"Exhibit Piece" is a 1954 science fiction short story by American writer Philip K. Dick.[1] 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 ending of the story remains ambiguous, as it is revealed that with the use of a "time gate",[2] the man may have actually traveled through time. After a confrontation with his boss from the future through the time gate, they advise him that he needs to be euthanized and that they will deconstruct the exhibit, as they believe he has gone mad. The man, confident that they cannot travel via the time gate to get him and that destruction of the exhibit will simply close the time gate, returns to his home in the 20th century, only to read in the newspaper that Russia has created a bomb that will result in the destruction of the world.
It remains unclear whether the man has indeed traveled in time or has simply suffered from a mental collapse that has completely distorted his view of reality.
This is similar to Dick's later fiction, in which the concept of a fixed "reality" became increasingly ambiguous.
^"Exhibit Piece by Philip K. Dick is PUBLIC DOMAIN : SFFaudio". www.sffaudio.com. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
^"Exhibit Piece". Philip K. Dick Review. 2014-05-17. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
^Griffiths, Eleanor Bley (15 October 2017). "Electric Dreams: real Life – how does the TV show compare to Philip K Dick's original story?". Radio Times. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
exhibit, piece, 1954, science, fiction, short, story, american, writer, philip, dick, story, early, exploration, concept, shifting, realities, common, theme, dick, subsequent, works, protagonist, future, historian, 20th, century, finds, himself, shifting, time. Exhibit Piece is a 1954 science fiction short story by American writer Philip K Dick 1 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 ending of the story remains ambiguous as it is revealed that with the use of a time gate 2 the man may have actually traveled through time After a confrontation with his boss from the future through the time gate they advise him that he needs to be euthanized and that they will deconstruct the exhibit as they believe he has gone mad The man confident that they cannot travel via the time gate to get him and that destruction of the exhibit will simply close the time gate returns to his home in the 20th century only to read in the newspaper that Russia has created a bomb that will result in the destruction of the world It remains unclear whether the man has indeed traveled in time or has simply suffered from a mental collapse that has completely distorted his view of reality This is similar to Dick s later fiction in which the concept of a fixed reality became increasingly ambiguous The plot was considerably modified when used as the basis for the episode Real Life in the TV series Philip K Dick s Electric Dreams 3 References Edit Exhibit Piece by Philip K Dick is PUBLIC DOMAIN SFFaudio www sffaudio com Retrieved 2017 10 24 Exhibit Piece Philip K Dick Review 2014 05 17 Retrieved 2017 10 24 Griffiths Eleanor Bley 15 October 2017 Electric Dreams real Life how does the TV show compare to Philip K Dick s original story Radio Times Retrieved 26 October 2017 External links EditExhibit Piece title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database Exhibit Piece at the Internet Archive This article about a science fiction short story or stories published in the 1950s is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Exhibit Piece amp oldid 1019360929, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
