PINK LIGHT OF VALIS |

Philip K. Dick (December 16, 1928 – March 2, 1982) was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments, and altered states. In his later works Dick’s thematic focus strongly reflected his personal interest in metaphysics and theology. He often drew upon his own life experiences in addressing the nature of drug abuse, paranoia, schizophrenia, and transcendental experiences in novels such as A Scanner Darkly and VALIS.

Every day there are people who report experiences of “divine communication”. They hear “voices” in their heads. Prophecies, epiphanies and revelations of every description have been reported for thousands of years by people all around the world. Yet, there is not empirical “proof” that any of these experiences are “true”. They must be “believed to be perceived”, or accepted as an act of “faith” by people who did not experience the communication personally. The common denominator of the experiences is that they are personal and subjective.

Philip K. Dick is the enigmatic science fiction author of numerous best-selling books, some of which were adapted into popular films (Blade Runner, Total Recall, A Scanner Darkly, Minority Report and others). In February and March 1974. Dick experienced a series of visions and auditions including an information-rich “pink light” beam that transmitted directly into his consciousness. A year after the events, in March 1975, Dick summarized the 2-3-74 experiences that would pervade his writing for the final eight years of his life:

It, from inside me, looked out and saw the world did not compute, that I – and it – had been lied to. It denied the reality, and power, and authenticity of the world, saying, ‘This cannot exist; it cannot exist.’
It seized me entirely, lifting me from the limitations of the space-time matrix; it mastered me as, at the same time, I knew that the world around me was cardboard, a fake. Through its power of perception I saw what really existed, and through its power of no-thought decision, I acted to free myself.

Following this event, Dick experienced a remarkable series of visions, hallucinations, and dreams, many of which centered around the first of a trilogy of books titled “VALIS”, a “Vast Active Living Intelligence System“. Sometimes it struck him as a pink beam of esoteric data, or as a compassionate feminine “AI [Artificial Intelligence] voice” speaking to him from outer space.

Valis is the first book in Philip K. Dick’s incomparable final trio of novels (the others being The Divine Invasion and The Transmigration of Timothy Archer). This disorienting and bleakly funny work is about a schizophrenic hero named Horselover Fat, the hidden mysteries of Gnostic Christianity, and reality as revealed through a pink laser. Valis is a theological detective story, in which God is both a missing person and the perpetrator of the ultimate crime.

I am especially intrigued by the idea of a compassionate feminine voice delivering mind-altering communication through a beam of pink light! I have never experienced any “divine communication” like this personally. But, I believe other people who say they have. However, I remain skeptical as to whether or not the really understand the SOURCE of the communication. Regardless of whether or not these “visions” or “divine interventions” can be “proved” or not, they provide endless hours of inspiration, speculation and discussion. If you are a science fiction fan, like I am, you may enjoy exploring the uniquely esoteric exploration of the subjective universes of Philip K. Dick.