Divine Invasions: A Life of Philip K. Dick by Lawrence Sutin Read Free Book Online

independent initiative and executive ability are shown in rapidly varying techniques which are frequently replaced with strongly contrasting dependence. It might be well to guard against the development of this degree of versatility at his age by encouraging the frequent repetition of very simple situations which demand uniformity of behavior on the part of any or all participants.
If anyone did, in fact, attempt to discourage Phil's "degree of versatility," they failed resoundingly. Instead, the tensions between Edgar and Dorothy-which would lead shortly to divorce-encouraged the boy to develop "versatile" strategies to retain the love of each. Phil's strategies for seeking out affection were not confined to the home. Forbidden by his parents to cross the street during his playtime, he would walk around the block, getting to know the elderly neighbors, who would make him little toys that he brought back proudly to the house. Edgar recalled this as exemplifying Phil the "promoter."
But Phil's consuming playtime passion was the all-American choice: cowboys. His parents bought him a complete cowboy outfit: hat, vest, chaps, holster, gun, and boots. They must have made mention by this time, in some manner, of Jane's death, for Tessa Dick, Phil's fifth wife, relates that during his cowboy games
[Phil] used to pretend he had a sister named Jane, and she was a cowgirl. He would dress up in his cowboy suit and "ride horses" with Jane. Jane was small, with dark eyes and long dark hair. She was also very gutsy, always daring Phil to do things he was afraid of, helping him to get into trouble.
Bear in mind this description of cowgirl Jane. It embodies the look and character of the "dark-haired girl"-Phil's anima and obsession-that guided him persistently in his choice of wives and lovers and in his depiction of the ambiguous (fiercely brave/waywardly evil) heroines that appear in so many of his novels.
Neither Edgar nor Dorothy regarded themselves as religious, but they did send Phil to Sunday school for a time. Phil's stubborn insistence on understanding just what was being said, even in that pious setting, gratified his father. Edgar recalled that during a group sing Phil "got out of his seat and walked up and asked for a psalm book. He said he couldn't sing unless he had a book. Right in the church ... it shows how natural he was."
Formal religion was not important to Phil in his boyhood. But one incident-an act of spontaneous kindness, and of faith-stayed with him always. While out for a walk with his parents, they met a "great bearded white-haired old beggar." Edgar gave four-year-old Phil a nickel to give to the poor man, who in turn pressed upon the boy "a little pamphlet about God." In the Prologue to Radio Free Albemuth (written in 1976), Phil retold this incident with the intent of identifying this beggar with the prophet Elijah.

As to more everyday questions of right and wrong, Edgar prided himself on dealing with Phil on an "adult" basis. "If I scolded Philip, he'd analyze it and come back and tell me. We'd talk it over. I'd admit it when I was wrong." Phil was "irritable" as a boy, and Edgar felt that his calm approach-as opposed to Dorothy's stricter style-gave the boy "a little lift." Between Phil and his father grew a conspiratorial bond against the mother. Even before the divorce, Edgar feared that Dorothy was somehow seeking to exclude him from Phil's upbringing, so he fought back by courting the boy with movies and trips to the country. When Dorothy would come along on trips, Phil would lock the car doors and urge his father to drive off before she could get in. And there were strictly father-son events-such as trips to nearby ranches that Edgar knew through his work-that promised, and sometimes delivered, adventure.
Edgar was afraid of rattlesnakes and taught Phil how to recognize them. One day they visited a friend of Edgar's with a pet bull snake that slept on the open front porch. While the adults were talking