Dimension of Miracles by Robert Sheckley
"Dimension of Miracles" is a fantastical narrative centered around an ordinary Earthling named Carmody, who unexpectedly wins an intergalactic prize. Upon learning of his win, he is confronted by an alien named Karmod, who asserts that Carmody's entry into the galactic sweepstakes is invalid since Earth is not part of their culture. Despite this, an enigmatic prize urges Carmody to claim his winnings, leading him on a journey across various worlds and encounters with godlike beings, including Melichrone and Maudsley. These entities, each embodying their own existential struggles, guide Carmody as he navigates the complexities of existence and identity, while also eluding a sinister predator determined to reclaim him. His quest takes him through different timelines and realities, including a humorous yet tense encounter with talking dinosaurs in the Mesozoic era and a city filled with commercial jargon. Ultimately, Carmody's journey reveals his struggle to find his true "Where, When, and Which" in a multidimensional tapestry of experiences, leaving him in perpetual pursuit of his prize while grappling with the weight of his choices. This story touches on themes of identity, meaning, and the absurdity of existence through a humorous sci-fi lens.
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Dimension of Miracles
First published: 1968
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Science fiction—New Wave
Time of work: The late 1960’s
Locale: Earth, the Galactic Center, the planet Lursis, and alternate Earths
The Plot
Carmody no other name is given) lives an ordinary life on Earth until an alien Messenger shows up to inform him that he has won the Intergalactic Sweepstakes and to take him to collect his prize. After signing the paper accepting the prize, he is confronted by an alien named Karmod, who insists that he is the rightful winner of the prize, pointing out that Carmody could not have entered the sweepstakes because Earth is not a part of the Galactic culture. The computer that made the award admits (proclaims, in fact) that it had made an error in awarding the prize to Carmody, but the prize itself speaks up, urging Carmody not to give in, and he insists on keeping it.
Carmody then learns that he will have to find his own way home, specifically that he will have to find the Where, When, and Which of his Earth. Carmody and the prize are sent to the planet Lursis, owned and inhabited by the god Melichrone. Melichrone is the only entity that can live on Lursis for long. As the god of that planet, he has turned himself into entire races of beings, but now he is bored and can find no meaning in life. Carmody tells him that he can find meaning by helping others, such as Carmody himself. Melichrone agrees, warning Carmody that his unique situation as prize winner has caused him to be pursued by a unique predator. He sends Carmody to another godlike figure named Maudsley.
Maudsley turns out to be a builder of worlds, one who economizes by using shabby materials and cutting corners wherever possible. He informs Carmody that he had built Earth in that fashion, recalling with some warmth the irascible old god who hired him for the construction. On Maudsley’s planet, Carmody meets what appear to be an earthling scientist and his beautiful daughter. They take him to their spaceship, but before they can trap him in it, he realizes that they are constructs designed by his predator. Maudsley sends him to an Earth, cautioning that although it represents Where Earth is, Carmody still has to figure out When and on Which he belongs.
Carmody finds himself in the Mesozoic era, where he meets a family of talking tyrannosaurs. They are willing to accept the bizarre concept of a talking mammal, and Carmody chats with them, trying not to mention that they will become extinct, until he is met by an Internal Revenue Service agent who turns out to be his predator in another guise. Fleeing the predator, he encounters Clyde Beedle Seethwright, who offers to send him to the correct When so that he can determine Which Earth is his.
Carmody’s next destination is the city of Bellwether, which is warm and comforting. Carmody finds it too much so, like a smothering mother, and calls to Seethwright to send him elsewhere. He next finds himself in a world where people talk in the catch phrases of commercials. This is obviously not his world either, so he has Seethwright send him to another world. That world is oppressive and full of garbage, noise, and violence. It is in fact his world, but Carmody gets Seethwright to take him out of it, to leave him on a perpetual quest, forever accompanied by his prize and pursued by his predator.