Professor Douglas In Fair Game, By Philip K. Dick

In Philip K. Dick’s science-fiction short story, "Fair Game”, Professor Anthony Douglas is suddenly pursued by aliens with unknown intentions until finally being captured and presumably eaten. Grappling with his pursuers attempts to lure him to his death, Douglas impulsively assumes his superior intellect is the target rather than his plump figure, demonstrating the distorting influence hubris has on perception. Professor Douglas’ glaring conceit contributes to the story’s ironic resolution through its distortion of Douglas’ assumption about his purpose, feelings towards his predicament and prediction about his life after his abduction.

When readers are introduced to Professor Douglas, he is described as “utterly unbothered by the tensions

and doubts that pressured other members of his profession” indicating that the protagonist believes himself to be not only above his peers but above any competition as well (1). This early characterization of Douglas lends itself well to explain why, later on, he assumes his value to the aliens is purely academic. The same pride which dismisses the “whole flock of bright young men” ready to learn and work, inhibits Douglas from imagining any other reason he would be important to extraterrestrial beings (1). Whereas Douglas’ previously claims the young intellectuals arriving at Bryant college will be able to catch up to him in a couple of years, he now regards himself as “the best nuclear physicist in the world” (7). Perhaps a more modest person might have considered why else they could have been deemed valuable or consulted other people before taking off on their own, exposing themselves to more danger. This impulsive assumption on Douglas’ part prevents him from being able to listen to others who he feels above, such as his wife, Laura. Claiming “she wouldn’t be able to handle such a concept”, the dismissive way Douglas views his wife conveys his unwillingness to contemplate the ideas of people who he feels superior to (3). This narrow-minded attitude contributed to Douglas’ capture as he acted, believing he knew best because of his allegedly greater intellect.

Naturally, when faced with such a unsettling and life-altering situation, a person would experience a wide array of emotions, however those which Professor Douglas goes through are somewhat unusual.

When Jean Henderson ponders whether the human race is being observed, Douglas responds with “Not you, just me”, demonstrating the narcissistic belief that only he could be worthy enough of surveillance (3). Later, when Jean proposes that gods are trying to communicate with Douglas and compares his situation to when “Moses met God at the top of Mount Sinai”, Douglas doesn’t bat an eye, accepting the comparison between himself and one of the most important biblical figures ever (7). Not one person attempts to re-evaluate this strange situation, all of the scientific elite in the room concluding with great self-importance that one of their own would undoubtably be significant enough to merit extraterrestrial interest. Additionally, Douglas is full of himself enough to believe that after aliens summon literal bolts of lightning to strike him, he can outsmart them by moving to lower ground. He smugly declares, “They’d never get him” and fills his car up with gas (9). Here, Douglas’ excessive pride blinds him to any more potential dangers as he believes he is capable of outmaneuvering giant, supernatural beings. After finally realizing, he cannot outrun these otherworldly beings, Douglas finds peace with the fact that he will be abducted and considers it a compliment. He believes his “skill and knowledge, over everything else” are the reasons behind his abduction, which testifies to how intensely hubris warps perception. Though a normal person would predictably be terrified when confronted with a similar situation, Douglas is flattered and cannot detect the underlying danger. He is so beyond reason that he leaves his car and accepts his fate, only reacting with appropriate horror when it is too late and he is falling into a frying pan (12). It is only when his hubris is

stripped away that Douglas can assess and react to his situation appropriately.

Near the end of the story, Douglas believes he is well-informed enough to draw conclusions about his life after abduction. Regardless of the fact that all the aliens have done is try to capture him, Douglas concludes that these beings regard humans as “some sort of testing ground, where techniques and knowledge are painfully developed - for their benefit” (7). This deeply self-congratulating stance on humanity’s purpose, leads Douglas to feel “relaxed, at peace, no longer afraid” when he realizes his capture is unavoidable (11). His hubris concerning his own ability as well as humanity’s leads him to completely misjudge his fate. His ego tells him that he would be important to the aliens who are pursuing him and act as “an instrument in their hands” (11). Douglas even rationalizes that his life will probably be the same “doing the same work as always” except without his friends and family in his life to keep him company (11). Though Douglas considers himself a rational and scientific mind, the illogical manner in which comes to conclusions demonstrates that his ability to conjecture is compromised when the subject concerns his own skill. Supposing he will continue to explore nuclear physics for the benefit of aliens is not an educated hypothesis of Douglas’ future, but in fact, a manifestation of excessive pride.