Dr. Adder
Encyclopedia
Dr. Adder is a dark science fiction novel by K. W. Jeter
set in a future where the United States
has largely broken down into reluctantly cooperating enclaves run by a wide variety of strongmen and warlords, with a veneer of government control that seems largely interested in controlling technology. Dr. Adder is an artist-surgeon, who modifies sexual organs of his patients to satisfy the weirdest of perversion; he is clearly depicted as a partly criminal, partly countercultural figure in a future Los Angeles
which anticipates the cyberpunk
idea of the Sprawl
.
The novel was completed in 1972, and first published in 1984 by Bluejay Books, with illustrations by Matt Howarth
.
According to Philip K. Dick
, the publication of this book was delayed for a decade due to the extreme violence and graphic sex, and but for this delay it would have been recognized as the first cyberpunk novel.
(the call sign is an anagram of DICK). KCID is an old man living in Rattown, a future L.A. slum; he has a small portable transmitter, which turns him into a mobile radio station. He mostly plays old records of German opera such as Alban Berg
's Wozzeck
, an important element of the novel, but he also broadcasts pieces of news which mainstream media do not want to broadcast.
The novel is heavily indebted with the counterculture of the 1960s
. "[KCID] had some sort of process worked out, an oracle or something. It had to do with randomly generated numbers—he had a little box, a minicomputer that lit up with seven- or eight-digit figures, I think. He told me when he had enough data worked into the system he could predict any series of events connected to Adder, a few minutes before each event actually occurred..." (Jeter, 131). This is a hint at I Ching
, the Chinese
oracular
book Dick used to compose his 1962 novel The Man in the High Castle
, but also a popular reading in the countercultural Sixties.
In Dr Adder music does not only have an aesthetic value. KCID plays Wozzeck, then he begins to interpret the opera by applying it to the situation of his listeners. "Hohl, alles hohl! That's the way it is, all right. Isn't that what you were just thinking? Ein Schlund, a gulf, an abyss, yawns beneath us and what can we do, friends? Some of us wait all our lives for something..." (Jeter, 135-6). This rambling monologue closely resembles those of freeform commercial radio DJs.
Radio KCID has something else in common with countercultural radio: "All his broadcast equipment and tapes could fit into a suitcase--he could be anywhere in the slums with it now" (Jeter, 138). Such a mobile pirate radio is not science-fictional
at all, since true underground radio existed in the Sixties in the form of illegal stations
.
At the end of the novel KCID puts the microphone in front of the protagonist, Dr. Adder, so that he may speak to his "old fans, and everyone else, who never worshipped [him]" (Jeter, 246). It might be simply considered as a moment when a speaker is interviewing a celebrity--be it transgressive, underground, unconventional or not--but it can also be seen as a moment when a listener of Radio KCID (and Dr. Adder is also one of KCID's listeners) is given the opportunity to talk to "people clustered around the radios, waiting to hear [him]" (Jeter, 246). KCID probably expects that a political message will be delivered to the audience; while probably Adder's message will not be political at all, being the expression of a very personal and un-political rage (Jeter, 214).
K. W. Jeter
Kevin Wayne Jeter is an American science fiction and horror author known for his literary writing style, dark themes, and paranoid, unsympathetic characters...
set in a future where the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
has largely broken down into reluctantly cooperating enclaves run by a wide variety of strongmen and warlords, with a veneer of government control that seems largely interested in controlling technology. Dr. Adder is an artist-surgeon, who modifies sexual organs of his patients to satisfy the weirdest of perversion; he is clearly depicted as a partly criminal, partly countercultural figure in a future Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
which anticipates the cyberpunk
Cyberpunk
Cyberpunk is a postmodern and science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life." The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk, and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk," published in 1983...
idea of the Sprawl
The Sprawl
In William Gibson's fiction, the Sprawl is a colloquial name for the Boston-Atlanta Metropolitan Axis , an urban sprawl environment on a massive scale, and a fictional extension of the real Northeast Megalopolis....
.
The novel was completed in 1972, and first published in 1984 by Bluejay Books, with illustrations by Matt Howarth
Matt Howarth
Matt Howarth is an American comic book writer/artist known for such series as Those Annoying Post Bros, Savage Henry, Star Crossed, and Bugtown....
.
According to 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...
, the publication of this book was delayed for a decade due to the extreme violence and graphic sex, and but for this delay it would have been recognized as the first cyberpunk novel.
Radio KCID
The novel also features an unconventional DJ, called Radio KCID, a science-fictional portrait of one of Jeter's friends, Philip K. DickPhilip 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...
(the call sign is an anagram of DICK). KCID is an old man living in Rattown, a future L.A. slum; he has a small portable transmitter, which turns him into a mobile radio station. He mostly plays old records of German opera such as Alban Berg
Alban Berg
Alban Maria Johannes Berg was an Austrian composer. He was a member of the Second Viennese School with Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern, and produced compositions that combined Mahlerian Romanticism with a personal adaptation of Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique.-Early life:Berg was born in...
's Wozzeck
Wozzeck
Wozzeck is the first opera by the Austrian composer Alban Berg. It was composed between 1914 and 1922 and first performed in 1925. The opera is based on the drama Woyzeck left incomplete by the German playwright Georg Büchner at his death. Berg attended the first production in Vienna of Büchner's...
, an important element of the novel, but he also broadcasts pieces of news which mainstream media do not want to broadcast.
The novel is heavily indebted with the counterculture of the 1960s
1960s
The 1960s was the decade that started on January 1, 1960, and ended on December 31, 1969. It was the seventh decade of the 20th century.The 1960s term also refers to an era more often called The Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends across the globe...
. "[KCID] had some sort of process worked out, an oracle or something. It had to do with randomly generated numbers—he had a little box, a minicomputer that lit up with seven- or eight-digit figures, I think. He told me when he had enough data worked into the system he could predict any series of events connected to Adder, a few minutes before each event actually occurred..." (Jeter, 131). This is a hint at I Ching
I Ching
The I Ching or "Yì Jīng" , also known as the Classic of Changes, Book of Changes and Zhouyi, is one of the oldest of the Chinese classic texts...
, the Chinese
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
oracular
Oracle
In Classical Antiquity, an oracle was a person or agency considered to be a source of wise counsel or prophetic predictions or precognition of the future, inspired by the gods. As such it is a form of divination....
book Dick used to compose his 1962 novel The Man in the High Castle
The Man in the High Castle
The Man in the High Castle is a science fiction alternate history novel by American writer Philip K. Dick. It won a Hugo Award in 1963 and has since been translated into many languages....
, but also a popular reading in the countercultural Sixties.
In Dr Adder music does not only have an aesthetic value. KCID plays Wozzeck, then he begins to interpret the opera by applying it to the situation of his listeners. "Hohl, alles hohl! That's the way it is, all right. Isn't that what you were just thinking? Ein Schlund, a gulf, an abyss, yawns beneath us and what can we do, friends? Some of us wait all our lives for something..." (Jeter, 135-6). This rambling monologue closely resembles those of freeform commercial radio DJs.
Radio KCID has something else in common with countercultural radio: "All his broadcast equipment and tapes could fit into a suitcase--he could be anywhere in the slums with it now" (Jeter, 138). Such a mobile pirate radio is not science-fictional
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...
at all, since true underground radio existed in the Sixties in the form of illegal stations
Pirate radio
Pirate radio is illegal or unregulated radio transmission. The term is most commonly used to describe illegal broadcasting for entertainment or political purposes, but is also sometimes used for illegal two-way radio operation...
.
At the end of the novel KCID puts the microphone in front of the protagonist, Dr. Adder, so that he may speak to his "old fans, and everyone else, who never worshipped [him]" (Jeter, 246). It might be simply considered as a moment when a speaker is interviewing a celebrity--be it transgressive, underground, unconventional or not--but it can also be seen as a moment when a listener of Radio KCID (and Dr. Adder is also one of KCID's listeners) is given the opportunity to talk to "people clustered around the radios, waiting to hear [him]" (Jeter, 246). KCID probably expects that a political message will be delivered to the audience; while probably Adder's message will not be political at all, being the expression of a very personal and un-political rage (Jeter, 214).
Criticism
- Rossi, Umberto. “Acousmatic Presences: From DJs to Talk-Radio Hosts in American Fiction, Cinema, and Drama”, Mosaic, 42:1, March 2009, pp. 83-98.