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Prominent Author
14 pages, ebook
First published May 1, 1954
About the author
Philip K. Dick
1,934 books23.1k followersPhilip Kindred Dick was a prolific American science fiction author whose work has had a lasting impact on literature, cinema, and popular culture. Known for his imaginative narratives and profound philosophical themes, Dick explored the nature of reality, the boundaries of human identity, and the impact of technology and authoritarianism on society. His stories often blurred the line between the real and the artificial, challenging readers to question their perceptions and beliefs.
Raised in California, Dick began writing professionally in the early 1950s, publishing short stories in various science fiction magazines. He quickly developed a distinctive voice within the genre, marked by a fusion of science fiction concepts with deep existential and psychological inquiry. Over his career, he authored 44 novels and more than 100 short stories, many of which have become classics in the field.
Recurring themes in Dick's work include alternate realities, simulations, corporate and government control, mental illness, and the nature of consciousness. His protagonists are frequently everyday individuals—often paranoid, uncertain, or troubled—caught in surreal and often dangerous circumstances that force them to question their environment and themselves. Works such as Ubik, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, and A Scanner Darkly reflect his fascination with perception and altered states of consciousness, often drawing from his own experiences with mental health struggles and drug use.
One of Dick's most influential novels is Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, which served as the basis for Ridley Scott's iconic film Blade Runner. The novel deals with the distinction between humans and artificial beings and asks profound questions about empathy, identity, and what it means to be alive. Other adaptations of his work include Total Recall, Minority Report, A Scanner Darkly, and The Man in the High Castle, each reflecting key elements of his storytelling—uncertain realities, oppressive systems, and the search for truth. These adaptations have introduced his complex ideas to audiences well beyond the traditional readership of science fiction.
In the 1970s, Dick underwent a series of visionary and mystical experiences that had a significant influence on his later writings. He described receiving profound knowledge from an external, possibly divine, source and documented these events extensively in what became known as The Exegesis, a massive and often fragmented journal. These experiences inspired his later novels, most notably the VALIS trilogy, which mixes autobiography, theology, and metaphysics in a narrative that defies conventional structure and genre boundaries.
Throughout his life, Dick faced financial instability, health issues, and periods of personal turmoil, yet he remained a dedicated and relentless writer. Despite limited commercial success during his lifetime, his reputation grew steadily, and he came to be regarded as one of the most original voices in speculative fiction. His work has been celebrated for its ability to fuse philosophical depth with gripping storytelling and has influenced not only science fiction writers but also philosophers, filmmakers, and futurists.
Dick's legacy continues to thrive in both literary and cinematic spheres. The themes he explored remain urgently relevant in the modern world, particularly as technology increasingly intersects with human identity and governance. The Philip K. Dick Award, named in his honor, is presented annually to distinguished works of science fiction published in paperback original form in the United States. His writings have also inspired television series, academic studies, and countless homages across media.
Through his vivid imagination and unflinching inquiry into the nature of existence, Philip K. Dick redefined what science fiction could achieve. His wor
Raised in California, Dick began writing professionally in the early 1950s, publishing short stories in various science fiction magazines. He quickly developed a distinctive voice within the genre, marked by a fusion of science fiction concepts with deep existential and psychological inquiry. Over his career, he authored 44 novels and more than 100 short stories, many of which have become classics in the field.
Recurring themes in Dick's work include alternate realities, simulations, corporate and government control, mental illness, and the nature of consciousness. His protagonists are frequently everyday individuals—often paranoid, uncertain, or troubled—caught in surreal and often dangerous circumstances that force them to question their environment and themselves. Works such as Ubik, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, and A Scanner Darkly reflect his fascination with perception and altered states of consciousness, often drawing from his own experiences with mental health struggles and drug use.
One of Dick's most influential novels is Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, which served as the basis for Ridley Scott's iconic film Blade Runner. The novel deals with the distinction between humans and artificial beings and asks profound questions about empathy, identity, and what it means to be alive. Other adaptations of his work include Total Recall, Minority Report, A Scanner Darkly, and The Man in the High Castle, each reflecting key elements of his storytelling—uncertain realities, oppressive systems, and the search for truth. These adaptations have introduced his complex ideas to audiences well beyond the traditional readership of science fiction.
In the 1970s, Dick underwent a series of visionary and mystical experiences that had a significant influence on his later writings. He described receiving profound knowledge from an external, possibly divine, source and documented these events extensively in what became known as The Exegesis, a massive and often fragmented journal. These experiences inspired his later novels, most notably the VALIS trilogy, which mixes autobiography, theology, and metaphysics in a narrative that defies conventional structure and genre boundaries.
Throughout his life, Dick faced financial instability, health issues, and periods of personal turmoil, yet he remained a dedicated and relentless writer. Despite limited commercial success during his lifetime, his reputation grew steadily, and he came to be regarded as one of the most original voices in speculative fiction. His work has been celebrated for its ability to fuse philosophical depth with gripping storytelling and has influenced not only science fiction writers but also philosophers, filmmakers, and futurists.
Dick's legacy continues to thrive in both literary and cinematic spheres. The themes he explored remain urgently relevant in the modern world, particularly as technology increasingly intersects with human identity and governance. The Philip K. Dick Award, named in his honor, is presented annually to distinguished works of science fiction published in paperback original form in the United States. His writings have also inspired television series, academic studies, and countless homages across media.
Through his vivid imagination and unflinching inquiry into the nature of existence, Philip K. Dick redefined what science fiction could achieve. His wor
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
June 17, 2020
I am of two minds about “Prominent Author” (first published in If in May of 1954). Although It is brilliant in conception and rich in classic Dickian devices—mythic exploration disguised as hard science fiction, consequences of time travel, origins of religion, the depiction of a future rat-race as boring as our own transformed into a challenge to fundamental beliefs—it ends hastily and unsatisfactorily, like your average piece of mediocre ‘50’s science fiction.
The story is about Henry Ellis, a typical white collar worker in a sprawling future city, who has been chosen to test the “Juffi-scuttler,” a fourth-dimension device designed to make the morning and evening commutes quicker and easier. But one day Ellis only takes a few steps into the Juffi-tunnel when he notices something strange: a small, shadowy group of three tiny people, no bigger than bugs, shimmering indistinctly, off to the side.
And so Henry’s adventure begins.
Dick wrote better many tales during his apprentice years than this one, and I still find it irritating, after all these years--particularly its abrupt and disappointing conclusion. Still, there is something about it that sticks with me. With one exception ("The Father Thing"), I think about it more than any Dick story.
Maybe you will feel the same way. Maybe it will make you think too.
May 23, 2018
Working for a Living, or Working for a Life?
Prominent Author is one of those PKD stories which are probably meant to border on satire on middle-class life, and it uses its science fiction idea rather as a vehicle for that satire than as a means of making readers think about concepts such as time travel and potential paradoxes related with it.
The story deals with Henry Ellis, an employee who has been working for his company for twenty-five years and who has never taken any pride in his work, complaining to his wife that he feels like a cog in a machine. Nevertheless, possibly because of his long-standing relation with his firm, Ellis is one of those few select who were chosen as test persons for a new means of transport called the Juffi-scuttler, some kind of tunnel which allows you to step in at your home and step out at your workplace, thus covering a distance which would normally take two or more hours in less than a minute. One day, Ellis sees strange little people at a threadbare section of the tunnel wall, and they start interacting with him by writing questions for him on a slip of paper. With the help of his company’s work resources, Ellis translates the questions, has the answers worked out and re-translated into the original language. By and by, the people in the tunnel regard him as a kind of divine creature, and he has the feeling of really achieving something. What he does not know yet is that
You may think of this twist what you like – it did not appear very convincing to me. For example, I strongly doubt that modern science will come up with the same answers to vital questions of life – we are never getting to know anything particular about these questions – that can be found in the Bible. There is some progress, after all. On the other hand, Prominent Author has a lot to offer in that it encourages us to think about what we routinely spend our time on – spending hours travelling to and from work, and spending even more hours doing that work. The amount of this time may easily run up to more than a third of our waking hours. Therefore, we are definitely better off if we like and embrace our work, feeling that we are doing something that makes sense (at least to us, but preferably also to others), which makes us willing to go the extra mile and improve ourselves through our work. This is, alas! not what Ellis can say for himself and his work, and the only thing that keeps him going is his lack of imagination. The little people he comes across alter everything for him in that suddenly, his words matter and he is looked up to – quite literally as well as figuratively. Those people rely on him, and even though he does not know what exactly he is doing, he realizes that he is helping them and making a difference.
The story not only mirrors us with regard to our attitude to our work but also in our quality as consumers: Ellis does not know how the mysterious Juffi-scuttler works, and whenever he tries to make enquiries, he is either rebuffed by his superiors –
or fed some hackneyed run-of-the-mill analogies that don’t really explain anything. It’s the same with most of us – just stop a second and consider how much you really know about how your computer, your cell phone, or even your car work. Or the share market? In the case of Prominent Author, the Juffi-scuttler would probably trigger long-term consequences that far outweigh its advantages.
One last point the story – apart from the rather unlikely fourth dimension twist – touches on the growing trend of commuting, which is not only time-consuming and bad for resources and the environment but which might also be seen as an indicator of how far apart some people’s private life and work have grown. Now, there may be very amusing examples of commuters in literature, such as Mr. Wemmick in Dickens’s Great Expectations, but on the whole, people would probably be more satisfied with their own lives if their work were less of a straitjacket to be worn over their actual personality.
All in all, Prominent Author is a good example how even a garden-variety PKD story can keep you thinking about many different aspects of your life.
Prominent Author is one of those PKD stories which are probably meant to border on satire on middle-class life, and it uses its science fiction idea rather as a vehicle for that satire than as a means of making readers think about concepts such as time travel and potential paradoxes related with it.
The story deals with Henry Ellis, an employee who has been working for his company for twenty-five years and who has never taken any pride in his work, complaining to his wife that he feels like a cog in a machine. Nevertheless, possibly because of his long-standing relation with his firm, Ellis is one of those few select who were chosen as test persons for a new means of transport called the Juffi-scuttler, some kind of tunnel which allows you to step in at your home and step out at your workplace, thus covering a distance which would normally take two or more hours in less than a minute. One day, Ellis sees strange little people at a threadbare section of the tunnel wall, and they start interacting with him by writing questions for him on a slip of paper. With the help of his company’s work resources, Ellis translates the questions, has the answers worked out and re-translated into the original language. By and by, the people in the tunnel regard him as a kind of divine creature, and he has the feeling of really achieving something. What he does not know yet is that
You may think of this twist what you like – it did not appear very convincing to me. For example, I strongly doubt that modern science will come up with the same answers to vital questions of life – we are never getting to know anything particular about these questions – that can be found in the Bible. There is some progress, after all. On the other hand, Prominent Author has a lot to offer in that it encourages us to think about what we routinely spend our time on – spending hours travelling to and from work, and spending even more hours doing that work. The amount of this time may easily run up to more than a third of our waking hours. Therefore, we are definitely better off if we like and embrace our work, feeling that we are doing something that makes sense (at least to us, but preferably also to others), which makes us willing to go the extra mile and improve ourselves through our work. This is, alas! not what Ellis can say for himself and his work, and the only thing that keeps him going is his lack of imagination. The little people he comes across alter everything for him in that suddenly, his words matter and he is looked up to – quite literally as well as figuratively. Those people rely on him, and even though he does not know what exactly he is doing, he realizes that he is helping them and making a difference.
The story not only mirrors us with regard to our attitude to our work but also in our quality as consumers: Ellis does not know how the mysterious Juffi-scuttler works, and whenever he tries to make enquiries, he is either rebuffed by his superiors –
”’Henry, old man, you just leave that up to us. Okay? We’re the designers, you’re the consumer. Your job is to use the ‘scuttler, try it out for us, report any defects or failure so when we put it on the market next year we’ll be sure there’s nothing wrong with it.’” –
or fed some hackneyed run-of-the-mill analogies that don’t really explain anything. It’s the same with most of us – just stop a second and consider how much you really know about how your computer, your cell phone, or even your car work. Or the share market? In the case of Prominent Author, the Juffi-scuttler would probably trigger long-term consequences that far outweigh its advantages.
One last point the story – apart from the rather unlikely fourth dimension twist – touches on the growing trend of commuting, which is not only time-consuming and bad for resources and the environment but which might also be seen as an indicator of how far apart some people’s private life and work have grown. Now, there may be very amusing examples of commuters in literature, such as Mr. Wemmick in Dickens’s Great Expectations, but on the whole, people would probably be more satisfied with their own lives if their work were less of a straitjacket to be worn over their actual personality.
All in all, Prominent Author is a good example how even a garden-variety PKD story can keep you thinking about many different aspects of your life.
August 3, 2019
I do not read science fiction much, so it was a pleasant introduction into a genre. It was a short story, a bit over 10 pages long but a good read. One with a surprising ending. I have seen two possibilities of where this story could have gone, and I was looking at it from quite a modern perspective, expecting a comment on immigration and how to perceive "the other". But then, it turned out to be completely different from what I expected, turning into a satire on religion and its origin.
A good introduction into Dick's works.
A good introduction into Dick's works.
June 17, 2020
A quickly and fun story that drips of Philip K. Dick.
A new form of instant travel the Jiffy-Tunnel allows a user to travel large distances in only a few steps by tunneling through the fourth dimension.
But in normal PKD fashion, all is not quite what it seems.
A gripping and interesting tale up until the last few minutes when it kind of flops and falls apart, quite an unsatisfactory ending - almost unfinished mad rushed to a half baked conclusion.
A new form of instant travel the Jiffy-Tunnel allows a user to travel large distances in only a few steps by tunneling through the fourth dimension.
But in normal PKD fashion, all is not quite what it seems.
A gripping and interesting tale up until the last few minutes when it kind of flops and falls apart, quite an unsatisfactory ending - almost unfinished mad rushed to a half baked conclusion.
March 1, 2018
A transportation tunnel that opens a rift to another dimension. Five-stars for the cleverness of the 1950's. :)
August 30, 2020
High-end mind-altering technology combined with PKDish realizations.
January 23, 2021
This story evolved into PKD’s book The Crack in Space.
Read
February 8, 2023A Jewish 4th dimension
November 7, 2023
A short story from the early part of PKD's career.
June 2, 2024
It's like playing god
April 17, 2026
SciFi, short story by a master!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews