The Great C

"The Great C"
Short story by Philip K. Dick
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre(s)Science fiction
Publication
Published inCosmos Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine
Publication typeMagazine
PublisherStar Publications[1]
Media typePrint
Publication dateSeptember 1953[2]

"The Great C" is a science fiction short story by American writer Philip K. Dick, first published in Cosmos Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine in 1953. It has since been republished several times in collections such as Beyond Lies the Wub in 1988.[3] Parts of the work, along with Planet for Transients, were later used in the full-length novel Deus Irae.[4][5] The story is set in a post-apocalyptic world in which a young man is sent from his tribe every year to visit a godlike computer capable of mass destruction and try to stump it with three questions. The story was adapted into an animated virtual reality film in 2018 by Secret Location.

  1. ^ "Series: Cosmos Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine". isfdb.
  2. ^ Broderick, Damien, ed. (2010). Skiffy and Mimesis: More Best of ASFR: Australian SF Review. Borgo Press. pp. 56, 59. ISBN 9781434457875. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  3. ^ "Title: The Great C". www.isfdb.org. Retrieved 2021-03-14.
  4. ^ Palmer, Christopher (2003). Philip K. Dick: Exhilaration and Terror of the Postmodern. Liverpool University Press. ISBN 9780853236184. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  5. ^ Mackey, Douglas A. (1988). Philip K. Dick (Twayne's United States Authors Series). Twayne Publishers. pp. 9, 112. ISBN 9780805775150. Retrieved 8 June 2014.