The novel “Dr. Bloodmoney or How We Got Along After the Bomb” by Philip K. Dick was published for the first time in 1965.

The failure of an atomic test directed by Dr. Bruno Bluthgeld caused a significant release of radioactive materials that led to mutations. That doesn’t stop international hostilities, and after a few years, the USA suffers a nuclear attack. The consequences are not only on the territory but also in a space mission: Walt and Lydia Dangerfield were launched into space in a mission that was supposed to represent the first phase of the colonization of Mars but got stuck in Earth orbit.

The community of Marin County survives and governs itself. Hoppy Harrington, a phocomelic who was discriminated against before the war, rises to prominence through his skills as a handyman, aided by his psychokinetic powers. He wants revenge against the so-called normal people and fears only Bill Keller, whose development remained at the fetal level within his sister Edie’s body but is still sentient and has strange telepathic powers.