"Sit down, Douglas," McClane said, waving his plump hand toward a chair which faced the desk. "So you want to have gone to Mars. Very good."

This is one of those stories that makes you realize how good Dick is. The story really isn't much more than a joke,^[1] but he's got these touches, these little moments that make readers forget they're reading and writers wish they had written.

See, this boring guy living a boring life wants to at least feel the satisfaction of having done something because obviously he isn't ever going to do anything. And Rekal, Incorporated can help him out.

"You get tangible proof of your trip," McClane disagreed emphatically. "All the proof you'll need. Here; I'll show you." He dug within a drawer of his impressive desk. "Ticket stub." Reaching into a manila folder, he produced a small square of embossed cardboard. "It proves you went--and returned. Postcards." He laid out four franked picture 3-D full-color postcards in a neatly arranged row on the desk for Quail to see. "Film. Shots you took of local sights on Mars with a rented moving camera." To Quail he displayed those, too. "Plus the names of people you met, two hundred postcreds' worth of souvenirs, which will arrive--from Mars--within the following month...You'll know you went, all right. You won't remember us, won't remember me or eve rhaving been here. It'll be a real trip in your mind; we guarantee that. A full two weeks of recall, every last piddling detail."

You're life may not be very exciting, but your memories sure can be. Filling my mind with fabulous stories isn't so far from getting it filled with fabulous memories. I watch the people all around me flicking through three-second videos on their phones and it does seem like we're all just looking for Rekal, Incorporated so that we can have fond memories of fabulous things.

Of course, the joke is, our life is already fabulous.

You didn't go to Rekal, Incorporated with the idea of regaining your memory; you went, as we realize for the usual reason people go there -- a love by plain, dull people for adventure. Unfortunately you're not plain, not dull, and you've already had too much excitement."

1. This short story is sometimes also called "Total Recall." If you haven't read it, do -- it's short and highly entertaining. You might even chuckle. ↩