Autofac

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Autofac
Galaxy 195511.jpg
"Autofac" was originally published in the November 1955 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction (not to be confused with cover featuring author James H. Schmitz).
Author Philip K. Dick
Genre(s) Science fiction
Published in Galaxy Science Fiction
Publication dateNovember 1955

"Autofac" is a 1955 science fiction novelette by American writer Philip K. Dick that features one of the earliest treatments of self-replicating machines (and Dick's second, after his 1953 novelette Second Variety ). [1] [2] [3] [4] It appeared originally in Galaxy Science Fiction of November 1955, [5] and was reprinted in several collections, including The Variable Man published in 1957, and Robots, Androids, and Mechanical Oddities published in 1984.

Contents

It was adapted by Travis Beacham for an episode of the 2017 TV series, Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams , with the same name as the short story.

Plot

Three men wait outside their settlement for an automated delivery truck. Five years earlier, during the Total Global Conflict, a network of hardened automatic factories ("autofacs") had been set up with cybernetic controls that determine what food and consumer goods to manufacture and deliver. Human input had been lost, and the men planned disruption to try to establish communication and take over control. They destroy the delivery, but the truck radios the autofac and unloads an identical replacement, then prevents them from reloading items. They act out being disgusted with the milk delivery and are given a complaints checklist. In a blank space, they write improvised semantic garble—"the product is thoroughly pizzled".

The autofac sends a humanoid data collector that communicates on an oral basis but is not capable of conceptual thought, and they are unable to persuade the network to shut down before it consumes all resources.

Their next strategy sets neighbouring autofacs in competition with each other for rare resources and succeeds in creating military conflict between the autofacs. After the autofac conflict seems to be resolved, the men explore the ruins of a destroyed autofac to see if there are any industrial machines that can be salvaged. They locate a hidden level. Inside they find that the factory is self-replicated, and sending out "metal seeds" configured to make miniature autofacs. [6] [7]

Reception

The novelette was said to "poiggnantly captured the concern of its moment" [8] and to "portray a future of vast warehouses and automated delivery of goods, a system which is eerily recognizable to this day". [9]

Translations

Television version

The TV series Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams includes a one-hour episode based on the story, with considerable differences in the plot and outcome. [10] [11]

References

  1. ↑ Abnet, Dustin A. (December 22, 2022). The American Robot: A Cultural History. University of Chicago Press. ISBN   978-0-226-69285-2.
  2. ↑ https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003412274-18/merging-ai-technology-corporate-form-jordan-aleksander-belor
  3. ↑ Rocha, Bárbara Gouvêa da; Junior, Ubirajara Lopes da Cunha (August 8, 2025). "Natureza Programada: a intermidialidade entre o episódio "Autofac" e o conto homônimo de Philip K. Dick". Rizoma (in Portuguese). 14 (01): 16–16. doi:10.17058/rzm.v14i01.20381. ISSN   2318-406X.
  4. ↑ "The Posthuman Gothic in Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams" (PDF). brill.com. Retrieved October 30, 2025.
  5. ↑ Urbanski, Heather (January 24, 2015). Plagues, Apocalypses and Bug-Eyed Monsters: How Speculative Fiction Shows Us Our Nightmares. McFarland. ISBN   978-0-7864-8293-1.
  6. ↑ Philip K. Dick "Autofac" in Galaxy, November 1955, Internet Archive.
  7. ↑ Colin Koopman (June 19, 2019). How We Became Our Data: A Genealogy of the Informational Person. University of Chicago Press. p. 174. ISBN   978-0-226-62658-1.
  8. ↑ Koopman, Colin (December 22, 2022). How We Became Our Data: A Genealogy of the Informational Person. University of Chicago Press. ISBN   978-0-226-62661-1.
  9. ↑ Paterson, Mark (June 27, 2023). Consumption and Everyday Life. Taylor & Francis. ISBN   978-1-000-89063-1.
  10. ↑ Autofac (TV)
  11. ↑ Green, Alex; Travis, Mitchell; Tranter, Kieran (November 21, 2024). Science Fiction as Legal Imaginary. Taylor & Francis. ISBN   978-1-040-22735-0.
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