Breakfast at Twilight
Encyclopedia
"Breakfast at Twilight" is a science fiction
short story by Philip K. Dick
. It was received by the Scott Meredith Literary Agency on January 17, 1953 and first published in Amazing Stories
, July 1954.
"Phil Dick's third major theme is his fascination with war and his fear and hatred of it. One hardly sees critical mention of it, yet it is as integral to his body of work as oxygen is to water." -- Steven Owen Godersky
In the story, a middle-class American
family is suddenly thrown into the middle of a nuclear war
. American soldiers burst into the house looking for survivors and supplies, under the family's amazed and frightened eyes. Unlike most of Dick's fiction, this short story has a positive and potentially optimistic ending. When they come back to their own time continuum during a bombing, and right before their house is atomized, the members of the family are conscious of what may happen and willing to do all they can to avoid the future. At the end of the story, the words spoken by Tim McLean, the head of the family, rekindle the hope that men can work for a better future. Tim reassures his amazed and worried neighbours by saying that the damage to his house was caused by some problems with the central heating. Then he comments, "I should have got it fixed ... I should have had it looked at a long time ago. Before it got in such bad shape ... before it was too late".
protection for Amazing Stories, July 1954 and its contents was created under Registration Number B00000469312. Breakfast at Twilight is in the public domain
in the United States
because it was published in the United States between January 1, 1950 and December 31, 1963 but copyright was not renewed with the US Copyright Office within a year period beginning on December 31 of the 27th year of the copyright and running through December 31 of the following year. When renewal registration was not made within the statutory time limit copyright expired at the end of its first term and protection was lost permanently.
After the author's death a nonexistent work with the same title was falsely included in renewal Registration Number RE0000190631 (1983-11-22) War veteran, and other contributions by Philip K. Dick, as " (In Amazing stories, July 1955) Breakfast at twilight. Pub. 1955-04-07; B00000531095." This created the deceptive appearance that "Breakfast at Twilight" is still under United States copyright protection.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
short story 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...
. It was received by the Scott Meredith Literary Agency on January 17, 1953 and first published in Amazing Stories
Amazing Stories
Amazing Stories was an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction...
, July 1954.
"Phil Dick's third major theme is his fascination with war and his fear and hatred of it. One hardly sees critical mention of it, yet it is as integral to his body of work as oxygen is to water." -- Steven Owen Godersky
In the story, a middle-class American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
family is suddenly thrown into the middle of a nuclear war
Nuclear warfare
Nuclear warfare, or atomic warfare, is a military conflict or political strategy in which nuclear weaponry is detonated on an opponent. Compared to conventional warfare, nuclear warfare can be vastly more destructive in range and extent of damage...
. American soldiers burst into the house looking for survivors and supplies, under the family's amazed and frightened eyes. Unlike most of Dick's fiction, this short story has a positive and potentially optimistic ending. When they come back to their own time continuum during a bombing, and right before their house is atomized, the members of the family are conscious of what may happen and willing to do all they can to avoid the future. At the end of the story, the words spoken by Tim McLean, the head of the family, rekindle the hope that men can work for a better future. Tim reassures his amazed and worried neighbours by saying that the damage to his house was caused by some problems with the central heating. Then he comments, "I should have got it fixed ... I should have had it looked at a long time ago. Before it got in such bad shape ... before it was too late".
Copyright status
CopyrightCopyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
protection for Amazing Stories, July 1954 and its contents was created under Registration Number B00000469312. Breakfast at Twilight is in the public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
because it was published in the United States between January 1, 1950 and December 31, 1963 but copyright was not renewed with the US Copyright Office within a year period beginning on December 31 of the 27th year of the copyright and running through December 31 of the following year. When renewal registration was not made within the statutory time limit copyright expired at the end of its first term and protection was lost permanently.
After the author's death a nonexistent work with the same title was falsely included in renewal Registration Number RE0000190631 (1983-11-22) War veteran, and other contributions by Philip K. Dick, as " (In Amazing stories, July 1955) Breakfast at twilight. Pub. 1955-04-07; B00000531095." This created the deceptive appearance that "Breakfast at Twilight" is still under United States copyright protection.