[PW] Science fiction story reference

[Dan Goodman]

According to the Internet Speculative Fiction Data Base 
(http://isfdb.org), the story is in the following places.  This isn't 
the most authoritative source, so they might have missed a few:

     * Galaxy Science Fiction, November 1955, (Nov 1955 , H. L. Gold, 
Galaxy Publishing Corporation, $0.35, 148pp, Digest, magazine) Cover: 
Emsh - [VERIFIED]
     * The Variable Man and Other Stories, (1957 , Philip K. Dick, Ace, 
#D-261, $0.35, 255pp, pb, coll) Cover: Ed Emshwiller
     * The Variable Man and Other Stories, (1969 , Philip K. Dick, 
Sphere, 0-7221-2958-0, 6/-, 219pp, pb, coll)
     * The Ruins of Earth, (1971 , Thomas M. Disch, G. P. Putnam's, 
$6.95, 318pp, hc, anth) Cover: Richard Powers
     * The Ruins of Earth, (Dec 1971 , Thomas M. Disch, Putnam / SFBC, 
#1778, 279pp, hc, anth) Cover: Richard Powers - [VERIFIED]
     * Beyond Control, (1972 , Robert Silverberg, Thomas Nelson, 
0-8407-6236-4, $6.95, 219pp, hc, anth) Cover: Karl Wurzer - [VERIFIED]
     * Science Fact/Fiction, (1974 , Edmund J. Farrell, Thomas E. Gage, 
John Pfordresher, Raymond J. Rodrigues, Foresman, 0-673-03407-0, 394pp, 
tp, anth)
     * Beyond Control, (Feb 1974 , Robert Silverberg, Dell Laurel Leaf, 
#2112, $0.95, 236pp, pb, anth)
     * The Ruins of Earth, (1975 , Thomas M. Disch, Arrow Books, 
0-09-909440-1, £0.65, 349pp, pb, anth) - [VERIFIED]
     * The Variable Man and Other Stories, (1976 , Philip K. Dick, Ace, 
0-441-86050-8, $1.50, 312pp, pb, coll) - [VERIFIED]
     * The Best of Philip K. Dick, (1977 , Philip K. Dick, Ballantine 
Del Rey, 0-345-25359-0, $1.95, xiv+450pp, pb, coll) Cover: Vincent Di Fate
     * The Variable Man and Other Stories, (1977 , Philip K. Dick, 
Sphere, 0-7221-2962-9, £0.75, 220pp, pb, coll) - [VERIFIED]
     * The Variable Man and Other Stories, (1978 , Philip K. Dick, 
Sphere, 0-7221-2962-9, £0.65, 219pp, pb, coll)
     * Robots, Androids, and Mechanical Oddities: The Science Fiction of 
Philip K. Dick, (1984 , Philip K. Dick, Southern Illinois University 
Press, 0-8093-1159-3, ix+261pp, hc, coll)
     * Robots, Androids, and Mechanical Oddities: The Science Fiction of 
Philip K. Dick, (1986 , Philip K. Dick, Southern Illinois University 
Press, 0-8093-1178-X, $15.95, ix+261pp, tp, coll)
     * The Days of Perky Pat, (1987 , Philip K. Dick, Underwood/Miller, 
xi+380pp, coll)
     * The Days of Perky Pat, (May 1991 , Philip K. Dick, Grafton, 
0-586-20768-6, £5.99, 494pp, tp, coll) Cover: Chris Moore
     * Minority Report, (2000 , Philip K. Dick, Millennium, 
1-85798-947-3, £7.99, x+380pp, tp, coll) - [VERIFIED]
     * The Minority Report and Other Classic Stories, (May 2002 , Philip 
K. Dick, Citadel Press, 0-8065-2379-4, $14.95, 380pp, tp, coll)
     * Selected Stories of Philip K. Dick, (Nov 2002 , Philip K. Dick, 
Pantheon Books, 0-375-42151-3, $25.95, xiv+476pp, hc, coll)
     * Selected Stories of Philip K. Dick, (Nov 2002 , Philip K. Dick, 
Pantheon / SFBC, #54693, $12.99, xiv+476pp, hc, coll)
     * Paycheck, (2003 , Philip K. Dick, Gollancz, 0-575-07001-3, £7.99, 
304pp, hc, coll)
     * Paycheck, (2004 , Philip K. Dick, Gollancz, 0-575-07585-6, £6.99, 
312pp, pb, coll) - [VERIFIED]


Dan Goodman wrote:

> My memory says it's by Philip K. Dick.  I believe it's "Autofac," about 
> which a Wikipedia entry says
> 
> Autofac is a 1955 science fiction short story by Philip K. Dick that 
> features one of the earliest treatments of self-replicating machines. It 
> is set some years after an apocalyptic world war has devastated Earth's 
> civilizations, leaving only a network of hardened robot "autofacs" in 
> operation to supply goods to the human survivors. Once humanity has 
> recovered enough to want to begin reconstruction, the autofacs are 
> immediately targeted for shutdown since they monopolize the planet's 
> resources. Unfortunately, the ability to control the autofacs was lost 
> in the war. This leaves the future of humanity, and the planet, in 
> uncertainty as the autofacs consume every resource they can attain to 
> produce what they perceive as needed. The story involves the human 
> survivors as they try to steal the supplies they need and search for a 
> way to take the power of production back into their own hands.
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autofac
> 


-- 
Dan Goodman
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