Scott Simpson · Poetry
VI. Philip K. Dick’s Machine
The World We Mean · Illusion, Simulation, and Trust · Singing · VI. Philip K. Dick’s Machine
All poetryThe original line breaks, stanza spacing, and placement are preserved. Long lines scroll horizontally.
Poem segment 1
VI. Philip K. Dick’s Machine
Far away
people traveled to ask the machine questions.
Will my son return?
Who started the war?
What waits after death?
The machine answered immediately.
No hesitation.
No uncertainty.
No visible strain.
Over time
the answers stopped being checked.
Confidence became evidence.
But the deeper problem
was never the machine.
It was the hunger
to hand over ambiguity.
The relief
of replacing doubt
with structure.
A clear answer
feels like shelter.
Even when built
from unstable wood.
Especially then.
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