Psi-man Heal My Child!

Last updated

"Psi-man Heal My Child!" is a science fiction short story by American writer Philip K. Dick, originally published in the November 1955 issue of the magazine Imaginative Tales . It also has the alternative titles of "Psi-Man" and "Outside Consultant", and appeared, among the others, in Dick's short story collections The Book of Philip K. Dick and Second Variety .

Plot summary

The story revolves around a group of "Talents", people with varying psychoactive powers in a post-apocalyptic setting. The remaining survivors of humanity are hunkered down in isolated communities and can only leave with permission from their military leaders. The main plot of the story is of a family who chooses to have a Talent heal their daughter of cancer instead of the harsh treatments of their local hospital. A side plot involves one of the Talents, who has the power to traverse time, repeatedly attempting to change the present by returning to the past.


Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philip K. Dick</span> American science fiction author (1928–1982)

Philip Kindred Dick, often referred to by his initials PKD, was an American science fiction writer and novelist. He wrote 44 novels and about 121 short stories, most of which appeared in science fiction magazines during his lifetime. His fiction explored varied philosophical and social questions such as the nature of reality, perception, human nature, and identity, and commonly featured characters struggling against elements such as alternate realities, illusory environments, monopolistic corporations, drug abuse, authoritarian governments, and altered states of consciousness. He is considered one of the most important figures in 20th-century science fiction.

<i>The Man in the High Castle</i> 1962 novel by Philip K. Dick

The Man in the High Castle (1962), by Philip K. Dick, is an alternative history novel wherein the Axis Powers won World War II. The story occurs in 1962, fifteen years after the end of the war in 1947, and depicts the life of several characters living under Imperial Japan or Nazi Germany as they rule a partitioned United States. The titular character is the mysterious author of a novel-within-the-novel entitled The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, a subversive alternative history of the war in which the Allied Powers are victorious.

"Second Variety" is a science fiction novelette by American writer Philip K. Dick, first published in Space Science Fiction magazine, in May 1953. Set in a world where war between the Soviet Union and United Nations has reduced most of the world to a barren wasteland, the story concerns the discovery, by the few remaining soldiers left, that self-replicating robots originally built to assassinate Soviet agents have gained sentience and are now plotting against both sides. It is one of many stories by Dick examining the implications of nuclear war, particularly after it has destroyed much or all of the planet.

"Exhibit Piece" is a 1954 science fiction short story by American writer Philip K. Dick. The story is an early exploration of the concept of shifting realities, a common theme in Dick's subsequent works. The protagonist is a future historian of the 20th century who finds himself shifting in time from the future to that time period. At first, it is unclear whether he is merely a man from the past imagining a future life, or vice versa.

"The Last of the Masters" is a science fiction novelette by American writer Philip K. Dick. The original manuscript of the story was received by the Scott Meredith Literary Agency on July 15, 1953, and the story was published by the Hanro Corporation in the final issue of Orbit Science Fiction in 1954. It has since been reprinted in several Philip K. Dick story collections, beginning with The Golden Man in 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">War Veteran</span> 1955 short story by Philip K. Dick

"War Veteran" is a science fiction short story by American writer Philip K. Dick. It was first published in If magazine in March 1955.

"Roog" is a science fiction short story by American writer Philip K. Dick. It was his first sold work, although not his first published story.

<i>Our Friends from Frolix 8</i> 1970 science fiction novel by Philip K. Dick

Our Friends from Frolix 8 is a 1970 science fiction novel by American writer Philip K. Dick. The novel is set in the 22nd century, where humanity is ruled by mutated humans, "New Men" and "Unusuals", while normal "Old Men" are discriminated against. The story follows Nick Appleton, a low-class worker who falls in love with a subversive agent, while Thors Provoni has gone deep into space to find an ally to the resistance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philip K. Dick bibliography</span> List of works by American science fiction, Philip K Dick

The bibliography of Philip K. Dick includes 44 novels, 121 short stories, and 14 short story collections published by American science fiction author Philip K. Dick during his lifetime.

<i>Vulcans Hammer</i> 1960 novel by Philip K. Dick

Vulcan's Hammer is a 1960 science fiction novel by American writer Philip K. Dick. It was released originally as an Ace Double. This has been considered to be the final outing of Dick's 1950s style pulp science fiction writing, before his better-received work such as the Hugo Award-winning Man in the High Castle, published a year later.

"Service Call" is a science fiction short story by American writer Philip K. Dick. It was first published in Science Fiction Stories, July 1955.

"Expendable" is a science fiction short story by American writer Philip K. Dick. It was first published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction issue of July 1953. The plot centers on an unnamed human being caught in the middle of the ongoing, million year conflict between the degenerate descendants of the insects and humans.

<i>The Book of Philip K. Dick</i> 1973 collection of science fiction stories by Philip K. Dick

The Book of Philip K. Dick is a collection of science fiction stories by American writer Philip K. Dick. It was first published by DAW Books in 1973. The book was subsequently published in the United Kingdom by Coronet in 1977 under the title The Turning Wheel and Other Stories. The stories had originally appeared in the magazines Startling Stories, Science Fiction Stories, Galaxy Science Fiction, Orbit Science Fiction, Imaginative Tales and Amazing Stories.

<i>The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick</i> Five-volume collection published in 1987 of 118 science fiction stories by Philip K. Dick

The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick is a collection of 118 science fiction stories by American writer Philip K. Dick. It was first published by Underwood-Miller in 1987 as a five volume set. See Philip K. Dick bibliography for information about the mass market reprints.

<i>The Father-Thing</i> (collection) 1989 collection of stories by Philip K. Dick

The Father-Thing is a collection of science fiction stories by American writer Philip K. Dick. It was first published by Gollancz in 1989 and reprints Volume III of The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick. It had not previously been published as a stand-alone volume. Many of the stories had originally appeared in the magazines If, Science Fiction Adventures, Science Fiction Stories, Orbit, Fantasy and Science Fiction, Imagination, Future, Galaxy Science Fiction, Beyond Fantasy Fiction, Satellite, Science Fiction Quarterly and Imaginative Tales.

<i>Second Variety</i> (1991 collection) 1991 collection of science fiction stories by Philip K. Dick

Second Variety is a collection of science fiction stories by American writer Philip K. Dick. It was first published by Citadel Twilight in 1991 and reprints Volume III of The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick with the addition of the story "Second Variety". Many of the stories had originally appeared in the magazines If, Science Fiction Adventures, Science Fiction Stories, Orbit, Fantasy and Science Fiction, Imagination, Future, Galaxy Science Fiction, Beyond Fantasy Fiction, Satellite, Science Fiction Quarterly, Imaginative Tales and Space Science Fiction. There is huge overlap with the 1997 The Philip K. Dick Reader: stories 1–20 and 24 are identical.

"Recall Mechanism" is a science fiction short story by American author Philip K. Dick, first published in 1959 and later in The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick, Vol. IV, The Days of Perky Pat (1987).

"The Little Movement" is a fantasy short story by American writer Philip K. Dick, first published in 1952 in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, and later in The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick. It has since been republished several times, including in Beyond Lies the Wub in 1988, and in 2003 in Paycheck.

"The Unreconstructed M" is a science fiction novelette by Philip K. Dick, first published in the January 1957 issue of Science Fiction Stories and later in The Minority Report. The story is in the public domain. In it, an independent researcher uncovers a plot to falsify evidence in a world where the technology used to solve crimes has advanced.