Chapter 111: Lin Ran’s Version Of The Man In The High Castle
“Dick? Such a rude name?”
In the center of the stage, soft lights shone down from the ceiling over 15 meters high, illuminating Lin Ran’s face, and Jenny’s breath hit Lin Ran’s face as she spoke.
“Are you joking with me?”
Dick, dick, Lin Ran took a moment to react, wondering if Jenny thought he was making a colored joke with her.
Lin Ran said seriously: “No no no, Jenny, I’m really very curious.
He is a science fiction novelist in California, I’ve read some of his works and found them very interesting.
I’m a fan of his books, I want to chat with him, so I wanted to ask if the publishing house under the Hearst family does business with him.”
It was mentioned earlier that the Hearst family is a media tycoon.
Jenny was not surprised at all that Lin Ran knew about the Hearst family, or rather, it would be strange if he didn’t know,
“Never heard of him, he probably isn’t famous.
Besides, we handle the Hearst International Library, which focuses on publishing hardcover books, no one would want to buy a hardcover science fiction novel.
Not to mention Philip K. Dick, even Isaac Asimov or Arthur C. Clarke’s novels don’t sell well in hardcover editions.
The fine books readers want to buy are Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace, even though he is a Slav.
A couple of years ago they seemed to have acquired Avon Books, going the paperback route, I’m not clear on the details, but anyway, I have no impression of a writer named Philip K. Dick.
But since Professor Lin mentioned him, he must have unique talent, I’ll definitely find his works and take a good look after I return to Washington.”
Philip K. Dick, his most famous work would be Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? published in 1968, which was later adapted into Blade Runner.
At present, he is just an obscure little writer active in California.
Not to mention Jenny, even current science fiction enthusiasts have only heard of him within the San Francisco area.
Lin Ran’s casual mention changed his fate to some extent.
In Marin County, California, in a wooden villa far from the city, Philip K. Dick got up at 10 o’clock as usual, and saw that his wife Annie and daughter Laura had already gone out.
He went to the kitchen to brew a cup of coffee, preparing to have it with bread slathered in jam as breakfast.
Philip K. Dick bit into the bread, held the coffee, walked to the typewriter, but didn’t start typing, instead staring blankly at the reference book on the table.
The philosophical classic he was using to guide his writing this time was the I Ching from China.
That’s right, later in an interview he even complained that referencing the I Ching caused his plot to be fragmented.
Because during the writing of this new book, he always liked to toss copper coins, then decide the character’s fate or plot development based on the hexagram.
After finishing the bread, he first picked up three copper coins, tossing each one six times to generate a six-line hexagram:
“— First line, yang.”
Before he could finish divining the hexagram, a phone rang, breaking the long silence in the room.
“Ding ding ding~ Ding ding ding~”
Philip K. Dick got up to answer the phone, and Anthony Boucher’s voice came from the other end:
“Philip, good news, John Miller likes your work, he wants you to bring your proudest work, the other party wants to meet you in New York to talk face to face.
If your work catches John Miller’s eye, maybe you can leave California and become a famous science fiction writer like Asimov.”
Anthony Boucher is the co-founder of Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Philip K. Dick’s early works like Minority Report were published in his magazine.
Although he had retired, he was still friends with Philip K. Dick.
Philip K. Dick asked: “Who is John Miller?”
As a reclusive writer, he really hadn’t heard of this person.
Anthony Boucher explained: “He was previously a high-level official at the Hearst International Library, after the Hearst Group acquired Avon Books, he was transferred to Avon Books as CEO.
He belongs to the direct line of the Hearst family, if your work catches his eye, using the Hearst family’s media network, your work could be promoted throughout America, not limited to a small place like California.”
Philip K. Dick then asked: “Specific time?”
Anthony Boucher said: “I’ll give you John Miller’s phone number, you talk to him yourself.”
After noting down John Miller’s phone number in his notebook, Philip K. Dick didn’t call immediately, but first sat back at the typewriter, insisting on finishing the divination:
“— First line, yang
——
Second line, yin
—* Third line, old yang——
Fourth line, yin
——
Fifth line, yin
— Sixth line, yang”
Finally, he picked up the I Ching at hand and tried to figure out this hexagram:
“The primary hexagram is Zhen, double thunder overlapping, symbolizing shock, awakening, and sudden change.”
Philip K. Dick read slowly, thinking to himself, “So the divination I did today wasn’t about Frank’s next direction, but my own?” He fell silent for a moment.
December 21, the second day of the Christmas holiday, 300 West 57th Street in Midtown Manhattan, Hearst Building, Philip K. Dick carried a backpack, which besides his previous proud works, also included his nearly completed The Man in the High Castle.
After a brief chat with John Miller, Philip K. Dick learned that the one interested in him was not John Miller, but Randolph Lin and Jenny Hearst of the Hearst family.
The former had just returned from Oslo, Norway with honors, the latter as a member of the Hearst family, surely wouldn’t be too bad either.
This made Philip a bit uneasy, not knowing what these two wanted with him.
But considering the hexagram was Zhen, thunder breaking the silence, bringing awakening and new life, in the I Ching it has no good or bad distinction, but to Philip it seemed like a good hexagram.
Besides the personal career and hexagram mentioned above, another important reason Philip chose to come was that he was very interested in Lin Ran.
Not because of White House bureaucrats or Nobel Prize, but because in media descriptions, as Professor Horkheimer’s disciple, plus Lin Ran’s demeanor in public interviews, all demonstrated profound philosophical attainment.
Philip was curious, as a Chinese great mathematician, how Lin Ran, with such knowledge of philosophy, interpreted the I Ching, this pinnacle of ancient Chinese philosophy, and whether there was a fresher interpretation from a mathematical perspective.
Therefore, he was very much looking forward to meeting Lin Ran.
On the 18th floor of the Hearst Building, Jenny and Lin Ran were already waiting for Philip K. Dick in the meeting room.
From the moment she walked into Avon Books with Lin Ran, Jenny’s furrowed brow hadn’t relaxed.
Although it was a holiday today and no one was working, the lingering smells of typewriter ink, cigarette smoke, and coffee in the office still made her uncomfortable.
Plus the narrow cubicles made Jenny even more unaccustomed.
Fortunately, the meeting room environment was much better, but Jenny still couldn’t help complaining to Lin Ran: “Professor, if you’re really interested in Philip, you could totally meet him in Washington.
Instead of meeting here.”
Jenny obviously rarely appeared in such places, even though this was an industry of the Hearst family.
After all, she had just started at the New York Times and already had an independent office facing Manhattan.
“This is respect for the other party, you’ve read Philip’s works too, don’t you find them interesting?” Lin Ran was holding Time Out of Joint.
Lin Ran leaned to Jenny’s ear and said: “Respected Miss Hearst, today please trouble you to act as the receptionist and bring Philip K. Dick over.”
Jenny rolled her eyes at Lin Ran, then took off her deerskin gloves and placed them on the table, “As you command, my professor.”
Lin Ran smiled awkwardly twice.
“Mr. Dick, hello, I’m Randolph, Randolph Lin, your loyal reader.”
After Philip K. Dick entered the meeting room, he saw a face that had appeared repeatedly in newspapers and on television, one of the world’s most famous Chinese people at present.
The other’s enthusiasm exceeded his imagination, it looked like a fan meet-up for sure.
Philip K. Dick politely shook hands with Lin Ran, then said: “Professor Lin, I’m very honored that you like my works.
I’ve also seen the content of your interviews, I think you spoke very well.”
Jenny sat quietly to the side without saying a word.
After Lin Ran gestured for the other to sit, he gave Jenny a look, then she slowly walked to the water dispenser, got a cup of water, placed it in front of Philip, and said:
“Jenny Hearst, but today it’s mainly Professor Lin chatting with you.”
Before Philip could be shocked that a member of the Hearst family was doing front desk reception and serving tea and water, Lin Ran had skipped the pleasantries and got to the point:
“Mr. Dick, lately I’ve been having a dream, the content of which is very similar to your Time Out of Joint.”
Lin Ran held up the Time Out of Joint in his hand to show the other.
Philip even had to recall for a moment to remember this work of his published three years ago.
“Professor, please go ahead.”
Lin Ran said: “I dreamed I was living in a small town, living what seemed like a happy life, I was a math teacher, with a gentle wife and a group of friends.
However, in reality my life was a globally live-broadcasted reality show. From the moment I was born, every movement of mine was recorded by hidden cameras, everyone around me was an actor, the entire town was a huge studio.
Letting the audience watch my life 24 hours a day.”
What Lin Ran described was actually the plot of The Truman Show, he had modified some details.
For example, in the movie Truman is in sales, he changed it to a math teacher, which matched his actual identity better.
Lin Ran continued: “Then an accident happened in life, lights fell from the sky, parents who had passed away suddenly appeared and were quickly taken away, the radio unexpectedly broadcasted dialogue from behind-the-scenes staff.
In the dream I started trying to escape Seahaven, but found every attempt thwarted by various factors, including weather, traffic, dissuasion from wife, friends, etc.
Finally, I discovered the truth, discovered that this world has a boundary.
The blue sky and white clouds were painted on.
The producer tried to convince him to stay through the broadcast, but I chose to walk out of the false world into the unknown real life.”
Philip K. Dick was somewhat baffled, “Professor, few people have such a complete dream.
But your dream is indeed quite similar to my Time Out of Joint.”
Time Out of Joint tells the story of Ragle, similar to Truman, an apparently ordinary man living in a quiet small town in 1950s America.
Ragle had no formal job, living off participating in a newspaper contest called “Where Will the Next One Be?”
This contest required contestants to predict where a little green man would appear on the map each day, and Ragle, with his amazing intuition and analytical ability, won the contest for years, becoming a legendary figure in the town.
Ragle lived with his sister Margo and brother-in-law Vic.
Similar to The Truman Show, on the surface life was mundane, but strange phenomena began to bother Ragle.
He occasionally found real objects suddenly disappear, replaced by a small note with the object’s name written on it.
For example, after the radio disappeared, the note left behind said “radio”.
These anomalies confused Ragle, he began to doubt whether his perception of the world was real.
Including the townspeople’s attention to Ragle seeming excessive. His neighbor Bill Black and others seemed to be secretly monitoring him.
Finally, through a series of clues, Ragle discovered that the 1950s town he lived in was actually a carefully constructed illusion.
At this time the real era was the 1990s, Earth was in the midst of a civil war, and Ragle was not an ordinary person, he had been a key military strategist with extraordinary ability to predict enemy missile landing points.
In the past Ragle had a mental collapse and refused to continue working for the government, so the authorities designed this fake 1950s town, trapping him in a time-disjointed environment.
This town was not only physically isolated, but also used drugs and psychological control to make Ragle believe he was living in the past.
His contest was actually predicting missile landing points, and the newspaper was a tool for the government to pass information.
The entire town’s residents, including his family, were “actors”, the purpose being to maintain this illusion and ensure Ragle continued unconsciously working for the war.
Finally he successfully broke through the control, like The Truman Show, leaving an open-ended conclusion.
The core of these two stories is very similar.
Lin Ran said: “So Mr. Dick, I hope to trouble you to turn my dream into a novel, short story or novella is fine, I believe in your ability.
Also, I heard you’re writing a story similar to Time Out of Joint, I wonder if I have the chance to appreciate it in advance.”
Seemingly two purposes, actually one purpose.
Lin Ran just wanted to get the manuscript of The Man in the High Castle from Philip K. Dick, then adapt the story himself.
It would be normal for Raspberry Pi computers and user guides to appear in the fictional world of The Man in the High Castle, right?
It would also be normal for simulation software and operation manuals to suddenly appear in The Man in the High Castle, right?
Even making some prophecies about the future could be credited to Philip K. Dick.
What Lin Ran planned to give to Chen Jingrun was this Lin Ran version of The Man in the High Castle.
“Of course, I’m honored that the professor likes my story.” Philip K. Dick took out the photocopied manuscript of The Man in the High Castle from his backpack and handed it to Lin Ran, and agreed to adapt Lin Ran’s dream into a short story.
And his past works including the current The Man in the High Castle would be published by Avon Books.
After Philip K. Dick made an appointment with John Miller to discuss publishing details after the Christmas holiday, he left the meeting room with the prepared publishing agreement.
After he left, Jenny asked: “Professor, what was the name of the wife you dreamed of?”
