Fullerton(?), California, 1975. A three-page (3pp) typed letter signed. A fantastic letter. Dated February 16th 1975. The letter is signed by PKD with nine amendments in the author's hand. Addressed to Claudia Bush. Bush commenced her dialogue with PKD whilst writing her thesis on him for her MA at Idaho State University. The thesis was published as "The Splintered Shards: Reality and Illusion in the Novels of Philip K. Dick." Much of the Bush correspondence is held in the Willis E. McNelly collection at California State University Fullerton; they are scarce in commerce.Â
This letter is written in the aftermath of his VALIS visions of 1974, which happened shortly after a wisdom tooth operation. Dick received a home delivery of opioids from a woman wearing a Christian Ichthys necklace. The symbol emitted a pink beam of light which was the catalyst for months of visionary experiences, including Dick's belief that his mind had been invaded by a benign but separate consciousness. The period of PKD's visions began in February or March of 1974, and continued for anywhere between two and 12 months. In What if Our World is Their Heaven, Dick asserts that this separate consciousness was present 'for one year. From February 1974 to February 1975' (p. 149).Â
The present letter is three typed pages of PKD postulating about the nature of reality using Christian theology as a backdrop. It's a fascinating insight into how PKD rationalised his VALIS experience. The main crux is examining space time operating in two fashions, simultaneously: with an orthogonal time axis and in a cyclic manner, repeating each year (why the dimension of time should be oriented around the orbit of earth around the sun isn't discussed, but let's give him a break), and how these are sensed by the right and left brain. There's a brief mention of Theodore Sturgeon, and the usual cameo of Greek philosophers and Christ and his disciples. A fascinating, lengthy read. A short autograph addition to page two and a couple of corrections. Signed, Love, Phil with a heart. Small liquid stain to the edges, but it doesn't detract. [11178, Hyraxia Books].