The narrative functioning of virtual reality in Philip K. Dick’s novel «A Maze of Death»

the article deals with the peculiarities of virtual reality functioning in the novel of American science fiction writer Philip K. Dick «A Maze of Death». The choice of the research material is conditioned by the fact that virtual reality in this text becomes a tool for discussing philosophical and religious motifs key for the writer. The article explores the issues of transformation of reality perception in a situation of radical onto-logical uncertainty, which arises with the destruction of a polyence-phaletic simulation world, a product of interaction between human consciousness and computer system. Special attention is paid to the system of character names as one of the tools of symbolic organisation of the artistic world. The research methodology is represented by a review of critical works devoted both to the works of Philip K. Dick in general and to the religious and philosophical aspects of his heritage in particular. The analysis reveals that virtual reality in the novel functions, on the one hand, as a recreational-therapeutic zone for smoothing out the consequences of psycho-emotional tension of the characters trapped in the ‘generation ship’ lost in space; on the other hand, as a form of ontological testing, reflecting the existential crisis experienced due to the loss of a stable picture of the world and the search for metaphysical meaning.

Philip K. Dick, science fiction, virtual reality, A Maze of Death, fictional reality, otherness, simulation