A masterwork by Philip K. Dick, this is the final, expanded version of the novellla The Unteleported Man, which Dick worked on shortly before his death. In Lies, Inc., fans of the science fiction legend will immediately recognize his hallmark themes of life in a security state, conspiracy, and the blurring of reality and illusion. This publication marks its first complete appearance in the United States.
In this wry, paranoid vision of the future, overpopulation has turned cities into cramed industrial anthills. For those sick of this dystopian reality, one corporation, Trails of Hoffman, Inc., promises an alternative: Take a teleport to Whale's Mouth, a colonized planet billed as the supreme paradise. The only catch is that you can never comeback. When a neurotic man named Rachmael ben Applebaum discovers that the promotional films of happy crowds cheering their newfound existence on Whale's Mouth are faked, he decides to pilot a scapeship on the eighteen-year journey there to see if anyone wants to return.
| LoC Classification |
PS3554.I3L54 2004 |
| Dewey |
813/.54 |
| Edition |
1st Vintage Books ed. |
| Cover Price |
$12.95 |
| No. of Pages |
208 |
| Height x Width |
8.1
x
5.2
inch |
| Original Publication Year |
1964 |
|
| Read It |
Yes (4/6/2008) |
| Store |
Borders |
| Purchase Price |
$10.29 |
| Purchase Date |
3/13/2008 |
| Owner |
John |
| Links |
Amazon US
|
|
Rev. ed. of: The unteleported man. 1964. Rev. ed. under title: Lies, Inc., originally published: London : Gollancz, 1984.
This story was originally published in '64 as "The Untelported Man" in Amazing-Fantasic. Then he was asked to add 40k words to make it book length. The editor rejected the additional work and published it as part of an Ace double. After reading it, I say for good reason.
The story starts off very promising. Earth is overpopulated, there's a planet, Fomalhaut IX, 24 LY from earth that is habitable. The teleportation is discovered, and the interstellar ships become obsolete. The trouble is telpor is one-way, once you go, you can't come back.
This troubles Rachmael ben Applebaum who thinks the communications coming back from Whale's mouth are faked and plans to go by his company's one remaining ship. Thus becoming the unteleported man. The first part of the story revolves around him trying to stave of creditors, and get the deep sleep equipment so that he can make the journey. We get introduced to Freya Holm, Matson Glazer-Holliday from Lies, Inc. We see that THL runs the telpor stations, and there is the UN governing body.
Lies, Inc. is intrigued by ben Appelbaum's suppositions about Whale's mouth and sends one of their pilots, Al Dosker, to help him hide his spaceship until he can work everything out. As they are going to get his ship, Theodoric Ferry, the head of THL, intercepts them. They escape, and that Ferry turned out to be a simalucrum.
He is on his ship getting ready to depart when the additional text cuts in, and all of a sudden he is in line being teleported. When he gets to the other side, he's drugged, he sees some para-world. Gets put into a rehab class with other people suffering post teleportation sickness. These people have seen other para-worlds. There's some mention of going back it time to stop the invention of teleportation, some book that details what is happening to Rachmael ben Appelbaum, Matson, Freya Holm, etc. When the additional text ends, he's back on his ship and it's Matson going through the teleportaion.
Forget the garbage that was thrown in for some who knows reason. In the original story what I found hard to understand was why Matson decided to go through the telpor at all. It made no sense. For all he knew he was the Jew walking into the gas chamber in the concentration camp. That everything from Whale's Mouth was a lie.
The original story was OK, the addition text was utter crap. I suppose it will help be enjoy a good book even more.
