Short Fiction · Chapters
Chapters explained
Chapter companions for Short Fiction by Philip K. Dick.
Each chapter has a companion in the reader — open a free preview to see notes beside the text.
Chapter 1
Beyond Lies the Wub
Captain Franco and his crew load a Martian wub aboard their spaceship. The wub, a large pig-like creature, speaks telepathically and pleads for its life, but Franco insists on eating it. After a philosophical discussion, Franco shoots and butchers the wub. The crew eats the meat, but most are disturbed; Franco alone enjoys the meal and continues a discussion about Odysseus, suggesting the wub's consciousness may have transferred to him.
Chapter 2
The Gun
Dorle, Nasha, and Tance discover a massive automated gun on a dead planet that fires at anything airborne. After realizing the gun cannot target objects on the ground, they destroy it with hand tools and uncover a vault containing the planet's cultural treasures—books, pictures, and records. They repair their damaged ship and depart, reflecting on the tragedy of a race that destroyed itself.
Chapter 3
The Skull
Conger, a former hunter and trader, is recruited by a mysterious Speaker to travel back in time to assassinate the Founder of the First Church, a man who has been dead for two centuries. The Speaker retrieves the Founder's skull from the First Church as a means of identification. Conger travels to the past, where he encounters locals, including Sheriff Duff, and prepares to kill the Founder before he can deliver his pacifist message.
Chapter 4
The Defenders
Franks, Moss, and Taylor suspect the leadys are lying about surface conditions. They stage a confrontation, revealing the leadys are not radioactive and thus the surface may be habitable. A human party ascends, discovers a functioning rural landscape, and a firefight ensues when the leadys try to force them back underground. The humans ultimately witness a sunrise, confirming the deception.
Chapter 5
The Eyes Have It
The narrator accidentally discovers an alien invasion of Earth while reading a paperback book. He interprets common idiomatic phrases—such as 'his eyes roved about the room' and 'he put his arm around Julia'—as literal descriptions of extraterrestrial beings who can detach body parts and reproduce by binary fission. Horrified, he tries to alert the government but receives an irrelevant pamphlet. He ultimately decides to ignore the invasion, preferring to remain uninvolved.
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