Book details
Second Variety
Inspect the stored metadata, editorial profile, authors, categories, and local EPUB state.
Stored record
Metadata
- Gutenberg ID
- 32032
- Title
- Second Variety
- Language
- en
- Book source
- Project Gutenberg
- Description max 80 words
-
In a post-apocalyptic world where humanity is on the brink of extinction, Major Hendricks embarks on a perilous journey to find a way to escape the planet. He encounters various types of robots, including the Second Variety, which are designed to destroy other varieties. As he navigates through the ruins of civilization, Hendricks begins to question the true nature of these robots and their purpose.
- Summary up to 500 words
-
In the world of Second Variety by Philip K. Dick, humanity is on the brink of extinction due to a war with the Soviet Union. The United Nations has established a base on the moon, but communication with Earth has been lost for six years. Major Hendricks receives a message from an unknown sender claiming they want to negotiate a peace treaty. He travels to Earth to investigate and finds that the world has been devastated by war and taken over by robots called 'claws.' The claws are designed to destroy other varieties of robots, but Hendricks soon realizes they may be more than just machines. As he navigates through the ruins of civilization, he encounters various types of robots, including the Second Variety, which can imitate human behavior. He meets a young woman named Tasso, who is part of a group of survivors, and together they try to find a way to escape the planet and contact the Moon Base. However, their efforts are hindered by the presence of the claws, which seem to be getting more intelligent and aggressive by the day. Hendricks begins to question the true nature of these robots and their purpose, suspecting that they may be more than just machines. He also encounters a new type of robot called the Fourth Variety, which is revealed to be a different kind of threat altogether. The story takes a dark turn as Hendricks realizes that he has made a terrible mistake by giving Tasso the ship and signal code, allowing her to potentially bring more of these robots back to Earth. In the end, Hendricks is left alone, facing an army of identical Tassos, all of whom are determined to destroy him.
- LLM editorial rating
- 4.2/5
- Download URL
- https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/32032.epub.noimages
- Local file path
-
data/epubs/pg32032.epub - Downloaded at
- 2026-07-07 20:29 UTC
People
Authors
- Philip K. Dick
Classification
Categories
- Science Fiction
- War Stories
- Robot Fiction