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''VALIS'' is a 1981 Science Fiction book by Philip K. Dick . The title is an acronym for ''Vast Active Living Intelligence System'', Dick's Gnostic vision of one aspect of God . VALIS is the first book in a unfinished trilogy that (together with his thematically related final novel) represents Dick's last major work before he died. PLOT SUMMARY HORSELOVER FAT The main character in ''VALIS'' is Horselover Fat, an Author Surrogate . "Horselover" is English for the Greek word "phil-hippos", lover/friend of horses (like "philosophy", lover of knowledge), and "fat", being English for the German word "dick". However, even though the book is written in first person, for most of the book he treats Horselover Fat as a separate person, describing conversations and even arguments with him, and criticizing his opinions and writings; this can all be viewed by the reader as a form of mental illness. Near the end of the book the Messianic Figure cures him (temporarily), and he describes his surprise that Horselover Fat has suddenly disappeared from his side. EXEGESIS See Also: Exegesis (book) VALIS has been described as one node of an artificial ." At one point, Dick claimed to be in a state of Enthousiasmos with VALIS, where he was informed his infant son was in danger of perishing from an unnamed malady. Routine checkups on the child had shown no trouble or illness; however, Dick insisted that thorough tests be run to ensure his son's health. The doctor eventually complied, despite the fact that there were no apparent symptoms. During the examination doctors discovered an Inguinal Hernia , which would have killed the child if an operation was not quickly performed. His son survived thanks to the operation, which Dick attributed to the "intervention" of VALIS. Another event was an episode of Xenoglossia . Dick's wife transcribed the sounds she heard him speak, and discovered that he was speaking Koine Greek , an ancient dialect which he had never studied. As Dick was to later discover, Koine Greek was originally used to write the New Testament and the Septuagint . However, this was not the first time Dick had experienced xenoglossia. A decade earlier, Dick claimed he was able to think, speak, and read fluent Latin under the influence of Sandoz LSD-25 . The UK edition of ''VALIS'' also included Cosmology and Cosmogony, a chapbook containing selections from Dick's '' Exegesis ''. RHIPIDON SOCIETY Dick's friends (and fellow science fiction writers) K.W. Jeter (Kevin) and Tim Powers (David) appear as thinly disguised characters in the novel, and along with Dick, as members of the " Rhipidon Society ", with the motto, "Fish Cannot Carry Guns!" It is also said that James P. Blaylock appears in the book. MAIN CHARACTERS
''VALIS'' is a part of the VALIS Trilogy of novels:
SEE ALSO
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