Ubik

A sci-fi classic full of twists and turns set in a gloomy future of psychological intrigue

Author: Phillip K. Dick, 1969

Ubik is a science fiction novel that takes the reader into a dystopic vision of the future where humans have developed psychological abilities such as telepathy and precognition and then, in a what might be interpreted as a disapproving commentary on our modern economic system (and human nature), proceeded to create an industry around using them against one another. Events transpire to place the protagonist – a man named Joe Chip – in an alternate reality that makes him, and us, question everything.

The story

The novel gets straight to the point and immediately immerses us in a strange, but familiar, world of New York City where clairvoyance has become a career, but where the hard reality of economics and business still dictates the lives of citizens. We’re introduced to Runciter (the head of Runciter Associates), an energetic old man who’s outlived his normal lifespan with the aid of technology, as he’s awoken with the news of a missing ‘Psi’ (a person with psychological powers) who works for his corporate rival, Hollis.

Runciter runs an ‘anti-psi prudence’ enterprise whose niche is to negate the use of such powers and protect people’s privacy by employing ‘inertials’ who can counter them with their own abilities. Runciter suspects Hollis is up to something big by taking his best Psi’s ‘off the map’ (and unable to be tracked), but is mostly concerned about the lack of business that might result. The only solution, he declares, is to consult his dead wife about the matter.

It seems a strange decision for a seemingly cool-headed business executive, but we soon learn that in the future, cryogenically-frozen almost-dead people (who exist in ‘half-life’) can be revived by their loved ones from their lucid slumber for a bit of light conversation now and then. It turns out that Runciter’s prematurely-deceased wife and business partner (whom he’s neglected for the past few years) is possessed by the ghost of a young boy named Jory rudely who interrupts their reunion, but the interaction introduces us to the idea of a living dead stranded in a sort of purgatory, an idea essential to the remainder of the story.

We then meet Joe Chip, a Psi tester and a familiar type of jaded, down-on-his-luck, flawed good guy hero who inevitably does the right thing in a messy unheroic way. Joe lives in a futuristic bachelor pad where everything, including the front door, is coin-operated, and is visited by Runciter’s scout and a strange, but attractive, young woman - Pat Conley - who possesses a unique and dangerous power. Pat demonstrates her powers (and her other assets) to Joe and convinces him to recommend her to Runciter for a job. But why exactly is this enigmatic young woman so keen for a seemingly unglamorous job and the affections of a man like Joe?

Things begin to get interesting when an representative of business tycoon named Mick Stanton calls upon Runciter to assemble a team of his best inertials to fly to the moon and flush out some pesky Psi’s in exchange for a lucrative contract. Runciter agrees to hire Pat as an inertial after another demonstration of her abilities and then selects her to join the crack team, despite a warning from Joe that she could be dangerous.

With the team of inertials assembled, they travel to Luna to tackle Hollis’ Psi’s. It turns out the whole job is a setup, though they realise the ruse too late to prevent it blowing up in their faces (in the form of a self-destruct humanoid bomb created in the likeness of Stanton Mick). The explosion puts Runciter out of business permanently after an attempt to save his life by putting him in deep freeze fails.

Joe, who is now in charge of the company, begins to notice a deterioration of objects around him such as cigarettes and coins, and thoughts of revenge over Runciter’s death soon turn to survival as one of team turns up dead. Runciter himself begins to communicate with Joe, apparently from beyond the grave, and we’re suddenly left second-guessing what’s real and what’s not. Is it actually Runciter who survived the explosion, and are the team themselves actually in half-life? It's an interesting plot twist and the story picks up pace as Joe and the team begin to expire one-by-one while racing against time.

The final third of the story is suspenseful and a genuine page-turner that I struggled to put down. Is Pat conspiring with Hollis to kill them all? Is she responsible for their journey into the past? It certainly seems that way when she exults in Joe’s deterioration and imminent death while he makes his final stand, before he’s saved by a can of the ever-present Ubik. We then meet the real bad guy – Jory – who reveals he’s the mastermind of their ordeal from within the realm of the half-dead.

In the end, just as we think we’ve got it figured out, there’s another surprise that forces us to think again. What exactly is Ubiq? Are Joe Chip and the inertials dead, or is it really Runciter? Is it really us, the readers, who are stuck in half-life wandering in the aether under the presumption we’re alive? Was it all a dream? All these questions and more remain unanswered in the final analysis of what heck was going on.

Is it good? Should I read it?

The American sci-fi style that’s typical of the era is evident from the beginning, with jargon and made-up words helping to set the futuristic scene. After being introduced to Joe Chip, a gritty underdog who I feel I’ve met many times before (sometimes in books and films published after this one, to be fair), the inertials, and Pat Conley, I was wary of going through the motions of a work that undelivers against its many positive reviews; the characters initially felt a little too quickly sketched to be of much interest, but it’s really the plot that shines here. The story doesn’t get bogged down in the style, the action moves quickly, and the author doesn’t dwell on the sometimes-tedious aspects of sci-fi world-building.

The prose is direct and concise and feels suited to the type of monochrome bleakness I imagined to inhabit the world. The plot was suspenseful and well-constructed, and there were many interesting ideas explored throughout. Overall, it’s a clever, thought-provoking and memorable book that I can recommend, even to those who aren’t fans of the genre.