Aug 20, 2026 · 2 hr 45 min · 25 segments
Dive into the thought-provoking world of Philip K. Dick‚Äôs science fiction classic, Variable Man. Originally published in 1953 in Space Science Fiction, this captivating tale unfolds in a future…
only beings who had had contact with humanity would logically be expected to identify which of the numerous gadgets carried by the average man are weapons but the design of this craft bore no resemblance to that of any race with which little was acquainted he still possessed his wrist-watch and mechanical pencil so the doctor found himself unable to decide even the nature of his captors far less their intentions Possibly he would find out something when and if he was fed.
He realized suddenly that he was both hungry and thirsty.
He had been unconscious long enough for the watch to run down.
Little's pulse had dropped to somewhere near normal, he noticed, as he drifted beside the hatch.
He wondered again what had knocked him out without leaving any mark or causing some sensation.
then gave up this line of speculation in favor of the more immediate one advocated by his empty stomach.
He fell asleep again before he reached any solution.
He dreamed that someone had moved Rigel to the other side of the galaxy, and the Navigator couldn't find his way home.
Very silly, he thought, and went on dreaming it.
a gong-like note as penetrating as though his own skull had been used as the bell woke him the second time he was alert at once and instantly perceived the green translucent sphere suspended a few feet away for a moment he thought it might be one of his captors Then his nose told him differently.
It was ordinary lime juice, as carried by practically every earth cruiser.
A moment's search served to locate, beside the hatchway, the fine nozzle through which the liquid had been impelled.
The doctor had no drinking tube, but he had long since mastered the trick of using his tongue in such circumstances without allowing any other part of his face to touch the liquid.
It was a standard joke to confront recruits on their first free flight with the same problem.
If nose or cheek touched the sphere, surface tension did the rest.
Little returned to the door and took up what he intended to be a permanent station there.
He was waiting partly for some sign of human beings, partly for evidence of his captors, and more and more as time wore on for some trace of solid food.
He waited in vain for all three.
At intervals a pint or so of lime juice came through the jet and formed a globe in the air beside it.
Nothing else.
Little had always liked the stuff, but his opinion was slowly changing as more and more of it was forced on him.
It was all there was to drink, and the air seemed to be rather dry.
At any rate he got frightfully thirsty at what seemed unusually short intervals.
He wound his watch and discovered that the feedings came at intervals of a little over four hours.
He had plenty of chance to make observations and nothing else to observe.
only beings who had had contact with humanity would logically be expected to identify which of the numerous gadgets carried by the average man are weapons but the design of this craft bore no resemblance to that of any race with which little was acquainted he still possessed his wrist-watch and mechanical pencil so the doctor found himself unable to decide even the nature of his captors far less their intentions Possibly he would find out something when and if he was fed.
He realized suddenly that he was both hungry and thirsty.
He had been unconscious long enough for the watch to run down.
Little's pulse had dropped to somewhere near normal, he noticed, as he drifted beside the hatch.
He wondered again what had knocked him out without leaving any mark or causing some sensation.
then gave up this line of speculation in favor of the more immediate one advocated by his empty stomach.
He fell asleep again before he reached any solution.
He dreamed that someone had moved Rigel to the other side of the galaxy, and the Navigator couldn't find his way home.
Very silly, he thought, and went on dreaming it.
a gong-like note as penetrating as though his own skull had been used as the bell woke him the second time he was alert at once and instantly perceived the green translucent sphere suspended a few feet away for a moment he thought it might be one of his captors Then his nose told him differently.
It was ordinary lime juice, as carried by practically every earth cruiser.
A moment's search served to locate, beside the hatchway, the fine nozzle through which the liquid had been impelled.
The doctor had no drinking tube, but he had long since mastered the trick of using his tongue in such circumstances without allowing any other part of his face to touch the liquid.
It was a standard joke to confront recruits on their first free flight with the same problem.
If nose or cheek touched the sphere, surface tension did the rest.
Little returned to the door and took up what he intended to be a permanent station there.
He was waiting partly for some sign of human beings, partly for evidence of his captors, and more and more as time wore on for some trace of solid food.
He waited in vain for all three.
At intervals a pint or so of lime juice came through the jet and formed a globe in the air beside it.
Nothing else.
Little had always liked the stuff, but his opinion was slowly changing as more and more of it was forced on him.
It was all there was to drink, and the air seemed to be rather dry.
At any rate he got frightfully thirsty at what seemed unusually short intervals.
He wound his watch and discovered that the feedings came at intervals of a little over four hours.
He had plenty of chance to make observations and nothing else to observe.
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