Service Call
Written by Philip K. Dick
www.ink2quill.com

“Service Call” is a scifi, short story written by the legend himself, Philip K. Dick. It was first published in 1955 with “Science Fiction Stories”, an popular American Scifi magazine of the time. This is one of his lesser known works partly because it was a short story, partly because it was overshadowed by his other great works. It really is an enjoyable read with a fantastic ending. Keep in mind that in so many of PKD’s novels and stories the reader is guaranteed a great ending.

Service Call, PKD webpage
Service Call, PKD Goodreads webpage
Service Call, PKD Youtube webpage

“Service Call” is the story of Courtland, a married techie, living with his wife in San Francisco. HIs world suddenly changes when his door bell rings while he is busy working at his desk. He answers the door to find a young, blond guy who turns out to be some kind of repairman for a piece of technology Courtland has never heard of. That piece of technology is called a ‘swibble’ and we the reader are as much in a state of ignorance as Courtland. It’s really funny because Courtland and later coworkers he invites over try to gauge what a swibble is. It’s comical but things turn scifi when Courtland determines that the repairman is from a future and he describes as not such a nice. He discovers that the company the repairman works for will be founded in 9 years. So this is really the story of people getting an accurate glimpse of a future that is not as nice a place to live in as society in their day. The world that the repairman comes from is an authoritarian one. And the ending of the story is superb. <No spoilers>.

One element I really enjoyed in this story and that I’ve enjoyed in many PKD stories is how the center of the story is the everyday person. His stories are grounded in the everyday person’s life. Here Courtland is a techie who had a conundrum thrown in his lap, all of a sudden. It wasn’t his wife ordering a swibble or a free sample from some up and coming company. And the main character like in several of his other stories finds a clever solution. I loved the way the techie Courtland does what any techie would have done in such a situation. He calls on the expertise of his friends and co-works who turn out to be a great help. So, during the story the reader is asking themselves, over and over, WTF is a swibble? This is clever storytelling and funny storytelling.

This is a great short story worth reading.

John Ink2Quill

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