Cosmic Puppets, Chapter 2

Chapter 2: (TW: For discussion of... gaslighting?) 

Have to say, I’m interested in where this one is going. 

Ted Barton frantically wanders about this town, trying to ask any of the people present if they remember any of the details of the town he remembers. The townsfolk are understandably bewildered by the frantic urgency of his questions, and every detail of the town he brings up is unknown to them, so for example when he’s looking for the grocery store on Poplar St., they aren’t aware of any Poplar St. at all. In fact, there are people in this town who claim to have been there longer than Ted has been alive. Confused by all of this, Ted checks the local newspaper’s records, finding that the records of his birth are still present… along with the records of his death. Ted suspects false memory implantation, and sets out from there. 

I’m impressed with how quickly this story is delivering the stranger elements that Dick is known for. I know the book is not very large, but even so, it feels nice to get the central mystery out in the open so quickly. 

That said, I find it a bit funny how quick Ted is willing to jump to ‘false memory implantation’ to explain the anomalies he’s discovered. I mean, that’s most likely the cause at this point, and it is a really uncanny situation to imagine finding oneself in. I guess a part of me would even go to “I’m in purgatory/the afterlife” before I went to “false memory implantation” is all. Then again, we don’t know much about Ted or what sort of embellishments Dick is putting onto this version of the 1950’s. Perhaps in this version, there’s the technology to work with false memories readily available. 

short review I know, but the chapter is only about five pages, so there isn't much to work with.