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The Great C

Philip K. Dick

First published September 1953
Type Short Fiction
Length Short Story

In a post-apocalyptic Earth, humans live in primitive tribes. Each year, a young tribe member is sent to the Great C to ask three questions, hoping it will be unable to answer.

From the Notes section of Beyond Lies the Wub: The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick Volume One: "Parts of this story were adapted for the novel DEUS IRAE."

Date Publication Publisher Type Page
September 1953 Cover Cosmos Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine, September 1953 Star Publications, Inc. MAGAZINE 69
May 1987 Cover Beyond Lies the Wub Underwood-Miller Collection 309
May 1987 Cover Beyond Lies the Wub Underwood-Miller Collection 309
November 1988 Cover Beyond Lies the Wub Gollancz Collection 309
April 1990 Cover The Short Happy Life of the Brown Oxford Citadel Twilight Collection 309
May 1990 Cover Beyond Lies the Wub Grafton Collection 395
1993 Cover Beyond Lies the Wub HarperCollins Science Fiction & Fantasy / HarperCollinsPublishers Collection 395
August 1999 Cover Beyond Lies the Wub Millennium / Victor Gollancz Collection 309
July 2002 Cover The Short Happy Life of the Brown Oxford Citadel Press Collection 309
September 2003 Cover Paycheck and Other Classic Stories by Philip K. Dick Citadel Press / Kensington Publishing Collection 309
January 2011 Cover The King of the Elves Subterranean Press Collection 369
January 2011 Cover The King of the Elves Subterranean Press Collection 369
August 2014 Cover Beyond Lies the Wub Gateway / Orion Collection |309
December 2015 Cover The King of the Elves Brilliance Audio Collection |369
December 2015 Cover The King of the Elves Brilliance Audio Collection |369
July 2016 Cover Paycheck and Other Classic Stories by Philip K. Dick Citadel Press / Kensington Publishing Collection
January 2022 The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick Collection |21
September 2023 Cover The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick: Volume One Gollancz / Orion Collection 392
September 2023 Cover The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick: Volume One Gollancz / Orion Collection |309