The two warring sides at a standstill, desperately trying to gain a technological advantage, clearly mirror the real-world cold war and arms race which were just beginning to get seriously under way at the time of writing. The dependence of the future men on computers and technology is contrasted with the man from the past’s ability to work with his hands and his brain, with Dick being clearly in favour of the latter. However it sounds pretty good nonetheless and is consistent within the story. I’m no scientist, as you know, but I feel the science in this book is a long, long way from being founded on anything realistic. This is quite a long short story, perhaps novelette length. But Sherikov still needs someone to fix his bomb… Reinhart believes the solution is to find him and kill him. On being told about the existence of this man, the SRB machines close down and no longer show a ratio at all. He escapes into the mountains, but not before proving he has unique skills at fixing things. Ordered by Reinhart to close the experiments down before the beginning of the battle, an accident means that they also bring a man, a general handyman, from the early 20th century. Meantime, elsewhere on Terra, scientists are carrying out time-travelling experiments.

Security Commissioner Reinhart issues orders to start preparing an attack on Centaurus. As this information is fed into the SRB machines, the ratio suddenly swings dramatically in favour of Terra. He has the original blueprints – now he just needs someone with the skills to do the intricate wiring. Leading scientist Peter Sherikov has found details of a failed experiment to travel at faster than light speeds and reckons he can turn it into a massively destructive bomb. As any changes are made, new information is fed into the SRB machines that calculate the odds, but each time they show Centaurus still in front.

As each side continues to make advances in weaponry, the balance stays in favour of the Centaurans, whose territory surrounds Terra in an unbroken ring. The year is 2136, and Terra (Earth) is at war with the Centauran Empire. TRANSWARP TUESDAY! * * * * * * * The Variable Man by Philip K Dick I will as usual be reviewing the whole book later, but here’s one I’ve picked pretty much at random for this week’s… The stories in this book are taken from the early part of his writing career, all first published in the various sci-fi magazines in the mid-1950s. Another of the biggest names in sci-fi in the second half of the twentieth century, several of Philip K Dick’s books and stories have been used as the basis for blockbuster movies – Blade Runner, Total Recall, etc.

The Variable Man by Philip K. Dick