Simulacron-3

Daniel F. Galouye was a science fiction writer who wrote two extremely influential novels, Simulacron-3 and Dark Universe; both some of the earliest examples of popular sub-genres and themes in science fiction. Dark Universe (nominated for a Hugo when it was originally published) is one of the earliest (and many consider it one of the finest) examples of a post-apocalyptic novel. Simulacron-3, published in 1964, is one of the first to deal with virtual reality. At a time when most of us had not thought of the concept, Galouye was writing a story about people realizing that they are virtual constructs in a simulation. In many ways Galouye was very much ahead of his time, even the science fiction field, and many science fiction writers credit him as being one of the great science fiction writers of the time. Daniel Galouye died at the age of 56 in 1976 due to poor health which was complicated by injuries he had received during World War II as a Navy pilot.