The Schizogenic Man [Paperback]

The United States has fallen apart by the late 21st century, and most of its people have descended into poverty, misery, and internecine warfare. The New City, a diverse and dynamic city-state ruled by a benign junta is one of the few places where ordinary people can live in relative freedom and enjoy opportunities for advancement. "Players" like John Heron, a 43-year-old immigrant from "Middle" (the Midwest), try their luck every six months, when the artificial intelligence known as MEQMAT randomly assigns new jobs and living quarters.

When John meets Stella Cranach, an alluring psychologist, she invites him to participate in a safe, painless experiment regarding the nature of memory. This experiment involves complete immersion in a simulation of ancient Alexandreia, where Stella introduces John to the court of Queen Cleopatra. Together John and Stella save the life of Cleopatra's son Caesarion who in their (and our) history had been assassinated by Roman general Octavian. When the simulation completes and John awakes, his world has changed -- Stella spurns John and denies she was in the simulation, John has "friends" and a son he's never met before, and the New City's are inexplicably cozying up to the Texan theocracy.

Is John suffering some kind of psychotic break? Are his memories of a different Stella and a different New City just delusions? Can what occurs in a simulation can change the real world? John's need for answers and his desire to resume his original life and his romance with Stella force him to return to the simulation and Alexandreia.

The novel's strong points include Harris' vivid and plausible (to my non-expert eye) picture of life in ancient Alexandreia, his portrayal of the novel social organization of New City, and his handling of the puzzling changes in John's reality. Harris' attention historical detail in particular -- with respect to politics, historical events, language, and customs -- is meticulous and noteworthy. He also deserves credit for bringing Marc Antony and Cleopatra to life as colorful characters who carouse enthusiastically, spend freely, drink even more freely, squabble constantly, and make up noisily and publicly.

On other other hand, the historical passages are longer than necessary, John is not an especially sympathetic character (he's a former hit man and a bit of a bastard), Stella is little more than an object of desire, and the science behind John's reality dysfunction -- which draws on the many worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics and on speculations about the relationship between matter and consciousness -- is vague and iffy (again, to my non-expert eye).

"The Schizogenic Man" was a Philip K. Dick Award nominee in 1990, and there's definitely enough mind-bending (not to mention drugs and alcohol -- John's a man who appreciates a good high) in the novel to justify the nomination. The novel isn't a classic, but it is a stimulating read that has held up pretty well.

P.S. Since Amazon hasn't posted it, here's the back cover blurb: "They told John Heron it would be a harmless experiment. MEQMAT, the artificial intelligence governing the New City, has selected him as the ideal candidate for some memory research. All Heron has to do is lie down, strapped to a machine, and dream ... wild dreams, of ancient Alexandreia and the opulent court of Cleopatra--and of Stella Cranach, Heron's companion in his journey of imagination. But Heron is in for a rude awakening. Each time he comes to, the city he remembers is subtly and dangerously altered--and so is Stella. Caught between a dream of the past and a nightmare of infinite realities, Heron will risk everything to get back home ..." Note that it's really Stella who recruits John, not MEQMAT.

Raymond Harris is a literary-theory PhD who wrote four science fiction books to help support himself as a student. He has a real gift and I've enjoyed all of his books that was able to find. They are well written and imaginative. I wish he would write more!

› Go to Amazon U.S. to see both reviews  3.5 out of 5 stars