Ubik

“‘Burial is barbaric,’ Herbert muttered aloud. ‘Remnant of the primitive origins of our culture.’” 

Throughout the novel, various characters express opinions on how society handles the dead via the half-life system. Herbert, an undertaker, has a lot at stake in regard to what society chooses to do with its dead and does all he can to keep his clients happy. The quote also introduces a measure of perspective for the reader. While burial feels perfectly natural to contemporary readers, so much of humanity’s opinions on various customs are the result of societal norms that go unquestioned.

“Defend your privacy, the ads yammered on the hour, from all media. Is a stranger tuning in on you?” 

This passage relates to one of the major themes of the novel: privacy. Privacy in Dick’s universe is a thing that can be bought and sold. This is probably manifested in Dick’s writing in response to the perceived lack of privacy during the era of the Cold War and the “Red Scare.” Moreover, the theme is predictive—intentionally or not—of 21st Century debates over the importance of digital security.

“Is this better than the old way, the direct road from full-life to the grave?” 

This is another quote dealing with the idea of society’s response to death in Dick’s imagined future. It expresses an opposing opinion, offered by Runciter, to Herbert’s view of Herbert. Runciter has a difficult time interacting with his wife through the years. He and others wonder if it isn’t better to let someone die completely, as opposed to preserving them in half-life. This speaks to the unnatural and dehumanizing consequences of cutting-edge technology, a common theme in Dick’s work.

“The anti-psi factor is a natural restoration of ecological balance. One insect learns to fly, so another learns to build a web to trap him.” 

The idea of balance in the universe is another theme that presents itself through the novel. This speech is offered to Pat to make her feel better about her ability, which seemingly only cancels out another. Runciter cites the importance of such a balance. The quote also reflects one of the many dualities found in the book—in this case, the duality between telepath and anti-telepath.

“Big-time Psi activity is like a mosaic; they can’t afford to be impatient, and neither can we.”

Here, Runciter foreshadows his own hasty departure to Luna for a big payout. His impatience costs him eleven of his inertials, including Joe Chip, and it may have completely shut down the business, though in Dick’s fictional worlds, little is certain. The quote also foreshadows some of the tragic consequences that take place when cooler heads give way to unbridled capitalism.

“I may finally have found where Hollis’ smart-assed talents have sneaked off to. The whole goddam bunch of them.” 

Like the previous quote, this passage foreshadows the disaster on Luna. In addition to the allure of money for Runciter, he hopes to find all of the missing telepaths, thus putting himself at ease again. It also reflects the extent to which the battle against telepaths is personal for Runciter, a possible consequence of the grief he feels at his own wife’s consciousness being repeatedly invaded by Jory.

“…it’s the same as when ants find their way into your kitchen. You don’t ask why they’re there; you just begin the job of getting them back out.” 

This quote represents the shortsightedness of Runciter’s actions, in regard to the mission to Luna. Had he been more inquisitive about the job, he and his team would not have fallen into the deadly trap. In this way, Runciter is a tragic figure, blinded by his own eagerness to stamp out individuals who invade others’ consciousness like ants invade a home.

“…in him he felt unhappy cravings arise, cloudy and pointless wants that led nowhere, that returned to him empty, as in the completion of a geometrically perfect circle.” 

Runciter looks at Pat’s beauty and is reminded of his dead wife, Ella. He knows he can never find a love like that again but expresses the circularity of desire, and its unending nature. Perhaps this is also an expression of Runciter’s broader antipathy toward half-life technology. After all, had Ella been permitted to die a natural death, Runciter would be able to achieve closure eventually.

“You’re a policeman guarding privacy.” 

In the novel’s world, privacy is big business and the consumer believes that their privacy might be under attack at any time. Runciter sees himself as a keeper of the peace and a protector of humanity. This is akin to the attitudes of modern cyber-security specialists for whom the privacy of corporations, governments, and individuals in paramount.

“Pat…you could have had her go back into the past, before Runciter’s injury; she could have changed all this.”

This is the first instance where Pat seems to not use her ability to positively affect the situation for the group. She will continue to fail to use her ability throughout the novel, as her mission is actually to have the group killed, though they are yet to be aware of this. The fact that Pat claims her ability no longer works after the explosion also complicates the question of whether the “real” reality occurs before the explosion or after the explosion. 

“It’s as if, he thought, some malicious force is playing with us, letting us scamper and twitter like debrained mice.”

Joe first realizes that they are being toyed with early in the novel. When Jory reveals himself much later on, many of Joe’s earlier held suspicions are confirmed. This also reflects the powerlessness many felt during the post-World War II era, cowed by both wartime atrocities and the threat of nuclear war.

“‘One of these days,’ Joe said wrathfully, ‘people like me will rise up and overthrow you, and the end of tyranny by the homeostatic machine will have arrived. The day of human values and compassion and simple warmth will return…’” 

This passage, which relates back to the theme of the impersonality of machines, shows Dick critiquing the “ease” of machines; they function as cold gatekeepers for nearly every aspect of day-to-day life in Ubik. At the same time, Joe’s desire to return to a more personal past is complicated by the book’s commentary on the dangers of nostalgia, laid bare in the section where the characters are greeted with the vicious racism of the 1930s.

“Did you know that Toscanini…in his recording of Traviata you can hear him during the aria ‘Sempre Libera’?” 

This allusion mirrors the layered and out-of-place voice of Runciter, as heard by Chip on the phone and in commercials. Voices, objects, and even consciousness itself are frequently seen to fade in and out across the novel. This adds to the overall feeling of confusion Dick seeks to engender in readers.

“Joe said, ‘All the cigarettes in the world are stale.’” 

Joe realizes here that there’s no possibility of getting fresh cigarettes because all of the cigarettes have reverted to an earlier state of being. Though he doesn’t know what’s causing it, he’s beginning to understand the principle. This quote also marks his realization that whatever forces are responsible for the time slippages, they have an effect on not just the bomb victims but the world at large.

“‘In my opinion,’ Al said hollowly, ‘you have a will to fail. No combination of circumstances—including this—is going to change that.’” 

Joe Chip has given Al and the others every reason to believe that this will be the case. He constantly borrows money and seems to live in a constant state of disarray. He ultimately redeems himself, however, and proves to be a good leader for the group. That said, given Joe’s propensity for drug use, it is possible that his success as a leader is yet another delusion stemming from an extended hallucination.

“I think these processes are going in opposite directions. One…a going-out-of-existence. The second process is a coming-into-existence.” 

This proves to be a false assumption of sorts. What the group doesn’t realize at this point in the novel is that they are already dead and effectively out of “existence,” while at the same time existing in a half-life, a different state of being that is neither fully existing nor being truly deceased. That said, from their perception of things, this appears to be the case, and perception is an extraordinarily important theme in the novel.

“Yes, he thought; that’s the question: How much can Runciter do?” 

Runciter’s face, voice, handwriting, and messages seem to appear everywhere. Joe and the group can’t be sure of all the modes by which Runciter communicates, and how much communication is possible between Runciter and the group. This calls into question the quality of the communication between outsiders and half-lifers, further emphasizing the problematic nature of the entire half-life system.

“It must be a manifestation of dying, he said to himself. The uncertainty which I feel, the slowing down into entropy—that’s the process, and the ice which I see is the result of the success of the process…” 

Joe experiences the strange sensation of dying a second time—in half-life. As Jory sucks the energy from him, Joe describes the terrible sensations of this kind of dying-out, including the urge to be alone. It also highlights that the half-life experience is by no means an end to suffering.

“‘Yes,’ Runciter’s dark voice resumed, ‘by making use of the most advanced techniques of present-day science, the reversion of matter to earlier forms can be reversed…’” 

This quote is representative of the advertising language employed to communicate important information to Joe. The ads for Ubik explain to Chip that Ubik can help restore some balance to his new world. Given Ubik’s status as a symbol for God, this representation of the product in the terms of advertising emphasizes the theme that post-World War II Americans look to consumerism as its new religion.

“Prior forms, he reflected, must carry on an invisible, residual life in every object. The past is latent, is submerged, but still there, capable of rising to the surface once the later imprinting…vanished.”

Pat uses these prior forms to rearrange the present situations of people, a power that Jory can’t control. Pat’s power is related to Jung’s idea of the “collective unconscious,” which states that we all carry traces of memory from our distant ancestors. Dick takes this a step further to subject that objects have memory too. 

“Suppose, he reflected, we can’t reverse our regression; suppose we remain here the balance of our lives. Is that so bad?” 

Here, Joe Chip expresses his contentment with the past and the lack of automated machines controlling life. He romanticizes this past for a while, until he recognizes that it is full of unforeseen problems, too. This reflects the double-edged sword of nostalgia which Dick explores throughout the book.

“Maybe there’s never been anyone in half-life like Jory before.” 

We will learn that Runciter is wrong. Ella explains later that in every half-life facility there exists a Jory, who tries to infiltrate and destroy the remaining consciousness of those around him. The fact that an entity like Jory exists in every half-life facility may be seen as a nod toward Dick upholding the notion of the upper-case Evil, and its presence throughout all aspects of society. It also suggests that Jory is not an anomaly in the half-life system but rather an inherent flaw.

“And—there are Jorys in every moratorium. This battle goes on wherever you have half-lifers; it’s a verity, a rule, of our kind of existence.” 

Like the previous quote, what Jory represents is omnipresent in all half-life facilities. If his “purpose” is to hunt and kill, Dick, here, brings up whether it’s ethical to keep individuals in half-life at all. From this view, even the most well-intentioned technological systems are corruptible.