Ubik by Philip K. Dick

This lengthy text is an excerpt from the science fiction novel Ubik by Philip K. Dick. It centers on Joe Chip, an employee of Runciter Associates, an anti-psi prudence organization specializing in countering psychic abilities. Following a disastrous mission to the moon where his boss, Glen Runciter, appears to be killed by a bomb, Joe and other surviving inertials (individuals who can nullify psychic powers) experience their reality deteriorating, with objects and even people regressing through time. They discover this is occurring within a form of half-life, a state experienced after death where consciousness is temporarily maintained at a moratorium, and that they are being preyed upon by a malevolent half-lifer named Jory who consumes the remaining life force of others. The text details their struggle against this decay and the mysterious substance Ubik, advertised by a seemingly alive Runciter through commercials and notes, which promises to reverse the temporal regression and combat the effects of half-life. Ultimately, Joe learns that he and the others are indeed deceased, experiencing a collective half-life, and their fight against Jory is a battle for continued existence on this side of reality, a battle in which Ubik serves as a crucial but often fleeting defense.