The Skull

by Philip K. Dick

"The Skull" by Philip K. Dick is a science fiction short story first published in 1952. A prisoner named Conger is offered freedom if he completes an impossible mission: travel back in time to kill a man who died two centuries earlier. Armed only with the victim's skull for identification, Conger journeys to the past to prevent the rise of a world-changing movement. But as he prepares to complete his assignment, he makes a devastating discovery about his own identity and destiny.