The Skull

By Philip K. Dick

In The Skull, a convict is offered his freedom if he agrees to travel back in time and kill someone. He learns that the assasination target was the founder of a religious sect that grew in strength and influence from its inception in 1960. Carrying his target's skull so he can identify the religious leader, the convict comes to learn a terrible secret about why he was chosen to find its owner.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dreamscape Media
• Release date: Oct 17, 2017
• ISBN: 9781974998692

Philip K. Dick

Over a writing career that spanned three decades, PHILIP K. DICK (1928–1982) published 36 science fiction novels and 121 short stories in which he explored the essence of what makes man human and the dangers of centralized power. Toward the end of his life, his work turned to deeply personal, metaphysical questions concerning the nature of God. Eleven novels and short stories have been adapted to film, notably Blade Runner (based on Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?), Total Recall, Minority Report, and A Scanner Darkly, as well as television's The Man in the High Castle. The recipient of critical acclaim and numerous awards throughout his career, including the Hugo and John W. Campbell awards, Dick was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2005, and between 2007 and 2009, the Library of America published a selection of his novels in three volumes. His work has been translated into more than twenty-five languages.

Book preview

cover.jpg

THE SKULL

By

PHILIP K. DICK

This edition published by Dreamscape Media LLC, 2018

www.dreamscapeab.com * [e-mail]

1417 Timberwolf Drive, Holland, OH 43528

877.983.7326

dreamscape

About Philip K. Dick:

Philip Kindred Dick (December 16, 1928 – March 2, 1982) was an American writer known for his influential work in science fiction. His work explored philosophical, social, and political themes, with stories dominated by monopolistic corporations, alternative universes, authoritarian governments, and altered states of consciousness. His writing also reflected his interest in metaphysics and theology, and often drew upon his life experiences in addressing the nature of reality, identity, drug abuse, schizophrenia, and transcendental experiences.

Born in Illinois, he eventually moved to California and began publishing science fiction stories in the 1950s. His stories initially found little commercial success. His 1962 alternative history novel The Man in the High Castle earned Dick early acclaim, including a Hugo Award for Best Novel. He followed with science fiction novels such as Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968) and Ubik (1969). His 1974 novel Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best novel. Following a series of religious experiences in February–March 1974, Dick's work engaged more explicitly with issues of theology, philosophy, and the nature of reality, as in such novels as A Scanner Darkly (1977) and VALIS (1981). A collection of his non-fiction writing on these themes was published posthumously as The Exegesis of Philip K. Dick (2011). He died in 1982, at age 53, due to complications from a stroke.

Dick's writing produced 44 published novels and approximately 121 short stories, most of which appeared in science fiction magazines during his lifetime. A variety of popular films based on Dick's works have been produced, including Blade Runner (1982), Total Recall (adapted twice: in 1990 and in 2012), Minority Report (2002), A Scanner Darkly (2006), and The Adjustment Bureau (2011). In 2005, Time named Ubik one of the hundred greatest English-language novels published since 1923. In 2007, Dick became the first science fiction writer to be included in The Library of America series.

Source: Wikipedia

The Skull

Conger agreed to kill a stranger he had never seen.

But he would make no mistakes because he had the stranger's skull under his arm.

WHAT is this opportunity? Conger asked. Go on. I'm interested.

The room was silent; all faces were fixed on Conger—still in the drab prison uniform. The Speaker leaned forward slowly.

Before you went to prison your trading business was paying well—all illegal—all very profitable. Now you have nothing, except the prospect of another six years in a cell.

Conger scowled.

"There is a certain situation, very important to this Council, that requires your peculiar abilities.

Reviews for The Skull

[drled_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Synopsis: Conger has been removed from jail to do a job. He is to murder someone; however, this person has been dead for hundreds of years. The man to be killed had ended war; this wasn't good for the future because it allowed an increase in population, along with an increase in social issues. He goes back in time, but can't seem to find who he's looking for; he realizes that he is The Founder.Review: Written in September 1952 for World of Science Fiction, this interesting story that harkens back to the 'clothes make the man' stories.

[robert.zimmermann · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A nice, yet predictable, twist in this one. While it was predictable, I was still "forced" to keep reading to see just how things played out.

Another enjoyable story from Philip K. Dick.

[arkrayder · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Not one of Philip K. Dicks best stories but it keeps your attention and manages to seem fresh rather than old.

[gregorio_roth · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Poor Yurick, did I not know who thy was... is the question posed in this Novella. or Short Story.