My novelette, An Illicit Mercy, is part of a new promotion in July, Free eBooks Featuring Strong Independent Young Girls and Women.Over 125 science fiction, fantasy, young adult, and general fiction books, available at no cost.Get your FREE copy of What If...: Science Fiction and Paranormal Short Stories, Volume 2!Come for the fiction, stay for the science in this second collection of science fiction and paranormal short stories with a twist of reality.Tim Trott’s short stories often blend real science or theories with imaginative elements. Some draw inspiration from his work experience or focused studies on specific topics. His unique take on science fiction and the paranormal sets him apart.Whether you’re seeking thought-provoking science fiction, captivating paranormal tales, non-fiction, or a blend of both, Tim Trott’s writing offers a delightful journey for readers.“He turned on his left side.”The discourse of mundane fiction more or less constrains us to read such a string of words as referring to some kind of masculine, insomniac tossings. SF discourse retains the greater margin to read such words as meaning that a male threw a switch activating the circuitry of his sinistral flank.—Samuel R. Delany, Starboard WineI’ve written previously about Philip K. Dick’s brilliant derangement. While devastating to his personal life, this mental instability allowed Dick to see elements of our society and world most of us miss. Or perhaps we perceive but ignore them, because they make us uncomfortable.Like the very “phildickian” movie The Matrix, Dick was concerned with how the way in which we (or others) construct our reality can blind us to what is really happening.One of our most powerful tools for constructing reality is language. Setting aside the specific case of mathematics in scientific disciplines, to understand a concept, most of us have to put it into words.But words can both reveal and conceal. Talking about a subject in a certain way may blind us to seeing it from a different point of view. A shift in perspective can cause us to realize something we’ve been missing, although it may have been right in front of us the whole time. Such insight can spark amazement, or horror.Such is the case in Dick’s 1953 short story “The Eyes Have It,” now in the public domain due to non-renewal of copyright.From one vantage point, this is the mundane tale of a man suffering anxiety and paranoia. The science fiction story is merely one he tells himself.From another perspective, he faces a revelation which could mean peril for the entire human species."Of course," we think, when we reach the last line, "Dick is only having fun. He's not serious."But as Delany reminds us, in sf, the literal reading is often the most likely.“The Eyes Have It”by Philip K. DickIt was quite by accident I discovered this incredible invasion of Earth by lifeforms from another planet. As yet, I haven’t done anything about it; I can’t think of anything to do. I wrote to the Government, and they sent back a pamphlet on the repair and maintenance of frame houses. Anyhow, the whole thing is known; I’m not the first to discover it. Maybe it’s even under control.I was sitting in my easy-chair, idly turning the pages of a paperbacked book someone had left on the bus, when I came across the reference that first put me on the trail. For a moment I didn’t respond. It took some time for the full import to sink in. After I’d comprehended, it seemed odd I hadn’t noticed it right away.The reference was clearly to a nonhuman species of incredible properties, not indigenous to Earth. A species, I hasten to point out, customarily masquerading as ordinary human beings. Their disguise, however, became transparent in the face of the following observations by the author. It was at once obvious the author knew everything. Knew everything — and was taking it in his stride. The line (and I tremble remembering it even now) read: … his eyes slowly roved about the room.Vague chills assailed me. I tried to picture the eyes. Did they roll like dimes? The passage indicated not; they seemed to move through the air, not over the surface. Rather rapidly, apparently. No one in the story was surprised. That’s what tipped me off. No sign of amazement at such an outrageous thing. Later the matter was amplified. … his eyes moved from person to person.There it was in a nutshell. The eyes had clearly come apart from the rest of him and were on their own. My heart pounded and my breath choked in my windpipe. I had stumbled on an accidental mention of a totally unfamiliar race. Obviously non-Terrestrial. Yet, to the characters in the book, it was perfectly natural — which suggested they belonged to the same species.And the author? A slow suspicion burned in my mind. The author was taking it rather too easily in his stride. Evidently, he felt this was quite a usual thing. He made absolutely no attempt to conceal this...
