Solar Lottery by Philip K. Dick
"Solar Lottery" is Philip K. Dick’s first published science-fiction novel, set in the year 2203—a future where space travel is commonplace, yet society has regressed into a feudalistic structure dominated by corporations. The narrative introduces a system known as the Quiz, where loyalty to powerful figures is paramount, often resulting in blind obedience. The protagonist, Ted Benteley, struggles against this oppressive system, embodying a deep dissatisfaction with societal complacency and materialism. The novel reflects the cultural anxieties of the 1950s, including corporate influence and conformity, while also incorporating elements of game theory and the popular quiz shows of the era. As Benteley navigates this static world, he encounters the Prestonites, a group inspired by the astronomer John Preston, who seek to expand human knowledge. The conclusion of the novel reinforces themes of growth and exploration, urging humanity to pursue new horizons. Overall, "Solar Lottery" combines whimsical elements with serious themes, showcasing early indicators of Dick's distinctive narrative style and philosophical inquiries.
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Solar Lottery by Philip K. Dick
Excerpted from an article in Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition
First published: 1955
Type of work: Novel
The Work
Solar Lottery, Dick’s first published science-fiction novel, was his best-selling book prior to Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? That fact says much about the audience for science fiction, for of all Dick’s novels Solar Lottery most resembles the stereotypical and ephemeral products of the genre. Even in this early work, however, some of Dick’s recurring preoccupations and distinctive gifts are apparent.
Most of Dick’s novels are set in the near future (indeed, in certain instances, Dick’s future has already become the reader’s past). Solar Lottery, in contrast, takes place in the distant future, in the year 2203. In many science-fiction stories (especially those written in the period from the 1930’s through the 1950’s), the futuristic setting is never coherently or convincingly established. Rather than undertaking the difficult task of imagining a future society, the writer relies on the power of suggestion (simply to say “2203” is to conjure vague but exciting images), supplemented by a bit of technological extrapolation. Such is the case in Solar Lottery.
The world of 2203 is one in which space travel has long been a reality, yet in other respects humanity seems to have regressed. This future society is feudalistic. Skilled individuals must swear fealty to corporations or powerful figures. Loyalty is the highest virtue—but in practice, “loyalty” means blind obedience. Common people (unclassified, or “unks”) are given a largely illusory measure of hope by an elaborate mechanism known as the Quiz; at the random twitch of a bottle, the single most powerful figure in the society, the Quizmaster, may be deposed, to be replaced by someone utterly obscure.
In this scenario one can detect familiar themes and issues of the 1950’s, combined by Dick in a strange and whimsical amalgam: the growing influence of corporations in American life and the stultifying conformity they encouraged; the loyalty hearings conducted by Senator Joseph McCarthy; the appeal of television quiz shows, which were wildly popular at the time Dick was writing Solar Lottery; even the role of John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern’s game theory in America’s postwar nuclear strategy (the novel includes a mini-dissertation on game theory). Restless and dissatisfied in this static and unjust society, protagonist Ted Benteley ultimately rejects the system’s overemphasis on loyalty and its complacent materialism. His inarticulate idealism is paralleled in a subplot involving the Prestonites, a sect inspired by the writing of maverick astronomer and linguist John Preston to search for a tenth planet in the solar system.
Solar Lottery concludes with a recorded message from the long-dead Preston, extolling “the highest goal of man—the need to grow and advance . . . to find new things . . . to expand.” This platitudinous conclusion, unthinkable in Dick’s later novels, actually has little connection with the conflicts that animate Solar Lottery—in particular the tension between Benteley and deposed Quizmaster Reese Varrick, the prototype for such ambivalently portrayed larger-than-life figures as Gino Molinari in Now Wait for Last Year, Glen Runciter in Ubik, and the Glimmung in Galactic Pot Healer (1969).
Bibliography
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