Eary novella by Philip K Dick before he was represented by an agent. In The Variable Man, the Centaurian Empire has Terra locked into their current solar system and will not allow expansion. The two sides continually develop weapons to use against each other, but they are not used since the two sides calculate that the


newly created weapons will not guarantee success in war. Eventually, Terra comes up with the idea for a weapon termed Icarus that when created will be a faster than light super bomb. The odds makers decide that this weapon will ensure victory. The only problem is that the weapon does not work. That’s when Cole, the variable man, is brought from earth’s past via a time warp bubble from a time just before World War 1. Cole is able to complete the Icarus bomb. Terra deploys the weapon with unexpected consequences.