Science Fiction and the Legacy of Philip K. Dick
Philip K. Dick was the greatest science fiction author of all time. I assert this because he was endlessly inventive at creating entire new worlds of concepts and ideas within his mind, projecting them in to world around him and overlaying them with “normal” reality until it became hard to discern where his fiction ended and the so-called “real man” began. This unique creative talent of superimposing the imaginary upon the real for the sake of the creation of art is something I am very familiar with, for I, too, am gifted with this talent. Like Brother Philip, I am also a science fiction writer, though I have not yet published any of my works. That is soon to change.
I have been polishing my writing skills for years, working on small projects here and there, reading a great deal of fiction and non-fiction, studying the craft of writing, and collecting life experiences to draw upon as an aspiring creative intellectual. Had I brought my talents to bear prematurely, I would have rendered forth relatively naive works of fiction without the real depth of character of one who has experienced much in the world. I have been watching, waiting, studying, meditating, until the time was right to take up the pen and join the ranks of the writers of wishful whimsies, the novelists of new knowledge, and the pretentious prattle-ons of posterity. Like Hesse’s Siddhartha, I had not many skills but to think, to wait, and to fast.
The time has come, it appears, to come out of the closet. I’ll admit it: I’m an aspiring science fiction writer. What does an aspiring science fiction writer do, you might ask? Well, we ponder about the world, and superimpose our imaginations upon it to see if new concepts and discoveries can be made. We gaze at all the ridiculous foolishness and solemn wisdom of the world alike, and being no respecter of persons, we try to fit old ideas together in new ways, in an effort to create new concepts. If we are supremely blessed, and talented, and maybe a little bit lucky, then we may come to find our ideas come to reflect and reveal new truths about the cosmos and the way things interact. If we are not, then we are merely run-of-the-mill fools, toiling on about our keyboards with our mad imaginings drifting scrawls across all the coffee-stained napkins in the local coffee shop.
Either way, we may come off as sacrilegious, kooky, and frankly, a little bit weird. Or more than a little. That’s ok, though. The world needs the science fiction writer. The world needs the science fiction writer because the science fiction writer is the portender of the future. He or she feels out the currents of the popular consciousness, and follow their threads to their logical ends. He portends of things to come, and warns of what may happen if humanity may not change her ways. She is a fickle character, outlandish and perhaps even a little uncouth, but that is all for the good. It takes a mind capable of looking at all angles, no matter how ridiculous, to project new dimensions of thought in to our reality. We owe science fiction writers a great debt of thanks for their service.
I am not yet worthy to count myself among them, as I have not yet published my major works, but they are coming, and soon. The days of my silence are over. I have digested long enough, and now it is time to create. I thank all of you for your patience and forbearance in dealing with my ramblings these past several weeks. I know it must have been confusing to you, to see someone you know seem to cry out like a stark raving lunatic. Fear not, dear reader, for I am not a messianic figure, nor a prophet, nor a cultist. I am simply a writer. Thank you for your understanding in these latter days. May all the love and light of God be upon you. Amen.