Solar Lottery - Philip K. Dick's very first published novel. The year was 1955 and if the public only knew what the above first edition would eventually be worth, it would have sold for considerably more than 35 cents.
Back in 1955, PKD, age 27, already had dozens of published short stories to his credit as well as completing five manuscripts for novels that would eventually become famous titles among avid fans. This to say, the young American author racked up thousands of productive hours sitting at his typewriter when it came time to hammer out Solar Lottery. However, one thing he never had was a lot of money; matter of fact, poverty-stricken Phil was forced to pump out story after story to pay the bills. Subsequently, his writing possesses a edgy roughness and no-nonsense drive aficionados of the genre have come to know and love.
Solar Lottery also contains much signature PKD craziness later developed in such classics as Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Ubik and Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said. With so much craziness, I will not attempt to chart the story's arc; rather, I'll shift to highlighting key themes and characters our perceptive young author includes in his zany 200-page sf popper. Again, Philip K. Dick's very first published novel. What a marvel to have such explosive talent at a young age.
Luck of the Draw: Who would have guessed in the year 2203 an entire world civilization would place such an emphasis on games and quizzes? “The economy was propped up for decades by elaborate give-away devices that dispensed tons of glittering merchandise. But for every man who won a car and a refrigerator and a TV set there were millions who didn’t.” Sorry to say, the society in PKD’s novel has degenerated to the point where people maintain zero faith in natural law or any sense of stability – all that remains is counting your odds in a universe of random chance; in a word, life has become a colossal crap shoot.
Top Dog: According to Minimax, the prevailing game theory invented by mathematicians back in the twentieth century, the head of world government is chosen by lottery - in the novel’s futuristic lingo, “twitched by the random motion of the bottle to the number One class-position.” And what, you may ask, is the title given to the person holding this glorious position? Perhaps predictably in a dystopianish culture dedicated to randomization: the Quizmaster.
Ferocious Fun: It should be noted that being Quizmaster does have its downside. Forever starving for entertainment, the general public can tune in to get the latest update on the brutal game of assassin versus Quizmaster. According to the rules of this futuristic blood sport, only one assassin at a time can hunt to kill the Quizmaster. And how does a man get to be an assassin? Of course – a lottery! Sidebar: a young woman was saddened as a little girl when she discovered only men can be assassins. What a bummer!
Telepaths: Mind reading, one of PKD's abiding themes, makes its appearance in Solar Lottery. A prime defense for a Quizmaster to protect themselves against an assassin's attack: an entire fleet of telepaths. Interest in such telepathic ability was big back in the 1950s - Alfred Bester's The Demolished Man is another classic of science fiction featuring a special class of people who can read minds.
Android Antecedent: Solar Lottery features MacMillan robots as taxi drivers and servants. Not nearly as humanoid as his androids, these robots nevertheless render many humans obsolete. A close corollary is this future society devaluing “blue collar” workers, people working with their hands not their heads; indeed, people who can do things such as grow plants, repair machinery, cook meals or weave clothing are judged complete failures. A reader can sense Phil seething as he wrote these words since the author placed a high value on skills involving direct contact with objects. This theme is picked up most directly in his Galactic Pot-Healer.
Ted Benteley: Thirty-three year old biochemist fired after thirteen years of service with one of the world’s largest technology organizations. Ted is thus released from his fealty oath (such swearing an oath to a company or high ranking individual serves as an anchor in this haphazard future world gone mad). Soon thereafter, Ted swears an oath to Reese Verrick, the current Quizmaster but unfortunately minutes after his pledge, Verrick has been “quacked by a twitch of the bottle” or, in other words, Verrick is kicked out of the number one position.
Ted Benteley is the novel’s hero, a man of high ideals but made cynical by unending tawdriness and superficiality. Ted recognizes world dominating companies such as his former employer do little to truly improve the lives of individuals or uplift society; rather, they are solely concerned with profits. Does this sounds like PKD has prophesied our present day multinational corporations? Likewise, Ted also has a jaundiced view of popular culture: TV ads are the highest art-form and “those ads are like bright shiny sewer-bugs.” Bull’s eye, Ted! Bull’s-eye, PKD!
Leon Cartwright: A sixty-something electronics repairman with a strong sense of right and wrong is chosen as the new Quizmaster, an “old school” kind of guy who is considered a crank by most since he’s a follower of astronomer/visionary John Preston. Cartwright leans on the guidance of his attractive young niece Rita O'Neill and telepaths like Peter Wakeman to fight off the assassin and keep his position.
Reese Verrick: Reese is the prototypical 1950s captain of industry or government – tall, broad-shouldered, confident, cunning, egotistical. Having been quacked, the former Quizmaster’s first goal is to have an assassin kill Leon Cartwright so he can reclaim his former position. Being a seasoned schemer and manipulator, Reese rigs the lottery to pick exactly who he himself wants as the next assassin.
Keith Pellig: The next assassin chosen by lottery. A highly developed, nearly indestructible android shell that can be inhabited by multiple individuals to perform his duty as assassin. One of the more inventive, intriguing bits of the novel.
Topless Beauties: Two gorgeous ladies, Rita O'Neil and Eleanor Stevens, are central to the unfolding story. They also take center stage as eye candy: even fully dressed, their breasts are bare. Young author Phil takes every occasion to detail the luscious pair (no pun intended!).
Scintillating Subplot: Leon Cartwright sends a crew to search for John Preston's mysterious tenth planet known as the "Flame Disc." Hey, what's a PKD novel without a mingling of plots? And at the book's end, the author gives reader the satisfaction of pulling everything together. How does he do it? I encourage you to read Solar Lottery and blast off with young Phil. Your imagination will expand to dimensions beyond the Flame Disc. And I'm not joking.
Photo of author Philip K. Dick taken around the time he wrote Solar Lottery
Comments
Post a Comment