As I am reading through, “The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch,” I am really beginning to enjoy the parallels which arise in relationship to the virtual. Admittedly, I am only a third of the way through the narrative. Presummably, I will be making a few assumptions about the rest of the text, for the purposes of this post.
In any event, although Dick would most likely argue against the following suggestion, I feel that there exists a rather interesting parallel between his work and that of Heinlein (The Moon is a Harsh Mistress). In both narratives, inhabitants of Terra (planet Earth), are eventually forced to inhabit a colony on another planet. In Dick’s narrative, the characters receive draft cards that indicate that they will soon have to inhabit other colonies. In Heinlein’s text, prisoners are forced to inhabit the moon. In each case, it seems that this is an undesirable transition for those involved. And, in each case, the people are again forced elsewhere; a step further. In Dick’s text this step arises in regards to to P P Layouts, (from what I understand so far) a miniature polly-pocket esque parallel of the virtual (sort of like the Sims). Heinlein also poses something similar, yet, without the same poignancy. In Heinlein’s text, the main character turns to a super-computer named Mike, in order to lead a revolution against oppressive people on Terra. In both cases, those that are depressed by their current surroundings, turn to an alternative for hope, or subsistence. Dick’s alternative is the most compelling for it provides a more adequate parallel of current virtual practices.
The question becomes, why is Dick’s vision so interesting?
Undoubtedly, Dick provides a rather complicated parallel of the virtual. For the purposes of this post, I will attempt to break it down into several brief sections (indicated by bold headings):
Power Relationships: Does it matter who has power?
I think it is interesting to consider the power relations and structures as they are portrayed in Dick’s work. In the text, as in life, the sources of power remain quite vague. A political entity named “UN” (?) distributes draft decisions, and yet, is not described in substantial detail. Nationalism is evoked when a powerful corporate head expresses disgust with a group run by people from the African-Asian region, but this parallel is hardly even pursued. Nor does one assume that this is the only power force in play. It is also suggested that the wealthy have more power than those with less financial backing, and are even able to evolve further, through special treatments that only they can afford. This sounds overwhelmingly familiar but yet, it seems that Dick is purposefully vague. He mentions each group briefly, and then moves on to more important issues. The real issue is not so much who has power, as how do the poeple react to that power system?
By turning to drugs and getting down with groovy polly pocket-esque play-sets.
What is Can-D? What is its significance?
People get tripped out on Can-D and mess with their layouts. It is illegal, and yet, most have access to it. Its distribution is perpetuated by those with control over large corporate assets (specifically, those that distribute the layouts). It makes people unattentive to the world around them. This aspect of the text is quite confusing, for if the layouts parallel the virtual than several questions arise. Is the Can-D a parallel of contemporary drugs? Following on this note: is Dick advocating drugs as a necessary condition of release? Or, rather, is it part of the essence of the virtual, a metaphor for potential feelings of release associated with the virtual? Is neglect necessarily an effect of involvement with the virtual? Does neglecting “reality” really matter?
Are the other planets a metaphor for oppression?
It seems that the other planets are a means of exaggerating the disadvantage or plight of some individuals. In addition, the other planets could suggest the distance between those that use the virtual and those that don’t.
Can I be sure that the PP Layouts are a parallel of the Virtual?
No, but the parallels are pretty uncanny. The people turn to something that they have intimate control over, in order to escape from life (virtual landscape). They can design every aspect of their layouts (myspace/facebook profiles?). Also, there is a certain emphasis on networking. The characters work on their layouts together, much like a virtual multiplicity. They even provide commentary on each others layouts (blogs).
The better question is…how are the PP Layouts different from the Virtual?
