Philip K. Dick

American science fiction writer, whose imaginative treatment of clichés of the genre - time travel, the existence of alternative worlds - has influenced deeply popular culture. For most of his career, Dick lived in poverty, although he was prolific and wrote 112 short stories and over 30 novels. Things got even worse when he ruined his health by heavy use of psychedelics. In March 1974 the writer claimed to have been contacted by an extraterrestrial force, a 'beam of pink light' theoretically originating from a satellite he came to call VALIS: Vast Active Living Intelligence System.