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{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{infobox Book
{{short description|1969 science-fiction novel by Philip K. Dick}}
| name = Ubik
{{about|the science fiction novel|other uses}}
| image = ]
{{Infobox book
| image_caption = Cover of first edition (hardcover)
| name = Ubik
| author = ]
| image = Ubik(1stEd).jpg
| country = United States
| caption = Cover of first edition (hardcover)
| genre = ]
| author = ]
| publisher = ]
| country = United States
| release_date = 1969
| genre = ], ], ]
| media_type = Print (] & ])
| publisher = ]
| pages = 202 pp
| release_date = 1969
| isbn = 978-0-57507-921-2 & 0-679-73664-6
| media_type = Print (hardback & paperback)
| pages = 202
| isbn = 978-0-575-07921-2
| oclc= 67871286 | oclc= 67871286
}} }}
'''''Ubik''''' ({{pron-en|ˈjuːbɨk}} {{respell|EW|bik}}<ref name="Hour25">{{cite web|url=http://www.philipkdickfans.com/frank/hour25.htm|title=Hour 25: A Talk With Philip K. Dick|publisher=philipKdick.com|accessdate=2008-07-30}}</ref>) is a 1969 ] novel by American writer ]. In 2005, '']'' magazine named it one of the 100 greatest English-language novels published since 1923; critic ] described it as "a deeply unsettling existential horror story, a nightmare you'll never be sure you've woken up from".<ref>Grossman, Lev. "". '']''. Retrieved on May 2, 2009.</ref>


'''''Ubik''''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|juː|b|ᵻ|k}} {{respell|YOO|bik}}) is a ] ] novel by American writer ]. The story is set in a future 1992 where ] powers are utilized in ], while ] technology allows recently deceased people to be maintained in a lengthy state of ].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Jordison |first1=Sam |title=Philip K Dick's Ubik: a masterpiece of malleability |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/mar/18/philip-k-dick-ubik-reading-group |website=] |date=March 18, 2014 |access-date=March 31, 2019}}</ref> It follows Joe Chip, a technician at a psychic agency who begins to experience strange alterations in ] that can be temporarily reversed by a mysterious store-bought substance called Ubik.<ref name="Ubik–All-Time 100 Novels">Grossman, Lev. "". '']''. Retrieved on May 2, 2009.</ref> This work expands upon characters and concepts previously introduced in the vignette "]".
==Plot synopsis==
The novel takes place in the 'North American Confederation' of 1992, wherein ] has advanced to the extent of permitting civilians to reach the ] and ] are widely accepted as real. The ] is Joe Chip, a ]-ridden technician for Glen Runciter's "] organization", which employs people with the ability to block certain ] powers (as in the case of an anti-], who can prevent a telepath from reading a client's mind) to enforce ] by request. Runciter runs the company with the assistance of his deceased wife Ella, who is kept in a state of "half-life", a form of ] suspension that gives the deceased person limited consciousness and communication ability.


''Ubik'' is one of Dick's most acclaimed novels. In 2009, it was chosen by ] magazine as one of the 100 greatest novels since 1923. In his review for ''Time'', critic ] described it as "a deeply unsettling existential horror story, a nightmare you'll never be sure you've woken up from".<ref name="Ubik–All-Time 100 Novels"/>
The company’s main ] is Ray Hollis, who leads an organization of psychics. Hollis appears only for a short time in the novel.


==Plot==
When business magnate Stanton Mick hires Runciter’s company to secure his ] facilities from telepaths, Runciter assembles a dozen agents for this task. The group includes Pat Conley, a mysterious young woman who has an unprecedented parapsychological ability to undo events by changing the past. Joe Chip is shown at several points to have sexual feelings for the defiant Pat Conley, who once gives the impression of reciprocating them.
By the year 1992, humanity has colonized the Moon and ] powers are common. The protagonist, Joe Chip, is a debt-ridden technician working for Runciter Associates, a "prudence organization" employing "inertials"—people with the ability to negate the powers of ] and "]s"—to enforce the privacy of clients. The company is run by Glen Runciter, assisted by his deceased wife Ella who is kept in a state of "half-life", a form of ] ] that allows the deceased limited ] and ability to communicate. While consulting with Ella, Runciter discovers that her consciousness is being invaded by another half-lifer named Jory Miller.


When Runciter, Chip, and the others reach Mick’s moon base, they discover that the assignment is a trap, presumably set by Hollis. A bomb explosion apparently kills Runciter without significantly harming the others. They rush back to Earth to place him in half-life. When business magnate Stanton Mick hires Runciter Associates to secure his lunar facilities from alleged psychic intrusion, Runciter assembles a team of 11 of his best inertials, including recent hire Pat Conley, a mysterious girl with the unique psychic ability to undo events by changing the past. Runciter and Chip travel with the group to Stanton's Moon base, where they discover that the assignment is a trap, presumably set by the company's main adversary, Ray Hollis, who leads an organization of psychics. A bomb blast apparently kills Runciter without significantly harming the others. They rush back to Earth to place him into half-life, but they cannot establish contact with him so his body is set to be buried.


From the moment of the explosion, the group begins to experience shifts in ]. Many objects they come into contact with (especially ]s) are much older than they should be, some being ], and are rapidly deteriorating. They gradually find themselves ], eventually anchoring in 1939. At the same time, they find themselves surrounded by "manifestations" of Runciter; for example, his face appears on their money. As the novel progresses, members of the group one by one begin to feel tired and cold, then suddenly shrivel and die. Chip attempts to make sense of what is happening and discovers two contradictory messages from Runciter, one stating that he is alive and they are dead, and another claiming to have been recorded by him while he was still alive. The latter message advertises Ubik, a store-bought product which can be used to temporarily reverse deterioration and which often appears as a can of ]. Chip deduces that they may have all died in the blast and are now linked together in half-life, and unsuccessfully tries to get hold of Ubik.
Afterwards, the group begins to experience strange shifts in reality. Consumables, such as milk and cigarettes, begin to expire prematurely. Also, the group sees Runciter's face on coins and receives strange messages from him in writing and on television. Most of these messages imply that Runciter is in fact alive, while the others are in half-life, or "cold-pac" as it is informally called. Group members who separate from the group are found dead, in a gruesome state of decomposition.


After receiving another message and travelling to Runciter's hometown, Chip accuses Conley of working for Hollis and causing the deterioration with her ability, and while he himself is withering away, she confirms this. As she leaves him to die, he is saved by Runciter, who sprays him with Ubik and tells him that the group is indeed in half-life and he himself is alive and trying to help them, although he does not know where Ubik comes from. As Runciter disappears, Jory reveals himself to Chip, telling him that he, not Conley, has now killed off the entire group (including Conley), as he "eats" half-lifers to sustain himself, and that the entire reality they are experiencing is created and maintained by him. However, Chip is temporarily protected from being consumed through the effect of Ubik, and leaves Jory. As he at last begins to deteriorate again, he meets Ella, who saves him by granting him a certificate for a life-long supply of Ubik, and instructs him to stay half-alive and seek cans of Ubik to further assist Runciter after she herself ]. It is implied that Jory has allies in the real world who help him find other half-lifers to consume in order to prolong his own half-life, or that entities like Jory can arise from any collection of half-lifers. Ubik is claimed to have been developed by Ella and several other half-lifers as a defense against Jory.
The reality gradually shifts backward in time until the group finds itself in a world resembling the ] in 1939. They try throughout to deduce what is causing these strange occurrences, prevent each other from dying, and find a mysterious product called Ubik, which is advertised in every time period they enter. Messages from Runciter indicate that Ubik may be their only hope of survival.


Each chapter is introduced by a ] advertising Ubik as a different product serving a specific use. The last chapter is introduced by Ubik claiming that it has ] and directed the universe, and that its real name is unknown and unspoken. In this short chapter, Runciter, who is in the "living" world mourning the loss of his best employees, discovers coins showing Chip's face, and feels that this is "just the beginning".
Ultimately, Joe Chip learns that Runciter, in fact, was the sole survivor of the explosion on Luna, and that his messages to the group are the result of his attempts to communicate with them while they are in half-life. The regressing world in which they find themselves is discovered to be the product of Jory Miller, another half-lifer whom Runciter encounters earlier in the story while communicating with Ella. It is revealed that Jory devours the ] of other people who are in ] to prolong his own present existence. Of the group of anti-psychics and technicians, only Joe Chip eludes him, aided by the substance called Ubik. This substance, whose name is derived from the word "ubiquity", has the property of preserving people who are in half-life. Joe Chip is instructed in its use by Ella Runciter, who is ''en route'' to a ].


==Interpretation and analysis==
In the living world, Glen Runciter encounters several coins showing Joe Chip's face. He suspects that this is "just the beginning".
]]]
Dick's former wife Tessa remarked


<blockquote>Ubik is a metaphor for God. Ubik is all-powerful and all-knowing, and Ubik is everywhere. The spray can is only a form that Ubik takes to make it easy for people to understand it and use it. It is not the substance inside the can that helps them, but rather their faith in the promise that it will help them.<ref name="tessa">{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, Tessa Dick, It's a Philip K. Dick World, December 4, 2008.</ref> </blockquote>
==Themes and interpretation==
{{Unreferenced|section|date=December 2008}}
Whereas the confusion between real and unreal, obscured by the perception of the main character(s), is common in Dick's work, in ''Ubik'' this confusion occurs in more than one way. Given the premise of half-life (the term is related to radioactive ] in that the partially dead person continues to slowly die and eventually is completely dead), one puzzle lies in resolving the false reality of the deceased with the real perceptions of those who are still alive. This is further complicated by Pat Conley, whose ability to change the past (and thus the present) may be causing the reality changes. The interference of psychics causes further confusion. The story presents unsettling shifts between realities and timelines, so that the reader is never certain what is real and what is illusion.


She also interpreted the ending by writing
Another theme is the opposition between the twin forces of decay (the regression experienced by the characters) and restoration (Ubik, which reverses that decay). There's also an examination of what decomposition actually means and whether ideas are immune.


<blockquote>Many readers have puzzled over the ending of ''Ubik'', when Glen Runciter finds a Joe Chip coin in his pocket. What does it mean? Is Runciter dead? Are Joe Chip and the others alive? Actually, this is meant to tell you that we can't be sure of anything in the world that we call 'reality.' It is possible that they are all dead and in cold pac or that the half-life world can affect the full-life world. It is also possible that they are all alive and dreaming.<ref name="tessa" /></blockquote>
''Ubik'' features several character types common to Dick's fiction: Chip as the downtrodden, ] ]; Conley as the dark-haired, alluring, unattainable, possibly insane, sadistic, and by some means empowered woman; Runciter as a cynical but fatherly old man, who holds a position of great power at the top of the social hierarchy (similar to Leo Bulero in '']'' or Felix Buckman in '']''). These character types are nearly universal to his work and tend to follow similar roles: <!-- ]-induced ] or a ''bona fide'' event is left vague for the reader. Ultimately, the reader is left to wonder what actually happened in the "real world" of the story and is left few clues, much as a person rehabilitated from extended drug use might look back at the recent months of life and wonder what was real, what was misinterpreted, and what was false. <!--]] <This was copied directly from the Misplaced Pages page for 'A Scanner Darkly'. Try paraphrasing next time. Citations might be desired, even though most of the information about Dick's characters is correct.> -->


Peter Fitting sees parallels between the God-Devil/Life-Death relationship of Ubik and the antagonist's consumptive abilities within half-life, and the commercialized industry between psychics and psychic-inhibiting "inertials" which occupies the novel's "reality". Fitting also notes Dick's effort to desacralize and commercialize Ubik through the ironic advertising messages which begin each chapter.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Fitting |first1=Peter |title=Ubik: The Deconstruction of Bourgeois SF |url=https://www.depauw.edu/sfs/backissues/5/fitting5art.htm |journal=Science Fiction Studies |date=1975 |volume=2 |issue=1}}</ref>
Dick's former wife Tessa remarked that "Ubik is a metaphor for God. Ubik is all-powerful and all-knowing, and Ubik is everywhere. The spray can is only a form that Ubik takes to make it easy for people to understand it and use it. It is not the substance inside the can that helps them, but rather their faith in the promise that it will help them."<ref name="tessa"> Tessa Dick, It's a Philip K. Dick World, December 4, 2008</ref> She also interpreted the ending by writing, "Many readers have puzzled over the ending of ''Ubik'', when Glen Runciter finds a Joe Chip coin in his pocket. What does it mean? Is Runciter dead? Are Joe Chip and the others alive? Actually, this is meant to tell you that we can't be sure of anything in the world that we call 'reality.' It is possible that they are all dead and in cold pac. It is also possible that they are all alive and dreaming."<ref name="tessa"/>


==Adaptations and cultural influences==
==Literary allusions==
The term Ubik comes from the ] word ''ubique'', which means "everywhere" and is the source of the ] word ''ubiquitous'', which means being or seeming to be everywhere at the same time. This could be considered ironic, given that Ubik is a rare and highly sought-after substance in the novel, but it may also indicate that Ubik is a life-force of sorts.


===Video game===
''Ubik'' also references ]’s ], great universals that define the essence of all matter. When the world begins to seemingly regress in time and all objects in it (such as ] sets, ] and ]) become that time period’s version of that object, Chip remarks that each is coming closer to barest, simplest Form.
{{Unreferenced section|date=September 2018}}
In 1998, ] released '']'', a tactical action/strategy video game very loosely based on the book. The game allowed players to act as Joe Chip and train combat squads into missions against the Hollis Corporation. The game was available for ] and for Microsoft Windows and was not a significant commercial success.


===Planned film adaptations===
==Adaptations==
===Videogame===
In 1998, ] released ''Philip K. Dick’s Ubik'', a tactical action/strategy ] very loosely based on the book. The game allowed players to act as Joe Chip and train combat squads into missions against the Hollis Corporation. The game was available for ] and for ] and was not a significant commercial success.


====Original attempt – Gorin====
===Attempts to produce a ''Ubik'' film===
In 1974, ] filmmaker ] commissioned Dick to write a screenplay for a ''Ubik'' film. Dick completed the screenplay, turning it in within a month, but Gorin never filmed the project.<ref>Paul Williams, Introduction, ''Ubik: The Screenplay'' by Philip K. Dick, 1985</ref> The screenplay was published as ''Ubik: The Screenplay'' in 1985 (ISBN 978-0911169065) and again in 2008 (ISBN 9781596061699). Dick's former wife Tessa claims that the published screenplay "has been heavily edited, and others have added material to the screenplay that Phil wrote", though she suggests that "film producers really ought to take a look at the author’s own screenplay before embarking upon their journey of interpretation".<ref> Tessa Dick, It's a Philip K. Dick World, September 8, 2008</ref> In 1974, ] film-maker ] commissioned Dick to write a screenplay based on ''Ubik''. Dick completed the screenplay within a month, but Gorin never filmed it.<ref>Paul Williams, Introduction, ''Ubik: The Screenplay'' by Philip K. Dick, 1985</ref> The screenplay was published as ''Ubik: The Screenplay'' in 1985 ({{ISBN|978-0911169065}}) and again in 2008 ({{ISBN|9781596061699}}). Dick's former wife Tessa claims that the published screenplay "has been heavily edited, and others have added material to the screenplay that Phil wrote", though she suggests that "film producers really ought to take a look at the author's own screenplay before embarking upon their journey of interpretation".<ref> Tessa Dick, It's a Philip K. Dick World, September 8, 2008</ref>


====Dick's screenplay====
Dick's screenplay differs from the source material, featuring numerous scenes that are not in the novel.<ref name="Hour25"/> According to the foreword of ''Ubik: The Screenplay'' (by ], a friend of Dick's and fellow science fiction writer), Dick had an idea for the film which involved "the film itself appearing to undergo a series of reversions: to black-and-white, then to the awkward jerkiness of very early movies, then to a crookedly jammed frame which proceeds to blacken, bubble and melt away, leaving only the white glare of the projection bulb, which in turn deteriorates to leave the theater in darkness, and might almost leave the moviegoer wondering what sort of dilapidated, antique jalopy he'll find his car-keys fitting when he goes outside."<ref>Tim Powers, Foreword, ''Ubik: The Screenplay'' by Philip K. Dick, 1985</ref>
Dick's screenplay features numerous scenes that are not in the novel. According to ], a friend of Dick's and fellow science fiction writer, in his foreword to ''Ubik: The Screenplay'', Dick had an idea for the film that involved "the film itself appearing to undergo a series of reversions: to black-and-white, then to the awkward jerkiness of very early movies, then to a crookedly jammed frame which proceeds to blacken, bubble and melt away, leaving only the white glare of the projection bulb, which in turn deteriorates to leave the theater in darkness, and might almost leave the moviegoer wondering what sort of dilapidated, antique ] he'll find his car-keys fitting when he goes outside".<ref>Tim Powers, Foreword, ''Ubik: The Screenplay'' by Philip K. Dick, 1985</ref>


====Pallotta and Celluloid Dreams====
], who produced the ] of Dick's '']'', said in a July 2006 interview that he "still the option for ''Ubik'' and will be looking to make a live action feature from it."<ref></ref> Dick's daughter, Isa Dick Hackett, said the film adaptation of ''Ubik'' is in advanced negotiation.<ref></ref> In May 2008, the film was optioned by ]. It will be produced by Hengameh Panahi of Celluloid Dreams and Isa Dick Hackett, of Electric Shepherd Productions. It is slated to go into production in early 2009.<ref></ref>
], who produced the ] of Dick's novel '']'', said in an interview in July 2006 that he "still the option for ''Ubik''" and wanted to "make a live action feature from it".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.greencine.com/article?action=view&articleID=314|title=Tommy Pallotta: Substance PKD|work=greencine.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607081738/http://www.greencine.com/article?action=view&articleID=314|archive-date=June 7, 2011|access-date=December 26, 2006}}</ref> In 2007, Dick's daughter, ], said that the film adaptation of ''Ubik'' was at an advanced stage of negotiations.<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071211064053/http://www.calendarlive.com/books/cl-et-dick15sep15%2C0%2C5604716.story?coll=cl-books-features |date=December 11, 2007 }}</ref> In May 2008, the film was optioned by ], to be produced by Hengameh Panahi for Celluloid Dreams and Isa Dick Hackett for Electric Shepherd Productions. It was slated to enter production in early 2009.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=1&id=54511&type=0 |title = SciFi.com |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080522010559/http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=1&id=54511&type=0 |archive-date = May 22, 2008 |url-status = dead |access-date = May 20, 2008 }}</ref>

====Failed Gondry production====
] (pictured) was abandoned in the early 2010s.]]
] was working on a film adaptation in early 2011, with ] and ] producing.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/michel_gondry_adapting_philip_k._dicks_ubik|title=Michel Gondry Adapting Philip K. Dick's 'Ubik'|author=Kevin Jagernauth|date=February 16, 2011|work=The Playlist|access-date=December 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140110004141/http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/michel_gondry_adapting_philip_k._dicks_ubik|archive-date=January 10, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2014, however, Gondry told French outlet Telerama (via Jeux Actu) that he was no longer working on the project and explained: <blockquote>"The book is brilliant, but it's good as a literary work. Having tried to adapt it with several screenwriters, ... at the moment I don't feel up to doing it. It doesn't have the dramatic structure that would make it a good film. I received a script that disheartened me a bit, and that was it. It was a dream, but in life you can't always have what you want."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-05-05 |title=Michel Gondry Abandons Ubik |url=https://members.stg.empireonline.com/movies/news/michel-gondry-abandons-ubik/ |access-date=2024-03-21 |website=Empire |language=en |archive-date=March 21, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240321173329/https://members.stg.empireonline.com/movies/news/michel-gondry-abandons-ubik/ |url-status=dead }}</ref></blockquote>

===Audiobook===
An ] version of ''Ubik'' was released in 2008 by ]. The audiobook, read by ], is ] and runs approximately 7 hours over 6 CDs.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100115011033/http://blackstoneaudio.com/audiobook.cfm?id=5177 |date=January 15, 2010 }} {{ISBN|978-1-4332-2817-9}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sfsite.com/12b/ub286.htm|title=The SF Site Featured Review: UBIK |publisher=sfsite.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/showreview_pub.cfm?Num=39079 |title = AudioFile audiobook review: ''Ubik'' By Philip K. Dick, Read by Anthony Heald |archive-url = https://archive.today/20120721051549/http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/showreview_pub.cfm?Num=39079 |archive-date = July 21, 2012 |url-status = dead |access-date = January 18, 2010 }}</ref> Another version released in 2016 by Brilliance Audio, read by Luke Daniels, is unabridged and runs 7 hrs 56 minutes.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.audible.com/pd/Sci-Fi-Fantasy/Ubik-Audiobook/B01EVQT6HQ |title=Ubik |date=August 7, 2017 |publisher=Audible}}</ref>


===Music=== ===Music===
{{Unreferenced section|date=September 2018}}
] created an auditory adaptation on their "The Electromagnetic Azoth - ''Ubik'' / Ishraqiyun - ''Balance of the 19''" 7" record. The "Ubik" track features musicians ] (], ]) and Bill Horist. In 2000 ] released a musical interpretation of the novel titled ''u.B.I.Q.U.e.''
] created an auditory adaptation on their "The Electromagnetic Azoth - ''Ubik'' / Ishraqiyun - ''Balance of the 19''" 7" record. The "Ubik" track features musicians ] (], ]) and Bill Horist.


In 2000, ] released a musical interpretation of the novel titled ''u.B.I.Q.U.e.''. It is also the name of a ] ].
===Architecture===
An architecture and design collaboration began in the late 90's in South Asia in reference to the novel. The agency has numerous successful projects throughout the region. http://www.ubikasia.com/ubik-architects/public%20buildings.htm


In 1992, ] released an album titled ''DWW'' featuring the tracks called "Ubik" and "The Joe Chip Song".
==Criticism==
* Fitting, Peter, (1975) "Ubik and the Deconstruction of Bourgeois SF", ''Science-Fiction Studies'' # 5, 2:1, pp.&nbsp;47-54.
* Lem, Stanislaw, (1975) “Science and Reality in Philip K. Dick’s ''Ubik''”, ''A Multitude of Visions'', ed. Cy Chauvin, Baltimore; T-K Graphics, pp.&nbsp;35-9.
* Pagetti, Carlo, (2003) “Ubik uno e trino” , Philip K. Dick, ''Ubik'', Roma: Fanucci, pp.&nbsp;253-66.
* Proietti, Salvatore, (2006) “Vuoti di potere e resistenza umana: Dick, ''Ubik'' e l'epica americana”, ''Trasmigrazioni: I mondi di Philip K. Dick'', eds. Valerio Massimo De Angelis and Umberto Rossi, Firenze: Le Monnier, pp.&nbsp;204-16.


==See also== ==See also==
{{portal|Novels}}
*]
* '']''
*]
* ]
* "]"


==References== ==References==
{{reflist|2}} {{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* Braver, Lee, (2015) "Coin-Operated Doors and God: A Gnostic Reading of Philip K. Dick's ''Ubik''", ''Extrapolation'' 56.1, pp.&nbsp;83–110. https://doi.org/10.3828/extr.2015.6
*Fitting, Peter, (1975) "", ''Science-Fiction Studies'' # 5, 2:1, pp.&nbsp;47–54.
* Lem, Stanislaw, (1975) "Science and Reality in Philip K. Dick's ''Ubik''", ''A Multitude of Visions'', ed. Cy Chauvin, Baltimore; T-K Graphics, pp.&nbsp;35–9.
* Pagetti, Carlo, (2003) "Ubik uno e trino" , Philip K. Dick, ''Ubik'', Roma: Fanucci, pp.&nbsp;253–66. {{in lang|it}}
* Proietti, Salvatore, (2006) "Vuoti di potere e resistenza umana: Dick, ''Ubik'' e l'epica americana", ''Trasmigrazioni: I mondi di Philip K. Dick'', eds. Valerio Massimo De Angelis and Umberto Rossi, Firenze: Le Monnier, pp.&nbsp;204–16. {{in lang|it}}
<!-- * Lem, Stanislaw http://www.depauw.edu/sfs/backissues/5/lem5art.htm ?-->

==External links==
*{{Isfdb title|id=948}}


{{Philip K. Dick}} {{Philip K. Dick}}


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Latest revision as of 18:46, 31 October 2024

1969 science-fiction novel by Philip K. Dick This article is about the science fiction novel. For other uses, see Ubik (disambiguation).
Ubik
Cover of first edition (hardcover)
AuthorPhilip K. Dick
GenreScience fiction, paranoid fiction, philosophical fiction
PublisherDoubleday
Publication date1969
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (hardback & paperback)
Pages202
ISBN978-0-575-07921-2
OCLC67871286

Ubik (/ˈjuːbɪk/ YOO-bik) is a 1969 science fiction novel by American writer Philip K. Dick. The story is set in a future 1992 where psychic powers are utilized in corporate espionage, while cryonic technology allows recently deceased people to be maintained in a lengthy state of hibernation. It follows Joe Chip, a technician at a psychic agency who begins to experience strange alterations in reality that can be temporarily reversed by a mysterious store-bought substance called Ubik. This work expands upon characters and concepts previously introduced in the vignette "What the Dead Men Say".

Ubik is one of Dick's most acclaimed novels. In 2009, it was chosen by Time magazine as one of the 100 greatest novels since 1923. In his review for Time, critic Lev Grossman described it as "a deeply unsettling existential horror story, a nightmare you'll never be sure you've woken up from".

Plot

By the year 1992, humanity has colonized the Moon and psychic powers are common. The protagonist, Joe Chip, is a debt-ridden technician working for Runciter Associates, a "prudence organization" employing "inertials"—people with the ability to negate the powers of telepaths and "precogs"—to enforce the privacy of clients. The company is run by Glen Runciter, assisted by his deceased wife Ella who is kept in a state of "half-life", a form of cryonic suspension that allows the deceased limited consciousness and ability to communicate. While consulting with Ella, Runciter discovers that her consciousness is being invaded by another half-lifer named Jory Miller.

When business magnate Stanton Mick hires Runciter Associates to secure his lunar facilities from alleged psychic intrusion, Runciter assembles a team of 11 of his best inertials, including recent hire Pat Conley, a mysterious girl with the unique psychic ability to undo events by changing the past. Runciter and Chip travel with the group to Stanton's Moon base, where they discover that the assignment is a trap, presumably set by the company's main adversary, Ray Hollis, who leads an organization of psychics. A bomb blast apparently kills Runciter without significantly harming the others. They rush back to Earth to place him into half-life, but they cannot establish contact with him so his body is set to be buried.

From the moment of the explosion, the group begins to experience shifts in reality. Many objects they come into contact with (especially cigarettes) are much older than they should be, some being older types of the same object, and are rapidly deteriorating. They gradually find themselves moving into the past, eventually anchoring in 1939. At the same time, they find themselves surrounded by "manifestations" of Runciter; for example, his face appears on their money. As the novel progresses, members of the group one by one begin to feel tired and cold, then suddenly shrivel and die. Chip attempts to make sense of what is happening and discovers two contradictory messages from Runciter, one stating that he is alive and they are dead, and another claiming to have been recorded by him while he was still alive. The latter message advertises Ubik, a store-bought product which can be used to temporarily reverse deterioration and which often appears as a can of aerosol spray. Chip deduces that they may have all died in the blast and are now linked together in half-life, and unsuccessfully tries to get hold of Ubik.

After receiving another message and travelling to Runciter's hometown, Chip accuses Conley of working for Hollis and causing the deterioration with her ability, and while he himself is withering away, she confirms this. As she leaves him to die, he is saved by Runciter, who sprays him with Ubik and tells him that the group is indeed in half-life and he himself is alive and trying to help them, although he does not know where Ubik comes from. As Runciter disappears, Jory reveals himself to Chip, telling him that he, not Conley, has now killed off the entire group (including Conley), as he "eats" half-lifers to sustain himself, and that the entire reality they are experiencing is created and maintained by him. However, Chip is temporarily protected from being consumed through the effect of Ubik, and leaves Jory. As he at last begins to deteriorate again, he meets Ella, who saves him by granting him a certificate for a life-long supply of Ubik, and instructs him to stay half-alive and seek cans of Ubik to further assist Runciter after she herself reincarnates. It is implied that Jory has allies in the real world who help him find other half-lifers to consume in order to prolong his own half-life, or that entities like Jory can arise from any collection of half-lifers. Ubik is claimed to have been developed by Ella and several other half-lifers as a defense against Jory.

Each chapter is introduced by a commercial advertising Ubik as a different product serving a specific use. The last chapter is introduced by Ubik claiming that it has created and directed the universe, and that its real name is unknown and unspoken. In this short chapter, Runciter, who is in the "living" world mourning the loss of his best employees, discovers coins showing Chip's face, and feels that this is "just the beginning".

Interpretation and analysis

Author Philip K. Dick

Dick's former wife Tessa remarked

Ubik is a metaphor for God. Ubik is all-powerful and all-knowing, and Ubik is everywhere. The spray can is only a form that Ubik takes to make it easy for people to understand it and use it. It is not the substance inside the can that helps them, but rather their faith in the promise that it will help them.

She also interpreted the ending by writing

Many readers have puzzled over the ending of Ubik, when Glen Runciter finds a Joe Chip coin in his pocket. What does it mean? Is Runciter dead? Are Joe Chip and the others alive? Actually, this is meant to tell you that we can't be sure of anything in the world that we call 'reality.' It is possible that they are all dead and in cold pac or that the half-life world can affect the full-life world. It is also possible that they are all alive and dreaming.

Peter Fitting sees parallels between the God-Devil/Life-Death relationship of Ubik and the antagonist's consumptive abilities within half-life, and the commercialized industry between psychics and psychic-inhibiting "inertials" which occupies the novel's "reality". Fitting also notes Dick's effort to desacralize and commercialize Ubik through the ironic advertising messages which begin each chapter.

Adaptations and cultural influences

Video game

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In 1998, Cryo Interactive Entertainment released Philip K. Dick's Ubik, a tactical action/strategy video game very loosely based on the book. The game allowed players to act as Joe Chip and train combat squads into missions against the Hollis Corporation. The game was available for PlayStation and for Microsoft Windows and was not a significant commercial success.

Planned film adaptations

Original attempt – Gorin

In 1974, French film-maker Jean-Pierre Gorin commissioned Dick to write a screenplay based on Ubik. Dick completed the screenplay within a month, but Gorin never filmed it. The screenplay was published as Ubik: The Screenplay in 1985 (ISBN 978-0911169065) and again in 2008 (ISBN 9781596061699). Dick's former wife Tessa claims that the published screenplay "has been heavily edited, and others have added material to the screenplay that Phil wrote", though she suggests that "film producers really ought to take a look at the author's own screenplay before embarking upon their journey of interpretation".

Dick's screenplay

Dick's screenplay features numerous scenes that are not in the novel. According to Tim Powers, a friend of Dick's and fellow science fiction writer, in his foreword to Ubik: The Screenplay, Dick had an idea for the film that involved "the film itself appearing to undergo a series of reversions: to black-and-white, then to the awkward jerkiness of very early movies, then to a crookedly jammed frame which proceeds to blacken, bubble and melt away, leaving only the white glare of the projection bulb, which in turn deteriorates to leave the theater in darkness, and might almost leave the moviegoer wondering what sort of dilapidated, antique jalopy he'll find his car-keys fitting when he goes outside".

Pallotta and Celluloid Dreams

Tommy Pallotta, who produced the film adaptation of Dick's novel A Scanner Darkly, said in an interview in July 2006 that he "still the option for Ubik" and wanted to "make a live action feature from it". In 2007, Dick's daughter, Isa Dick Hackett, said that the film adaptation of Ubik was at an advanced stage of negotiations. In May 2008, the film was optioned by Celluloid Dreams, to be produced by Hengameh Panahi for Celluloid Dreams and Isa Dick Hackett for Electric Shepherd Productions. It was slated to enter production in early 2009.

Failed Gondry production

A planned film adaptation by Michel Gondry (pictured) was abandoned in the early 2010s.

Michel Gondry was working on a film adaptation in early 2011, with Steve Golin and Steve Zaillian producing. In 2014, however, Gondry told French outlet Telerama (via Jeux Actu) that he was no longer working on the project and explained:

"The book is brilliant, but it's good as a literary work. Having tried to adapt it with several screenwriters, ... at the moment I don't feel up to doing it. It doesn't have the dramatic structure that would make it a good film. I received a script that disheartened me a bit, and that was it. It was a dream, but in life you can't always have what you want."

Audiobook

An audiobook version of Ubik was released in 2008 by Blackstone Audio. The audiobook, read by Anthony Heald, is unabridged and runs approximately 7 hours over 6 CDs. Another version released in 2016 by Brilliance Audio, read by Luke Daniels, is unabridged and runs 7 hrs 56 minutes.

Music

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Secret Chiefs 3 created an auditory adaptation on their "The Electromagnetic Azoth - Ubik / Ishraqiyun - Balance of the 19" 7" record. The "Ubik" track features musicians Trey Spruance (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle) and Bill Horist.

In 2000, Art Zoyd released a musical interpretation of the novel titled u.B.I.Q.U.e.. It is also the name of a Timo Maas single.

In 1992, Richard Pinhas released an album titled DWW featuring the tracks called "Ubik" and "The Joe Chip Song".

See also

References

  1. Jordison, Sam (March 18, 2014). "Philip K Dick's Ubik: a masterpiece of malleability". The Guardian. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  2. ^ Grossman, Lev. "Ubik–All-Time 100 Novels". Time. Retrieved on May 2, 2009.
  3. ^ UBIK Explained, sort of, Tessa Dick, It's a Philip K. Dick World, December 4, 2008.
  4. Fitting, Peter (1975). "Ubik: The Deconstruction of Bourgeois SF". Science Fiction Studies. 2 (1).
  5. Paul Williams, Introduction, Ubik: The Screenplay by Philip K. Dick, 1985
  6. UBIK and other movies Tessa Dick, It's a Philip K. Dick World, September 8, 2008
  7. Tim Powers, Foreword, Ubik: The Screenplay by Philip K. Dick, 1985
  8. "Tommy Pallotta: Substance PKD". greencine.com. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved December 26, 2006.
  9. calendarlive.com Archived December 11, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  10. "SciFi.com". Archived from the original on May 22, 2008. Retrieved May 20, 2008.
  11. Kevin Jagernauth (February 16, 2011). "Michel Gondry Adapting Philip K. Dick's 'Ubik'". The Playlist. Archived from the original on January 10, 2014. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
  12. "Michel Gondry Abandons Ubik". Empire. May 5, 2014. Archived from the original on March 21, 2024. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
  13. Ubik by Philip K. Dick - Blackstone Audio Archived January 15, 2010, at the Wayback Machine ISBN 978-1-4332-2817-9
  14. "The SF Site Featured Review: UBIK". sfsite.com.
  15. "AudioFile audiobook review: Ubik By Philip K. Dick, Read by Anthony Heald". Archived from the original on July 21, 2012. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
  16. Ubik. Audible. August 7, 2017.

Further reading

  • Braver, Lee, (2015) "Coin-Operated Doors and God: A Gnostic Reading of Philip K. Dick's Ubik", Extrapolation 56.1, pp. 83–110. https://doi.org/10.3828/extr.2015.6
  • Fitting, Peter, (1975) "Ubik and the Deconstruction of Bourgeois SF", Science-Fiction Studies # 5, 2:1, pp. 47–54.
  • Lem, Stanislaw, (1975) "Science and Reality in Philip K. Dick's Ubik", A Multitude of Visions, ed. Cy Chauvin, Baltimore; T-K Graphics, pp. 35–9.
  • Pagetti, Carlo, (2003) "Ubik uno e trino" , Philip K. Dick, Ubik, Roma: Fanucci, pp. 253–66. (in Italian)
  • Proietti, Salvatore, (2006) "Vuoti di potere e resistenza umana: Dick, Ubik e l'epica americana", Trasmigrazioni: I mondi di Philip K. Dick, eds. Valerio Massimo De Angelis and Umberto Rossi, Firenze: Le Monnier, pp. 204–16. (in Italian)

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