Upwards of 100 million people lay in cryo-sleep due to mass overpopulation. Racism is rampant, with whites still seeing themselves as the “superior” race, even though they are now the minority. America is preparing to potentially have their first black (or “col”) president. Space is home to off-world brothels run by human beings with serious physical mutations. And society is just as mucked up as always. This is the world of the future which Philip K. Dick envisions in “The Crack in Space”, a suitably philosophical venture from the author known for his mind-bending, reality-altering ideas. But while elements of the story are outlandish and fantastic, much of it is grounded in both the reality of the time it was written and published (the mid-1960's), and in our time.
Of course the most direct parallel to our time is the American presidential election, where candidate Jim Briskin is having trouble appealing to both whites and “cols” (anyone non-white), since he himself is a black man. So obviously with Barack Obama in the running this year for president, the book has even more relevance. But despite current events in the world, the themes are timeless, and represent problems that won’t go away regardless of who is president. What do we do when we reach that breaking point where we just cannot fit any more people in the world? Where will we go? What if we never develop technology to terraform other worlds? Are we inherently doomed to extinction because of our own pride and inability to sustain natural resources? The book presents the implications of over population on numerous levels - social, political, ecological, economical, even sexual. But instead of simply putting the issues in front of the reader and leaving it at that, it asks - no, demands - that some thought be put into this. When the world is overpopulated, what do we do about young couples who desperately want to have children? Do we tell them no? Do we push the option of abortion on them? Do we simply let them have their child, even though they’ll end up being cryogenically frozen anyways?
It’s these issues that elevate a book like “The Crack in Space” above that oh-so-rampant misconception that science fiction (especially in literature) consists of busty women fighting lizard kings with laser pistols on aliens worlds where everything is unnervingly phallic in shape. To me stories like that have always been more in the vein of fantasy. That is not to say that they are lesser works compared to true science fiction, they’re just different and have been mislabeled. True science fiction examines concepts and ideas of a socio-political and philosophical nature, and aren’t all about alien goo and boobs - though these can still be present. Now, I don’t pretend to be an authority on the subject of science fiction. In fact, it’s only been over the past couple of years that I’ve really taken an interest in science fiction literature, and come to understand how much the genre has to offer. But I feel I’ve explored enough to say definitively that Philip K. Dick is one of the greatest idea men to have ever lived, and his ability to communicate those ideas effectively in solid, interesting, and very entertaining books really says a lot about the man’s talent and grasp of the written word.
There are elements of “The Crack in Space” which will seem familiar even to those who have only seen films based on Dick’s work. The space-age brothel orbiting Earth and run by a pair of siamese twins seems like something which could have been lifted right out of the seedy underworld of Total Recall’s Mars colony.
But I must digress, and admit that it has taken me well over two weeks to write this review. While some of that may be laziness on my part, it’s mostly due to the fact that this is just such a profound work. It has so many incredible concepts - to have even one of these ideas, I think I’d feel like I was some sort of genius. But that Philip K. Dick filled dozens of novels with these ideas relating to philosophy, religion, existentialism and humanity is a true testament to his genius. He also has a very unique style, and I would almost call it an “anti-style” mentality towards writing. When describing futuristic technology and the ways of the worlds he creates, he gives the bare minimum of information required for the reader to understand the plot. For example, in “The Crack in Space”, much of it revolves around men who repair “Jifi-scuttlers”. You may be asking what exactly a “Jifi-scuttler” is, and I can honestly say I don’t clearly know, and I’ve read the book. Is this a shortcoming? Not at all - in fact it’s one of the greatest strengths of the book. Dick doesn’t waste time with details that, in the end, really don’t matter in the grand scheme of things. A “Jifi-scuttler” is a futuristic means of transporation, and it somehow involves tubes - that’s all we really know, and all we really need to know to grasp the plot.
In reading several reviews for “The Crack in Space”, I was surprised to find that this is actually considered a middle-to-lesser tier Dick novel. While I am not yet well versed in the man’s work, I must say that I don’t understand this - either I got more out of it than a lot of others, or I am in for a real treat when I further explore the author’s works. As it stands, I feel confident in saying this is one of the best pieces of science fiction literature I have ever experienced - I rank it among “Ender’s Game” and Robert Silverberg’s “Son of Man”.
