We Can Remember It for You Wholesale
Encyclopedia
"We Can Remember It for You Wholesale" is a novelette
by Philip K. Dick
first published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
in April 1966. It features a classic meshing of reality, false memory and real memory. The title may be an allusion to the 1962 Broadway musical I Can Get It for You Wholesale
.
. Unable to afford it, he visits a company, Rekal, Incorporated, that offers implanted memories ("extra-factual memory"). The attempt to implant some racy Mars memories of Quail as a secret agent reveals that Quail actually is an undercover government assassin with a mind full of dangerous secrets. The Rekal staff quickly get Quail out of their office; he heads home and finds certain physical evidence to support his new old memories. The government initially seeks his death but instead Quail manages to make a deal. He returns to Rekal to have his Mars memories once more suppressed, and is offered by way of compensation a set of heroic wish-fulfillment false memories. The Rekal staff begin the memory-implanting procedure—and uncover a different and older set of suppressed memories revealing that the unbelievable memories they are about to insert are already there and are true.
, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger
. In the film, the hero, renamed Quaid, actually travels to Mars, but the initial memory implant scene foreshadows much of what he achieves: kills the bad guys, gets the girl, saves the planet. A later encounter with a "Recall Doctor" (whom Quaid kills after seeing him sweat), who describes the procedure in cases where the memory implantation procedure fails, reveals that Quaid may have been lobotomized
at the end of the film.
The script maintains deliberate ambiguity as to whether the events are occurring in the physical world or only in Quaid's own fantasy, which was an artistic decision by director Paul Verhoeven. In fact, in the 1997 re-release DVD, Verhoeven explains in the commentary that he chose to fade to white rather than black, as that technique is a typically used in cinematography
to indicate either death or awakening from a dream. A novelization
of the film (ISBN 0-380-70874-4), written by Piers Anthony
, was published the year before the film was released.
A remake
of Total Recall is being filmed in Toronto, Canada for release in 2012.
. It has since been republished in the following collections:
Novelette
A novelette is a piece of short prose fiction. The distinction between a novelette and other literary forms is usually based upon word count, with a novelette being longer than a short story, but shorter than a novella...
by Philip K. Dick
Philip K. Dick
Philip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...
first published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction is a digest-size American fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House and then by Fantasy House. Both were subsidiaries of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Publications, which took over as publisher in 1958. Spilogale, Inc...
in April 1966. It features a classic meshing of reality, false memory and real memory. The title may be an allusion to the 1962 Broadway musical I Can Get It for You Wholesale
I Can Get It for You Wholesale
I Can Get It for You Wholesale is a musical with music and lyrics by Harold Rome and a book by Jerome Weidman based on his 1937 novel of the same title. It marked the Broadway debut of 19-year-old Barbra Streisand, who was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in...
.
Plot summary
Douglas Quail, a simple and ordinary man, wishes to visit MarsMars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
. Unable to afford it, he visits a company, Rekal, Incorporated, that offers implanted memories ("extra-factual memory"). The attempt to implant some racy Mars memories of Quail as a secret agent reveals that Quail actually is an undercover government assassin with a mind full of dangerous secrets. The Rekal staff quickly get Quail out of their office; he heads home and finds certain physical evidence to support his new old memories. The government initially seeks his death but instead Quail manages to make a deal. He returns to Rekal to have his Mars memories once more suppressed, and is offered by way of compensation a set of heroic wish-fulfillment false memories. The Rekal staff begin the memory-implanting procedure—and uncover a different and older set of suppressed memories revealing that the unbelievable memories they are about to insert are already there and are true.
Adaptations
The plot was loosely adapted into the 1990 film Total RecallTotal Recall
Total Recall is a 1990 American science fiction action film. The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone, Michael Ironside, Ronny Cox & Mel Johnson, Jr.. It is based on the Philip K. Dick story “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale”...
, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
. In the film, the hero, renamed Quaid, actually travels to Mars, but the initial memory implant scene foreshadows much of what he achieves: kills the bad guys, gets the girl, saves the planet. A later encounter with a "Recall Doctor" (whom Quaid kills after seeing him sweat), who describes the procedure in cases where the memory implantation procedure fails, reveals that Quaid may have been lobotomized
Lobotomy
Lobotomy "; τομή – tomē: "cut/slice") is a neurosurgical procedure, a form of psychosurgery, also known as a leukotomy or leucotomy . It consists of cutting the connections to and from the prefrontal cortex, the anterior part of the frontal lobes of the brain...
at the end of the film.
The script maintains deliberate ambiguity as to whether the events are occurring in the physical world or only in Quaid's own fantasy, which was an artistic decision by director Paul Verhoeven. In fact, in the 1997 re-release DVD, Verhoeven explains in the commentary that he chose to fade to white rather than black, as that technique is a typically used in cinematography
Cinematography
Cinematography is the making of lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for cinema. It is closely related to the art of still photography...
to indicate either death or awakening from a dream. A novelization
Novelization
A novelization is a novel that is written based on some other media story form rather than as an original work.Novelizations of films usually add background material not found in the original work to flesh out the story, because novels are generally longer than screenplays...
of the film (ISBN 0-380-70874-4), written by Piers Anthony
Piers Anthony
Piers Anthony Dillingham Jacob is an English American writer in the science fiction and fantasy genres, publishing under the name Piers Anthony. He is most famous for his long-running novel series set in the fictional realm of Xanth.Many of his books have appeared on the New York Times Best...
, was published the year before the film was released.
A remake
Total Recall (2012 film)
Total Recall is an upcoming science-fiction action film based on the 1990 film of the same name and the 1966 novelette We Can Remember It for You Wholesale by Philip K. Dick. It is directed by Len Wiseman and written by Mark Bomback, James Vanderbilt and Kurt Wimmer. It was first announced in 2009...
of Total Recall is being filmed in Toronto, Canada for release in 2012.
Publication history
"We Can Remember It for You Wholesale" was first published in the April 1966 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science FictionThe Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction is a digest-size American fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House and then by Fantasy House. Both were subsidiaries of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Publications, which took over as publisher in 1958. Spilogale, Inc...
. It has since been republished in the following collections:
- The Preserving MachineThe Preserving MachineThe Preserving Machine is a collection of science fiction stories by Philip K. Dick. It was first published by Ace Books in 1969 as part of their Ace Science Fiction Specials series...
(1969) - The Collected Stories of Philip K. DickThe Collected Stories of Philip K. DickThe Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick is a collection of science fiction stories by Philip K. Dick. It was first published by Underwood-Miller in 1987 as a five volume set. See Philip K...
: Volume V (1987) - The Little Black BoxThe Little Black Box (collection)The Little Black Box is a collection of science fiction stories by Philip K. Dick. It was first published by Gollancz in 1990 and reprints Volume V of The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick. It had not previously been published as a stand-alone volume...
(1990) - We Can Remember It for You WholesaleWe Can Remember It for You Wholesale (collection)We Can Remember It for You Wholesale is a collection of science fiction stories by Philip K. Dick. It was first published by Citadel Twilight in 1990 and reprints Volume II of The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick replacing the story "Second Variety" with "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale"...
(1990) - The Philip K. Dick ReaderThe Philip K. Dick ReaderThe Philip K. Dick Reader is a collection of science fiction stories by Philip K. Dick. It was first published by Citadel Twilight in 1997...
(1997) - Minority ReportMinority Report (2002 collection)Minority Report is a collection of science fiction stories by Philip K. Dick. It was first published by Gollancz in 2002. Most of the stories had originally appeared in the magazines Fantastic Universe, Astounding, Space Science Fiction, Galaxy Science Fiction, Worlds of Tomorrow and Fantasy and...
(2002) - Selected Stories of Philip K. DickSelected Stories of Philip K. DickSelected Stories of Philip K. Dick is a collection of science fiction stories by Philip K. Dick. It was first published by Random House in 2002...
(2002)