The Monkey King's Used Primate Emporium and Book Reviews

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Philip K. Dick, "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?"

Started August 2 � Finished August 2, 2002; 250 pages. Posted 20 August 2002

(This is part 4 of an 18-part story, which begins here. Part 5 is here. And here is where you find part 10. Part 15? Right here. And the end of this entirely too long story is located here. After that, you�re on your own.)

(7:15 p.m. � Oakland Airport � 13th hour.)

I�m at the halfway point, if all goes well. And hopefully by this time tomorrow I will be on a plane. And I�m actually not feeling all that bad. The bloody mary drinks buffered all the coffee that I had earlier, so I�m in a pleasant zone. I even managed to take my sunglasses off as my eyes no longer look like I want to kill somebody, although my lips are still pressed in a hard thin line, so I�m not exactly looking approachable either.

I walk the 738 through the airport from one end to the either a couple of times, trying to keep my muscles from tightening up from so much sitting, but the backpack full of books prevents me from doing it for too long. I end up on the now-familiar stone bench outside and start the newest book.

I�m not much of a science fiction fan, but in a stroke of luck, this book turns out to be very, very good. This was the basis for the Harrison Ford film Blade Runner, a movie that almost reached greatness, but ends up totally fizzling out toward the end. I�ve seen the movie enough times so that I was able to do a fairly close comparison, and I kept wondering why they left certain parts out of the film. I especially wondered why they decided to go in such a completely opposite direction for the final act. Really, I�m just glad that the book is so good, because it distracts me from feeling sorry for myself.

8:45 rolls around and I go to pick up my bag from the storage locker. I figure in around seven hours, I�ll have a fair idea on whether or not I�ll be on a plane. The important thing is that I am first in line when the ticket counter opens. But I have until at least 11 p.m. before I have to worry about that. After all, who wants to wait around in an airport for six hours?

I decide I better get one more cup of coffee before the eatery closes, since it�s going to be a long night. I walk up the ramp, passing the now closed gift shop, and sneak a glance of where I�m going to be spending the wee hours in the morning.

There are three people already camped out in the line.


Rating: Worth paying new prices.

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