Note: The book Pink Beam, of which this essay forms a chapter, is primarily intended by the author to be a literary chronology, not a biography. To that end, the book divides Philip K. Dick's writing career into chapters by year. Throughout, the book maintains tight focus on PKD's writing but also chronicles, in parallel, his works as they are published and consequential effects on him. Woven into the narrative is extensive and enlightening correspondence between PKD and his agents, publishers and friends, as well as how his health and personal circumstances affected his writing. This essay has PKD recounting how, at an early age, he first became interested in what was known then as 'stf' (scientifiction), later known as SF, and about his later interest in writing it. Covered also is his signing wth the Scott Meredith Literary Agency (SMLA) in New York. (Source: PV1) In order left-to-right, stories covered in this chapter:

The Little Movement	The Skull	Project: Earth	Expendable
The Short, Happy Life of the Brown Oxford	The Preserving Machine	The Gun	Mr. Spaceship
Piper in the Woods	The Infinites	The Indefatigable Frog	The Variable Man
The Crystal Crypt	The Defenders	The Builder	Meddler
Paycheck	Out in the Garden	The Great C	The King of the Elves
Colony	Prize Ship	Nanny	The Cookie Lady
Beyond the Door	Second Variety	Jon's World	The Cosmic Poachers
Some Kinds of Life	Progeny	Martians Come in Clouds	The Commuter
The World She Wanted	A Surface Raid