly from the early 1900s who has an inmate ability to repair machines, and all of a sudden chaos ensues.
The story is fast paced and shows mans folly, but also to be careful what you actually ask for. A good story and my first PK Dick for a long while, which means I now need to add more of his books to my TBR. 4 solid stars ⭐️
The story centres around a war between Earth, just escaping to the stars and an older civilisation from Centaurus. Our vitality and technological advances are gradually outstripping a corrupt and stagnant galactic empire, however the possibility of winning a war and reaching our destiny is still very close according the giant machines that digest all data and predict the outcome for Earth's leaders.
Into the mix add a man literally dragged mistakenly from the early 1900s who has an inmate ability to repair machines, and all of a sudden chaos ensues.
The story is fast paced and shows mans folly, but also to be careful what you actually ask for. A good story and my first PK Dick for a long while, which means I now need to add more of his books to my TBR. 4 solid stars ⭐️
March 27, 2017
This 1953 SF novella is a freebie on . Review first posted on :
In the year 2136, our planet Terra’s space exploration is cut short by the Centauran Empire of Proxima Centauri, which surrounds our solar system and refuses to allow humanity access to the galaxy. Faster-than-light travel exists, but always results in an explosion when the FTL device reenters normal space, so there’s no way to jump past the Centaurans. Both sides are constantly working to come up with new weapons and strategies, and spying on the other to discern their latest developments, but, curiously, there is very little actual fighting. The Terrans have an SRB computer that is constantly evaluating humanity’s odds of succeeding in an actual war with the Centaurans, and they’re waiting to fight until the computer shows that the odds have shifted in their favor.
But now it has occurred to the human researchers that they can use an FTL device as a bomb against the Centaurans, which they’ll be unable to avoid because of its FTL speed. While the scientists are working madly on ironing out the problems with delivering the bomb (which they call Icarus) accurately, another group of Terran researchers quickly pull their time machine back to the present. The time machine accidently brings back one Thomas Cole, a handyman from the year 1913. Cole takes off and escapes the government facilities � and now the SRB computer refuses to compute odds on the Centauran battle. Cole has created an unknown variable that the computer cannot deal with.
So Cole goes on the run, while Security Commissioner Reinhart angrily does his best to have his military forces kill him so that he can get his odds calculations back and start the war. Peter Sherikov, the scientific director, becomes aware of Cole’s intuitive genius at fixing machines and wants to make use of his talents, but Reinhart has no intention of changing his plans.
The Variable Man is a fast-paced novella with some old-fashioned charm, like much Golden Age science fiction, but also suffers from some of the shortcomings of many other older SF tales: women are non-existent or appear only as sex objects, the characters are stereotypical, and there is a focus on action in the plot at the expense of depth or characterization. Also, the linchpin of the plot � that Cole is such a mechanical genius that his untrained skills are hugely useful with technology more than two hundred years later � proved too much for my disbelief to be suspended. Still, Philip K. Dick spins a good yarn, and I enjoyed the retro vibe of this story.
In the year 2136, our planet Terra’s space exploration is cut short by the Centauran Empire of Proxima Centauri, which surrounds our solar system and refuses to allow humanity access to the galaxy. Faster-than-light travel exists, but always results in an explosion when the FTL device reenters normal space, so there’s no way to jump past the Centaurans. Both sides are constantly working to come up with new weapons and strategies, and spying on the other to discern their latest developments, but, curiously, there is very little actual fighting. The Terrans have an SRB computer that is constantly evaluating humanity’s odds of succeeding in an actual war with the Centaurans, and they’re waiting to fight until the computer shows that the odds have shifted in their favor.
But now it has occurred to the human researchers that they can use an FTL device as a bomb against the Centaurans, which they’ll be unable to avoid because of its FTL speed. While the scientists are working madly on ironing out the problems with delivering the bomb (which they call Icarus) accurately, another group of Terran researchers quickly pull their time machine back to the present. The time machine accidently brings back one Thomas Cole, a handyman from the year 1913. Cole takes off and escapes the government facilities � and now the SRB computer refuses to compute odds on the Centauran battle. Cole has created an unknown variable that the computer cannot deal with.
So Cole goes on the run, while Security Commissioner Reinhart angrily does his best to have his military forces kill him so that he can get his odds calculations back and start the war. Peter Sherikov, the scientific director, becomes aware of Cole’s intuitive genius at fixing machines and wants to make use of his talents, but Reinhart has no intention of changing his plans.
The Variable Man is a fast-paced novella with some old-fashioned charm, like much Golden Age science fiction, but also suffers from some of the shortcomings of many other older SF tales: women are non-existent or appear only as sex objects, the characters are stereotypical, and there is a focus on action in the plot at the expense of depth or characterization. Also, the linchpin of the plot � that Cole is such a mechanical genius that his untrained skills are hugely useful with technology more than two hundred years later � proved too much for my disbelief to be suspended. Still, Philip K. Dick spins a good yarn, and I enjoyed the retro vibe of this story.
December 24, 2016
I admit I have only read a few of PKD's works. But from my very limited experience, after I read The Variable Man, I think this one should be read by general readers, not only by PKD's fans or SF fans. And we can get this story in Gutenberg site. :)
This story is short, has a really excellent sci-fi plot twist (I already said too much here), and has some PKD's standard troupes.
And I found one pleasant surprise in this story. I put spoiler for anyone people who want to strictly read it all by yourself. I just can't help myself not mentioning it on my review, but don't worry I won't spoil the details:
This story is short, has a really excellent sci-fi plot twist (I already said too much here), and has some PKD's standard troupes.
And I found one pleasant surprise in this story. I put spoiler for anyone people who want to strictly read it all by yourself. I just can't help myself not mentioning it on my review, but don't worry I won't spoil the details:
March 6, 2022
No termino de cogerle el punto a Philip K.Dick.
June 26, 2015
Has anyone else noticed that about 70% of the time that a female character is introduced in early Dick stories her breasts are the most intricately described physical characteristics? Like he'll introduce a female character by saying "she was a brunette with full firm breasts." I may not know what her face looks like, but I always have a clear idea of the precise nature of one of Dick's women's breasts. Also the breasts are usually pretty similar (ie hot tits). I've never seen him describe floppy sagging breasts.
February 10, 2015
This is where Idiocracy got its plot. An everyman finds himself unexpectedly relocated to the future. The people of this future are missing a fundamental human character trait that is valued by the author. This trait is common in the everyman's time, making him average there, but its absence in the future gives him an advantage in the story. It's up to him to save the world from itself.
Reading old science fiction from our vantage point here in the future more easily reveals the bemoaning message that the author tries to caution us with. It looks like we've been fearing a sort of Idiocracy since at least 1953. I think it's easy to look around and see our peers lack the qualities we wish society had, and we look back through magic glasses and believe the world of our youth was a hardier place. I'm willing to bet that some psychologist has put a name to this bias at some point. Nevertheless, this is the phenomenon that allows us to believe that society is becoming stupider while the opposite is true.
So who is the everyman in the 1950s? He's the blue-eyed, blue-collared rough-and-tumble guy. He's Steve McQueen. Hes a rebel. He's got grease on his hands and blue-jeans. He's got a plain grasp of the obvious that all of those supposedly educated guys apparently lack. He can fix a car as well as wrangle a team of horses. This is the relatable guy of those days. Contrast him with the protagonist of the more modern telling of this plot.
His ability, lost to humanity, is the ability to fix things. In the future, everybody is an over-educated white-collar specialist. No one person has enough general knowledge to understand a thing as a whole, not enough to take it apart and fix it.
The dynamic that Dick is trying to express is that of Conan vs civilization. Lament the loss of the physical manly-man. The smarty-nerd world doesn't make sense to him. It misses some point. It's a sad, American perspective that prevails still today as anti-intellectualism. How dare we pursue book-smarts in favor of "real," fix the pickup truck, throw a football, milk the cows, life ends at high school, level of smarts.
In a way, the story almost inadvertently touches on an actual loss that may be creeping up on us today. It's that issue of fixing things. It's not due to this pretentious notion of losing our masculinity, though. Rather it's capitalism. You used to have a local TV repair shop. Now TVs have gotten so complex, you aren't expected to repair one. Cars are coming with less and less user serviceable parts: Some of them require a machine shop to dismantle the whole front compartment just to change a headlight. DRM is sneaking its way into everything to prevent you from fixing, tampering, or even owning the things you own, and the law backs it up. Obsolescence is deliberately built right in to most products so that you will have to return to a company with your wallet every few years.
I think that just as we all groan and observe that we've already entered our own Idiocracy, Philip K. Dick was already seeing his world lose the qualities that he valued in his time. We can take a bit of comfort, however, in the observation that we are 60 years in his future and his beloved small-town American testosterone is still obnoxiously present in our society today. Perhaps in 60 years, though our world will be made condescendingly simple, we won't find ourselves to be any less arrogant about our society's intellectual level than we are today.
Reading old science fiction from our vantage point here in the future more easily reveals the bemoaning message that the author tries to caution us with. It looks like we've been fearing a sort of Idiocracy since at least 1953. I think it's easy to look around and see our peers lack the qualities we wish society had, and we look back through magic glasses and believe the world of our youth was a hardier place. I'm willing to bet that some psychologist has put a name to this bias at some point. Nevertheless, this is the phenomenon that allows us to believe that society is becoming stupider while the opposite is true.
So who is the everyman in the 1950s? He's the blue-eyed, blue-collared rough-and-tumble guy. He's Steve McQueen. Hes a rebel. He's got grease on his hands and blue-jeans. He's got a plain grasp of the obvious that all of those supposedly educated guys apparently lack. He can fix a car as well as wrangle a team of horses. This is the relatable guy of those days. Contrast him with the protagonist of the more modern telling of this plot.
His ability, lost to humanity, is the ability to fix things. In the future, everybody is an over-educated white-collar specialist. No one person has enough general knowledge to understand a thing as a whole, not enough to take it apart and fix it.
The dynamic that Dick is trying to express is that of Conan vs civilization. Lament the loss of the physical manly-man. The smarty-nerd world doesn't make sense to him. It misses some point. It's a sad, American perspective that prevails still today as anti-intellectualism. How dare we pursue book-smarts in favor of "real," fix the pickup truck, throw a football, milk the cows, life ends at high school, level of smarts.
In a way, the story almost inadvertently touches on an actual loss that may be creeping up on us today. It's that issue of fixing things. It's not due to this pretentious notion of losing our masculinity, though. Rather it's capitalism. You used to have a local TV repair shop. Now TVs have gotten so complex, you aren't expected to repair one. Cars are coming with less and less user serviceable parts: Some of them require a machine shop to dismantle the whole front compartment just to change a headlight. DRM is sneaking its way into everything to prevent you from fixing, tampering, or even owning the things you own, and the law backs it up. Obsolescence is deliberately built right in to most products so that you will have to return to a company with your wallet every few years.
I think that just as we all groan and observe that we've already entered our own Idiocracy, Philip K. Dick was already seeing his world lose the qualities that he valued in his time. We can take a bit of comfort, however, in the observation that we are 60 years in his future and his beloved small-town American testosterone is still obnoxiously present in our society today. Perhaps in 60 years, though our world will be made condescendingly simple, we won't find ourselves to be any less arrogant about our society's intellectual level than we are today.
March 23, 2025
Each word here is worth a thousand anywhere else. Brilliant tale but far too short.
July 24, 2017
The Very Able Man
In his quite long short story The Variable Man (1953), Philip K. Dick managed to combine a huge amount of action and shootings with a less huge but still very palatable amount of intriguing ideas the least interesting of which might be the phenomenon of the eponymous hero, whose name is actually Thomas Cole but who is referred to as “The Variable Man� by almost everyone, being erroneously propelled forth into time.
It’s the first half of the 22nd century, and Terra finds herself hemmed in by the ancient Centaurean empire, which may be on the skids but is still strong enough to resist Terra’s attempts at expanding her power beyond our solar system. All signs point to war, and Commissioner Reinhart, a rather fascist Hawk, thinks the moment propitious in that a computer calculating the odds of a war indicates that Terra, for the first time ever, stands a slight chance of winning. His command to dedicate all Terra’s efforts to the preparation of war leads to the inadvertent transport of a 1913 tinker into the year 2136, which, in turn, throws the probability machine off its track because with the variable of a man from the past being thrown into its way it can no longer calculate the odds. Reinhart only knows one solution to this problem: The Variable Man has to be hunted down and annihilated. His rival Sherikov, however, wants to make use of Cole in order to complete the Terran wunderwaffe, which is to tip the scales in Terra’s favour.
The Variable Man is a very fast-paced tale, including a breath-taking chase and an epic shoot-out between Reinhart’s forces and Sherikov’s, but at the bottom of it, there is also Dick’s clear-sighted criticism of what he sees as the potential risks his society is running.
“’[…] We’re going to war because a machine says we have a statistical chance of winning.’�
President Margaret Duffe’s words brilliantly express the unquestioning confidence modern people often put into the technology by which they are surrounded, which was the creation of individual masterminds but which has turned people into blind believers. The story also deals with modern society’s development towards specialization, which furthers the rise of expert idiots who only excel in their very narrow line of business, having no understanding whatsoever of all other things. It also paints a very bleak picture of the predictability of how modern people react and think, which provides a set of valuable data for those in power:
The Variable Man, however, will not fit into these neat categories and is therefore considered a danger by Reinhart, who only knows of one way of dealing with a problem. The story also comes up with a very unexpected ending in that
Near the end of his story, but also in certain allusions during the description of the first encounter between Reinhart and Sherikov, Dick also focuses on another problem that is generally avoided in science fiction but definitely begs the question with any clear-sighted individual: If modern societies really tend towards moving in the direction of vaster and vaster political unions � just compare the apparent development of European national states into a European Union, something we might have no reason to be so unreservedly happy about �, then how is it guaranteed that the individual citizen will not lose his voice in the process? How will democratic principles be maintained in a more and more technocratic society in which “specialists� � I use the inverted commas on purpose here � claim to have scientifically proven answers to vital questions which considerable parts of the populations might feel different about? And how can self-serving Reinharts be avoided? Dick’s answer in The Variable Man seems like a pat answer to me, unconvincing due to its unreflected optimism, but it is already very remarkable that Dick has raised the question.
At any rate, The Variable Man is a very thought-inspiring story.
In his quite long short story The Variable Man (1953), Philip K. Dick managed to combine a huge amount of action and shootings with a less huge but still very palatable amount of intriguing ideas the least interesting of which might be the phenomenon of the eponymous hero, whose name is actually Thomas Cole but who is referred to as “The Variable Man� by almost everyone, being erroneously propelled forth into time.
It’s the first half of the 22nd century, and Terra finds herself hemmed in by the ancient Centaurean empire, which may be on the skids but is still strong enough to resist Terra’s attempts at expanding her power beyond our solar system. All signs point to war, and Commissioner Reinhart, a rather fascist Hawk, thinks the moment propitious in that a computer calculating the odds of a war indicates that Terra, for the first time ever, stands a slight chance of winning. His command to dedicate all Terra’s efforts to the preparation of war leads to the inadvertent transport of a 1913 tinker into the year 2136, which, in turn, throws the probability machine off its track because with the variable of a man from the past being thrown into its way it can no longer calculate the odds. Reinhart only knows one solution to this problem: The Variable Man has to be hunted down and annihilated. His rival Sherikov, however, wants to make use of Cole in order to complete the Terran wunderwaffe, which is to tip the scales in Terra’s favour.
The Variable Man is a very fast-paced tale, including a breath-taking chase and an epic shoot-out between Reinhart’s forces and Sherikov’s, but at the bottom of it, there is also Dick’s clear-sighted criticism of what he sees as the potential risks his society is running.
“’[…] We’re going to war because a machine says we have a statistical chance of winning.’�
President Margaret Duffe’s words brilliantly express the unquestioning confidence modern people often put into the technology by which they are surrounded, which was the creation of individual masterminds but which has turned people into blind believers. The story also deals with modern society’s development towards specialization, which furthers the rise of expert idiots who only excel in their very narrow line of business, having no understanding whatsoever of all other things. It also paints a very bleak picture of the predictability of how modern people react and think, which provides a set of valuable data for those in power:
”’[…] We’ve been making statistical reports on society for two centuries. We have immense files of data. The machines are able to predict what each person and group will do at a given time, in a given situation. […]’�
The Variable Man, however, will not fit into these neat categories and is therefore considered a danger by Reinhart, who only knows of one way of dealing with a problem. The story also comes up with a very unexpected ending in that
Near the end of his story, but also in certain allusions during the description of the first encounter between Reinhart and Sherikov, Dick also focuses on another problem that is generally avoided in science fiction but definitely begs the question with any clear-sighted individual: If modern societies really tend towards moving in the direction of vaster and vaster political unions � just compare the apparent development of European national states into a European Union, something we might have no reason to be so unreservedly happy about �, then how is it guaranteed that the individual citizen will not lose his voice in the process? How will democratic principles be maintained in a more and more technocratic society in which “specialists� � I use the inverted commas on purpose here � claim to have scientifically proven answers to vital questions which considerable parts of the populations might feel different about? And how can self-serving Reinharts be avoided? Dick’s answer in The Variable Man seems like a pat answer to me, unconvincing due to its unreflected optimism, but it is already very remarkable that Dick has raised the question.
At any rate, The Variable Man is a very thought-inspiring story.
August 13, 2015
This novella is perhaps the closest thing to a normal science fiction story (is there such a beast?) that I've read from Philip K. Dick. But even "normal" means "top-notch" where he's concerned. Well written tale of a dystopian Earth and a man from the past who throws a wrench into their carefully calculated plans for intergalactic war.
June 22, 2021
Heard the audiobook on Librivox. Probably better than reading it.
You can either design the system to the people and society. Or you can design the people to fit the system. In the pursuit to be able to predict the future they designed society to fit the system they had.
Interesting read/listen.
You can either design the system to the people and society. Or you can design the people to fit the system. In the pursuit to be able to predict the future they designed society to fit the system they had.
Interesting read/listen.
November 15, 2017
A theory of war and zombies ,from the Cold War. Great moments and wordiness and old plot.
December 28, 2019
I picture John Densmore, the great character actor in this role. Fabulous!
November 10, 2024
Det pågår ett galaktiskt krig och jorden behöver ett nytt vapen.
Framtidens teknologi är komplex men också oförutsägbar, man kan inte blint lita på vetenskapens siffror.
Jag uppskattade idén om Faster-than-light och compressed space-time.
Framtidens teknologi är komplex men också oförutsägbar, man kan inte blint lita på vetenskapens siffror.
Jag uppskattade idén om Faster-than-light och compressed space-time.
February 22, 2014
Post-Atomic war setting (check).
Dystopia future (check).
Out of place hero (check).
Disregard for hard science (check).
Impending doom only the reluctant hero can avoid (check).
Must be a classic Philip K. Dick story!
But wait, there is a bit of a happy ending.
This story brings the classic elements that PKD uses to tell his narratives but with a optimistic ending (a pleasant surprise).
This story is loaded with a variety of meanings, some hidden and others blatantly up front.
For one, imagine a future where the government is driven basically by actuary tables for making odds on success of failure of a single event. Instead of coming up with new solutions to avoid the event, they fixate on it and are become blind to all other possibilities and options.
Throw in a time travel, a space war, and totalitarian government officials willing to level whole mountains to kill one man and you have a fun little read.
The copy I had could however benefit from some better editing and formatting. It would shift scenes from one sentence to another. That could be because of the copy I got from feedbooks or reading it on a Kindle.
Dystopia future (check).
Out of place hero (check).
Disregard for hard science (check).
Impending doom only the reluctant hero can avoid (check).
Must be a classic Philip K. Dick story!
But wait, there is a bit of a happy ending.
This story brings the classic elements that PKD uses to tell his narratives but with a optimistic ending (a pleasant surprise).
This story is loaded with a variety of meanings, some hidden and others blatantly up front.
For one, imagine a future where the government is driven basically by actuary tables for making odds on success of failure of a single event. Instead of coming up with new solutions to avoid the event, they fixate on it and are become blind to all other possibilities and options.
Throw in a time travel, a space war, and totalitarian government officials willing to level whole mountains to kill one man and you have a fun little read.
The copy I had could however benefit from some better editing and formatting. It would shift scenes from one sentence to another. That could be because of the copy I got from feedbooks or reading it on a Kindle.
October 29, 2014
Zbirka tri priče iz 1953. (150 stranica ukupno)
Jedna dulja (stotinjak stranica) i dvije kraće.
Najomiljeniji SF pisac za filmske ekranizacije, sumnjam da ima ikoga tko nije pogledao neki od filmova po njegovim pričama.
Samo njih nekoliko: Blade Runner, Total Recall, Minority Report...
(imate popis na )
Naravno da morate pročitati sve njegovo što vam bude u dosegu pa tako i ovu zbirku.
Jako dobre priče, a kad se sjetite godišta onda i odlične (vrlo malo detalja kojima bi se mogle smjestiti u našu tehnološku prapovijest pedesetih što je odlika izuzetnog pisca)
Preporuka svakako, no ako ih želite za zbirku HR cijena pomalo visoka za tanku knjižicu.
Jedna dulja (stotinjak stranica) i dvije kraće.
Najomiljeniji SF pisac za filmske ekranizacije, sumnjam da ima ikoga tko nije pogledao neki od filmova po njegovim pričama.
Samo njih nekoliko: Blade Runner, Total Recall, Minority Report...
(imate popis na )
Naravno da morate pročitati sve njegovo što vam bude u dosegu pa tako i ovu zbirku.
Jako dobre priče, a kad se sjetite godišta onda i odlične (vrlo malo detalja kojima bi se mogle smjestiti u našu tehnološku prapovijest pedesetih što je odlika izuzetnog pisca)
Preporuka svakako, no ako ih želite za zbirku HR cijena pomalo visoka za tanku knjižicu.
October 13, 2021
“Small talk,� in the sense of the ability to hold forth in a protracted fashion with mere acquaintances on topics of profound inanity, is not something at which I am inherently skilled, which is why I have developed tricks and shortcuts over the years to make the inevitable process a little easier, and a little more constructive. One of my favorite small talk conversation starters is to ask what someone has read most recently. I’d say about 50% of the time I receive an answer along the lines of “uh, I don’t read. What is this, the 17th century? I’ve got better things to do.”� About 40% of the time, I receive an answer like “hm, that’s a good question. I guess I read an article about other people playing a video game I like recently. Does that count? I really ought to read more.”� It’s the last 10% of the time that keeps me asking the question, when the answer is more along the lines of “oh yeah, I read this great book just the other day, it was about magic lizards flying through space trying to find the enchanted sword to defeat the evil robots from a planet near Mars, and I would really highly recommend it!�
That sounds like a book recommendation to me. While I do a pretty good job of finding through various sources new nonfiction books to add to my reading list, I find it much harder to unearth new speculative fiction worth adding to the list, which is why getting a recommendation for such a book is always exciting. And as you’ve probably surmised, I received just such a recommendation in a recent conversation of this type, for books by an author called Philip Dick.
Not only was this a recommendation for a science fiction author, but an author I had not previously heard of from science fiction’s golden age. Naturally, I looked into it as soon as I finished Aristotle’s , and I found a novella called The Variable Man. The summary told me almost nothing about what the story was going to be about, so I decided to give it a try. After all, it was only about sixty pages, and since so many of the science fiction authors of that era got their start in short stories and novellas published in magazines, it seemed like a good place to start.
The Variable Man’s description included references to a post-nuclear apocalypse Earth, and a man from the past. Whatever I expected from that sparse summary, it was not what the story proved to be. The fact that the Earth set piece happened to have undergone a nuclear apocalypse (at least five of them, actually) is really something of a footnote, one of those throw-away world-building tidbits, like , that don’t really add to the plot or the substance of the story, and exist only to create a more full-fleshed world. As for the man from the past…that’s where things got interesting.
While this is billed as a science fiction story, and is structured like a science fiction story (unlike, say, Star Wars, which is a fantasy story with science fiction set dressing/world-building elements), the man from the past is a wizard. Well, he’s not really a wizard, and he’s not billed or presented as a wizard, but his role in the story is that of a wizard. Or, well, maybe not a wizard. More like a magic talisman.
See, in the story’s world, they’ve developed computers that can make highly accurate statistical predictions about the future (a common theme in stories of the era � think all of Azimov’s stories with variations on Multivac) based on the immense reams of data fed into them. These machines, however, cannot account for the man from the past who is transported to the present. Hence, he is the variable man. Yet it’s not his historical nature that makes him a variable � it’s his magic talent.
There is some hand waving attempted to explain the “magic,� which was actually quite interesting and speaks to points I have long been making, including on this site: that something is lost when we specialize so deeply, stovepipe knowledge so severely, that we no longer can see the larger picture of how one piece of information might relate to another, or even that the other piece of information exists. I wish that Dick had explored that concept in more, and more realistic, detail, instead of invoking a sort-of deus ex machina magical artifact in the form of a handyman from the past, which has the effect of making the eventual resolution to the story seem unsatisfying and shallow.
Despite those flaws, I enjoyed the story, at least as much for the as the questions it answered. The way the story was structured, there is much that is left to the imagination, enough that it left me thinking about the story long after I had run out of text. How the world came into the situation that it was, why there seem to be so few people living on the surface of the Earth, why the antagonist (who is also one of the main viewpoint characters) is able to achieve such a level of control over military and political forces…none of it is really addressed, even in an oblique fashion. I do wish there had been another viewpoint, since most of the story is told from the perspective of either the antagonist or the titular variable man. Having such a viewpoint would have decreased some of the mystery, without robbing too many questions from the reader’s imagination.
While this was far from the best science fiction novella I’ve read, it was a quick, enjoyable read, with a well put-together story whose resolution is of one of the best types: obvious in hindsight, but unexpected in the moment. If you have an hour, I recommend you try The Variable Man.
September 10, 2023
My favorite part was when the man from 1914, a street tinkerer of sorts, transported to 2134 or some such, is able to solve a faster than light transportation disappearing matter whathaveyou paradox. I love dick.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 17, 2017
The story was slow getting started, but then was a thorough joy right to the finish. The main character is a little unbelievable, but not insurmountably so.
January 5, 2025
In the same sense as with Asimov, a bit janky.
But a fun way to think of the value of different eras methodology
But a fun way to think of the value of different eras methodology
December 3, 2017
*SPOILER ALERT: READ BOOK FIRST*
Absorbing and gripping as it builds, The Variable Man is neatly pared sci-fi that does just what's said on the tin - and more.
The narrative is not complex and could even reasonably be considered somewhat dull: ambitious scientist and government official agonize over the timely completion of a super-weapon in some implausible, (almost literally) predictable intergalactic arms-race in the future.
The proper conflict emerges with the arrival of Cole, an equally implausible Mr Fix-It accidentally brought to this time, the 22nd century, from 1913 and then ruthlessly hunted by the official, who is dedicated to preventing any disruption to this society's coveted conflict-outcome predicting algorithms, which the presence of Cole sends way out of whack. It gets interesting when less homicidal forces take an interest in this 'variable man', however, and the novella has an excellent twist that makes the flat-packed plot pay off in the end.
Philip K Dick uses the form exceptionally well and dullness is definitely avoided. The simplicity of the narrative succeeds because Dick is an excellent writer, the pacy dialogue and vivid sketches - 'Titanic blasts' tearing mountainsides asunder and so forth - coax the reader through implausibility and clunky future-science to the conclusion of a well rounded tale about the potential threats posed to humankind by over-dependence upon technology, particularly data.
In the contrast between 20th century everyman Cole and the people of the 22nd century Dick lays a pretty stark message. Cole's relationship with technology is one similar to that we still have today (though less and less with every upgrade): he doesn't just use technology, he is the master of it. He knows how it works and can take it apart and fully manipulate it. The people of the future can't, they have lost this to automation and are not even necessarily conscious of the significance of their own work, which is described as 'therapy' (quite dystopian and Brave New World-esque, as is the horror of the population at the notion of 'fixing things'). At best, the women and men of the future are number punching technocrats, each with a specific function part of a whole they cannot comprehend.
Yet Dick's treatment of technology is ambiguous and not entirely negative. The new tech of the future is not all bad, and it is not Cole's ability to master technology (obviously venerated) that gets him into trouble. In this future there are aliens, humanity is threatened and technology must certainly be employed for its survival. However, in the pursuit of this end, society has given up its agency to the computers so wholeheartedly that they almost annihilate what will turn out to be their salvation - Cole - for his sheer 'variability'; they can't quantify him as data and predict him, therefore system breaks down and he must be destroyed. Were it not for the intervention of the unorthodox Sherikov, this absolute fealty to data would have seen mankind eliminate its only hope of survival.
Prophetic would be a bit bombastic but this is pretty prescient stuff. Caught amidst the fast shifting relationship of mankind to machine/technology in the 50s USA, the transition from tool to toy (to 'stuff'), Dick demonstrates a fear (that would become paranoia) about where this was going. Just as computers might one day be capable of eliminating the threat of an alien empire, so too our over-reliance upon them could lead to peril; human autonomy, ingenuity, agency, the ability to operate our environment and to make our own decisions, could potentially be reduced to the history books through blind faith in technology.
As for data, Dick's paranoia hardly deserves to be called such considering that only 60 years later society is now dependent on so-called 'Big Data': everything from the far-reaching umbrella of social media (now the primary way things are sold and consumed, through advertising), to transportation and infrastructure, to elections and the stock market, the economy and thus the organising principles of society under Neoliberalism, the defining feature of which is strict obedience to the data of the market; data is everything, it is money, it is power, it is the key to our world order.
As one who has only read a few of Dick's works and is by no means a Science Fiction enthusiast, I enjoyed The Variable Man a lot: it has it's faults (stereotypes, dodgy science, etc.) but it's a skillfully wrought novella, and it's a cautionary conjecture about humankind in the not too distant future. Within this, there are such visceral parallels with the world today it makes one wonder at the paranoia of Dick and his astonishing prescience and ability to weave into his narratives such undogmatic and anticipatory socio-political philosophising, even in this early point in his career. Ultimately, it's just great writing and entertaining storytelling. I could read The Variable Man again and again.
Absorbing and gripping as it builds, The Variable Man is neatly pared sci-fi that does just what's said on the tin - and more.
The narrative is not complex and could even reasonably be considered somewhat dull: ambitious scientist and government official agonize over the timely completion of a super-weapon in some implausible, (almost literally) predictable intergalactic arms-race in the future.
The proper conflict emerges with the arrival of Cole, an equally implausible Mr Fix-It accidentally brought to this time, the 22nd century, from 1913 and then ruthlessly hunted by the official, who is dedicated to preventing any disruption to this society's coveted conflict-outcome predicting algorithms, which the presence of Cole sends way out of whack. It gets interesting when less homicidal forces take an interest in this 'variable man', however, and the novella has an excellent twist that makes the flat-packed plot pay off in the end.
Philip K Dick uses the form exceptionally well and dullness is definitely avoided. The simplicity of the narrative succeeds because Dick is an excellent writer, the pacy dialogue and vivid sketches - 'Titanic blasts' tearing mountainsides asunder and so forth - coax the reader through implausibility and clunky future-science to the conclusion of a well rounded tale about the potential threats posed to humankind by over-dependence upon technology, particularly data.
In the contrast between 20th century everyman Cole and the people of the 22nd century Dick lays a pretty stark message. Cole's relationship with technology is one similar to that we still have today (though less and less with every upgrade): he doesn't just use technology, he is the master of it. He knows how it works and can take it apart and fully manipulate it. The people of the future can't, they have lost this to automation and are not even necessarily conscious of the significance of their own work, which is described as 'therapy' (quite dystopian and Brave New World-esque, as is the horror of the population at the notion of 'fixing things'). At best, the women and men of the future are number punching technocrats, each with a specific function part of a whole they cannot comprehend.
Yet Dick's treatment of technology is ambiguous and not entirely negative. The new tech of the future is not all bad, and it is not Cole's ability to master technology (obviously venerated) that gets him into trouble. In this future there are aliens, humanity is threatened and technology must certainly be employed for its survival. However, in the pursuit of this end, society has given up its agency to the computers so wholeheartedly that they almost annihilate what will turn out to be their salvation - Cole - for his sheer 'variability'; they can't quantify him as data and predict him, therefore system breaks down and he must be destroyed. Were it not for the intervention of the unorthodox Sherikov, this absolute fealty to data would have seen mankind eliminate its only hope of survival.
Prophetic would be a bit bombastic but this is pretty prescient stuff. Caught amidst the fast shifting relationship of mankind to machine/technology in the 50s USA, the transition from tool to toy (to 'stuff'), Dick demonstrates a fear (that would become paranoia) about where this was going. Just as computers might one day be capable of eliminating the threat of an alien empire, so too our over-reliance upon them could lead to peril; human autonomy, ingenuity, agency, the ability to operate our environment and to make our own decisions, could potentially be reduced to the history books through blind faith in technology.
As for data, Dick's paranoia hardly deserves to be called such considering that only 60 years later society is now dependent on so-called 'Big Data': everything from the far-reaching umbrella of social media (now the primary way things are sold and consumed, through advertising), to transportation and infrastructure, to elections and the stock market, the economy and thus the organising principles of society under Neoliberalism, the defining feature of which is strict obedience to the data of the market; data is everything, it is money, it is power, it is the key to our world order.
As one who has only read a few of Dick's works and is by no means a Science Fiction enthusiast, I enjoyed The Variable Man a lot: it has it's faults (stereotypes, dodgy science, etc.) but it's a skillfully wrought novella, and it's a cautionary conjecture about humankind in the not too distant future. Within this, there are such visceral parallels with the world today it makes one wonder at the paranoia of Dick and his astonishing prescience and ability to weave into his narratives such undogmatic and anticipatory socio-political philosophising, even in this early point in his career. Ultimately, it's just great writing and entertaining storytelling. I could read The Variable Man again and again.
June 9, 2023
An early PKD work and far from his best. It features some short and mundane battle scenes and an improbable title character, though the concept of wars starting as soon as a computer gives the aggressor a >50% chance of victory ls both fascinating and a harbinger of what Dick would bring to his later works.
December 4, 2023
Whimsical
I really enjoyed this one and wish there was more. Always a fan of Philip K. Dicks stories. Some of the recent TV and movie adaptations have actually been pretty good but the books are always better. If you are a fan this is a fun quick read. A future society intent on war and a man from the past that will change everything.
I really enjoyed this one and wish there was more. Always a fan of Philip K. Dicks stories. Some of the recent TV and movie adaptations have actually been pretty good but the books are always better. If you are a fan this is a fun quick read. A future society intent on war and a man from the past that will change everything.
May 29, 2022
It is the latter half of the 21st century. Earth has progressed in many ways, and stayed eternally the same in some (later on that). Technological progress has allowed us to explore the universe and colonize everything we could in our Solar System. But we couldn’t get any further. Why? Because outside our own system there is a great and powerful old empire, which might be slowly declining, but still powerful enough to stop Earthlings from exploring other stars beside their own. They are called the Centaurians, and Earth is at war with them. Earthlings have turned to machines and their computation power to calculate the best moment to strike a counter offensive. After many years, the odds of victory have shifted towards Earths favor 8-6.
The progress in technology and knowledge has led to some very wild and complex specialization in the workforce. As one character says, “When I look at the man next to me at work, I can’t make heads or tails of the things he does�. And this is a problem. Earth has been trying to develop new weapons and one such is Icarus, a faster than light bomb, whose invention turns the odds in earths favor. The problem is nobody knows how to add the finishing touches. Nobody until a freak accident sends a man from the early 20th century into this time. He drives the machines insane. The odds fluctuate wildly from one side to another, until the machines themselves give up and fail to give odds on the outcome of a future war between Earth and the old, decaying Centuarian Empire. He is deemed “The Variable Man�. A chase ensues between multiple forces to secure the Variable Man for their bidding.
Philip K. Dick has an amazing talent of fusing science fiction with thriller. His works are thrillers with sci fi elements for the most part. This book, like many other of his I have read, are indeed page turners. The pace of reveals and new questions being asked is just right. You never feel bored or rushed while reading The Variable Man.
This book also shows how our own time really limits us in predicting the future, especially the technological advancements we have made. There isn’t really any internet. But one thing that really misses the mark and in a funny way is the idea that you just have to know how to wire things properly. If you know how to do it, you can fix and build/assemble everything in sight. Its cute in its golden age of Sci Fi ways, but utterly unrealistic. As technology improves, so do the materials that make up said technology.
The progress in technology and knowledge has led to some very wild and complex specialization in the workforce. As one character says, “When I look at the man next to me at work, I can’t make heads or tails of the things he does�. And this is a problem. Earth has been trying to develop new weapons and one such is Icarus, a faster than light bomb, whose invention turns the odds in earths favor. The problem is nobody knows how to add the finishing touches. Nobody until a freak accident sends a man from the early 20th century into this time. He drives the machines insane. The odds fluctuate wildly from one side to another, until the machines themselves give up and fail to give odds on the outcome of a future war between Earth and the old, decaying Centuarian Empire. He is deemed “The Variable Man�. A chase ensues between multiple forces to secure the Variable Man for their bidding.
Philip K. Dick has an amazing talent of fusing science fiction with thriller. His works are thrillers with sci fi elements for the most part. This book, like many other of his I have read, are indeed page turners. The pace of reveals and new questions being asked is just right. You never feel bored or rushed while reading The Variable Man.
This book also shows how our own time really limits us in predicting the future, especially the technological advancements we have made. There isn’t really any internet. But one thing that really misses the mark and in a funny way is the idea that you just have to know how to wire things properly. If you know how to do it, you can fix and build/assemble everything in sight. Its cute in its golden age of Sci Fi ways, but utterly unrealistic. As technology improves, so do the materials that make up said technology.
September 12, 2023
This paean to mechanical aptitude strained my credulity well past the breaking point. A time-displaced tinkerer from 1913 solves all of the future's problems through his nimble fingers and intuitive sense of mechanical engineering.... Throw in some half-baked FTL stuff, visible clouds of radioactive particles, and nonsensical timing for interstellar warfare, and Bob's your uncle. It's a passable golden age SF story, but hardly up to PKD's later standards. You can sense some of his later preoccupations burbling under the surface: questions of fate and chance, the individual vs. conformist society, and the dangers of power-mad men. But here those interesting philosophical questions are lost in a sea of cheese. You can read this in a couple hours but I don't recommend doing so.
September 4, 2013
I spent a week with some classic SF this summer. It is amazing how relevant some of the stories remain. This Philip K Dick story is about waging virtual war - not pushing the big red button (in this case to launch the ultimate weapon, Icarus) until the computers tell us the probability of winning is overwhelming. Now, the war is with Proxima Centauri and not some Middle Eastern country, but the parallels are uncanny. In this story, the entire equation is thrown out of balance by the arrival of the variable man - with a surprising and thoughtful ending. I won't spoil the end, but this is a great read for fans of the genre.
February 21, 2024
Audiobook from libravox
length 02:49:11 (not 3 pages)
The Variable Man
Philip K. Dick
Narrated by Gregg Margarite
5 stars 90%
Loved it. PKD takes us to an admittedly cartoon like future world poised on the brink of galactic war. Conflict between science and army ensues precipitated by the accidental arrival of a man from the 50s. Narration seemed strangely stilted, but still good. PKD seems to me to have almost predicted the use of social-media people-power politics, cool thought given the A-bomb fears prevalent when this was penned.
length 02:49:11 (not 3 pages)
The Variable Man
Philip K. Dick
Narrated by Gregg Margarite
5 stars 90%
Loved it. PKD takes us to an admittedly cartoon like future world poised on the brink of galactic war. Conflict between science and army ensues precipitated by the accidental arrival of a man from the 50s. Narration seemed strangely stilted, but still good. PKD seems to me to have almost predicted the use of social-media people-power politics, cool thought given the A-bomb fears prevalent when this was penned.
August 1, 2016
Good story!
August 4, 2016
Short, but interesting. I did enjoy it. Recommended.
January 20, 2024
This is one of Philip K Dick's earliest works, published September, 1953 in Space Science Fiction journal; this was a short lived journal edited by Lester del Rey. Given when this was written, I found it amazingly current. So many works from this time period are out dated.
I liked the main protagonist in this story, the variable man, Thomas Cole. Thomas Cole is a fix-it man struggling to make a living in 1913.
The story takes place in the year 2136. In preparation for an attack on a neighboring star system by the Terran system, all agencies of the Terran system prepare for war. As part of that preparation, the historic agency, who has a probe stationed in the time of the 20th century, needs to bring the probe back to the present time. This is normally done automatically but in the emergency, the probe is brought back manually; the first time this has ever been accomplished. As a result of this manual operation, Thomas Cole is brought back and he escapes the facility. This new factor (Cole, The Variable Man) throws the computers for a loop and are now unable to calculate the odds of Terra winning the war.
Now, Cole is on the run. Hungry and tired, he comes across some children playing. One of the children has dropped and broken a toy. Cole tells the child he can fix it. He proceeds to do so but fixes it to a real device (not a toy). This creates a situation. Some of the government want to protect Cole, some want to kill Cole.
This ability Cole has is largely forgotten even in our society. The only guys today who seem to be able to fix things are farmer types. Men who work with their hands are not hard to find these days but if you want to be able to fix anything, you need to be self employed.
This is a short story so I didn't get a lot of time ruminating on what I thought would happen. The ending was a surprise to me. I know P K Dick meant it as a surprise but it was predictable based on Mr Cole's prior history during the story.
I liked the main protagonist in this story, the variable man, Thomas Cole. Thomas Cole is a fix-it man struggling to make a living in 1913.
The story takes place in the year 2136. In preparation for an attack on a neighboring star system by the Terran system, all agencies of the Terran system prepare for war. As part of that preparation, the historic agency, who has a probe stationed in the time of the 20th century, needs to bring the probe back to the present time. This is normally done automatically but in the emergency, the probe is brought back manually; the first time this has ever been accomplished. As a result of this manual operation, Thomas Cole is brought back and he escapes the facility. This new factor (Cole, The Variable Man) throws the computers for a loop and are now unable to calculate the odds of Terra winning the war.
Now, Cole is on the run. Hungry and tired, he comes across some children playing. One of the children has dropped and broken a toy. Cole tells the child he can fix it. He proceeds to do so but fixes it to a real device (not a toy). This creates a situation. Some of the government want to protect Cole, some want to kill Cole.
This ability Cole has is largely forgotten even in our society. The only guys today who seem to be able to fix things are farmer types. Men who work with their hands are not hard to find these days but if you want to be able to fix anything, you need to be self employed.
This is a short story so I didn't get a lot of time ruminating on what I thought would happen. The ending was a surprise to me. I know P K Dick meant it as a surprise but it was predictable based on Mr Cole's prior history during the story.
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