"The Electric Ant" is a

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

short story by American writer Philip K. Dick. It was first published in ''

Fantasy and Science Fiction ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (usually referred to as ''F&SF'') is a U.S. fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House, a subsidiary of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Press. Editors Anthony Boucher ...

'' magazine in October 1969.

Plot summary

Garson Poole wakes up after a flying-car-crash to find that he is missing a hand. He then finds out that he is an 'electric ant' an "organic"

robot A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may ...

. He further finds out that what he believes is his subjective

reality Reality is the sum or aggregate of all that is real or existent within a system, as opposed to that which is only imaginary. The term is also used to refer to the ontological status of things, indicating their existence. In physical terms, r ...

is being fed to him from a micro-

punched tape Five- and eight-hole punched paper tape Paper tape reader on the Harwell computer with a small piece of five-hole tape connected in a circle – creating a physical program loop Punched tape or perforated paper tape is a form of data storage ...

in his chest cavity. He experiments on this tape by adding new holes, which adds things to his reality. Convinced that his entire reality is constrained by the tape, he makes a major change to it, with a major effect on his reality. The change affects everyone else he interacts with, which raises the question of whether any of them – or he himself – are "real" at all. Dick said of the story:

Adaptations

In 2010

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

adapted "The Electric Ant" as a limited series. The comic books were produced by writer David Mack ('' Daredevil'') and French artist Pascal Alixe (''

Ultimate X-Men ''Ultimate X-Men'' is a superhero comic book series, which was published by Marvel Comics, from 2001 to 2009. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running X-Men comic book franchise as part of the Ultimate Marvel imprint. The U ...

''), with covers provided by artist

Paul Pope Paul Pope (born September 25, 1970, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American alternative cartoonist. Pope's work combines the precision and romance of European comics artists with the energy and page design of the manga tradition. Pope' ...

('' THB).'' The story inspired the song of the same name by British progressive rock band Hats Off Gentlemen It's Adequate.

References

External links

All Gates Open, a short film based on "The Electric Ant"
* Short stories by Philip K. Dick 1969 short stories Works originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction Biorobotics in fiction Androids in literature Fiction about virtual reality {{1960s-sf-story-stub

Plot summary

Adaptations

See also

References

External links