McAuley, Paul J. "The Two Dicks"
Divergence: c 1952 CE
What if: Author Phil Dick was coerced by his new agent to drop sf and write a serious novel for the mainstream public.
Summary: A meeting two decades later between Dick and the president.
Published: In The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, August 2001; The Year's Best Science Fiction, Nineteenth Annual Collection (ed. Garder Dozois), St. Martin's 2002 (0312288786BUY, 0312288794BUY), v.t. The Mammoth Book of Best New SF 15, Robinson 2002 (1841195863); The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror (ed. Stephen Jones), Carroll & Graf 2002 (0786710632BUY); One Lamp: The Best Alternate History Stories from F&SF (ed. Gordon Van Gelder), q.v.; Little Machines, PS Publishing 2005 (1902880935, 1902880943); and A Very British History: The Best Science Fiction Stories of Paul McAuley, 1985-2011, PS Publishing 2013 (9781848635968).