The Man in the High Castle

Just finished the above book, which was written by Philip K Dick. The most well-known work by Philip K Dick is Minority Report and most of his stories have the idea that the universe is only apparently real, an illusion behind which the truth might dwell. (And I love this kind of stories.) Since I think you guys won't bother to find this book and read, I'll just share the story with you here.

 

This story is set in the present times, with one major difference: Allies have lost the Second War World. Nazis and Japanese rules the world, each taking half. The minority people living at the Nazis' side are kinda sad. The Jews and the Blacks are persecuted. The entire African continent is wiped out - it is now a radioactive wasteland. It is hell. People in the Japanese side are generally ok, and eastern cultures and philosophies now seep into the west.

 

One very good example is that the chinese I Ching, The Book of Change is widely used as an oracle by the general public throughout the world. It possess wisdom accumulated for thousands of years - it knows everything: past, present, future. It knows the Way, and people consult it on all matters.

 

In this alternative world, it happens that there is another book that is very popular: it is a novel called The Glasshopper Lies Heavy. In this novel, it depicts a world where allies won the war. Everyone who read the book was facinated by the world depicted in this novel. It becomes a bestseller in areas not controlled by Nazis.

 

So towards the end of the story, the main female character finally found the author of The Glasshopper at the High Castle. She demanded the truth about the novel.

 

"The oracle wrote your book, didn't it?"

 

The author admitted it. He consulted the oracle for at every history's cross junction. One by one he made the choices. Thousands of them. Historic period. Subject. Characters. Plot. It took him years.

 

The main female character, Juliana, then asked, "Why would the oracle write a novel? Why one about Germans and Japanese losing the world? Why that particular story and no other one?"

 

In the end, the two of them finally asked the oracle these questions:

 

"Why did you write The Grasshopper Lies Heavy? What are we supposed to learn?"

 

After they tossed the coins 6 times, they arrived at this:

 

Sun at the top. Tui at the bottom. Empty in the center. The Inner Truth  hexagram.

 

"I know what it means without using the chart. Do you?"

 

"Yes. It means, does it, that my book is true?"

 

"Yes."

 

"Germany and Japan lost the war?" he said disbelievingly.

 

"Yes."

 

The story ends with the author autographed a copy of The Glasshopper for her, and she left.

 

Interesting huh? =)