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"Science fiction is really sociological studies of the future, things that the writer believes are going to happen by putting two and two together."
- Ray Bradbury

Holo-Printing  
  Errors introduced in data storage media when recording under improper conditions.  

This phenomenon (on computer tape drives and disk drives) was probably known by the time Dick wrote the novel, but he makes epic use of it.

In this scene, Fred is watching holographic surveillance data and notices a problem.

And then, as Fred watched, Connie's hard features melted and faded into softness, and into Donna Hawthorne's face...

Standing, Fred walked into the holo-cube, into the three-dimensional projection, and stood close to the bed to scrutinize the girl's face.

Halfway between, he decided. Still half Connie; already half Donna...

...maybe it's a visual interruption or breakdown electronically, he pondered. What they call printing. Holo-printing: from one section of the tape storage to another. If the tape sits too long, if the recording gain was too high initially, it prints across. Jeez, he though. It printed Donna across from a previous or later scene, maybe from the living room.

Technovelgy from A Scanner Darkly, by Philip K. Dick.
Published by Doubleday in 1977
Additional resources -

It's interesting to compare what Philip K. Dick describes in the novel with actual software used to retrieve images from damaged hard drives. This from a document on using Symantec Norton Ghost:

Incorrect operation and use of the Ghosting programs may lead to very serious consequences, as the data previously held on the hard disk that is to receive the image will often be completely overwritten. This is not always the case though, as sometimes the disk receiving the image may be considerably larger than the original disk. Ghosting to a disk of this type will almost certainly destroy the file system and root directory structure but some of the data that was previously on the hard disk may still be recoverable. Other problems exist too, such as Ghosting in the wrong direction, unexpected program termination or system crash...

In the novel, Dick finishes manipulating the reader by having Fred continue watching the hologram. Arctor watches Donna sleeping, then watches her face turn into Connie's. It was not technical interference.

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Additional resources:
  More Ideas and Technology from A Scanner Darkly
  More Ideas and Technology by Philip K. Dick
  Tech news articles related to A Scanner Darkly
  Tech news articles related to works by Philip K. Dick

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