Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep

“This was not the first wound he had received while in fusion with Mercer, and it probably would not be the last.”

Through Mercer and the empathy boxes, people are able to exercise their empathy. This experience of emotion is so vivid that people suffer from physical wounds in empathy with the wounds suffered by Mercer. Characters are compelled to performatively empathize with Mercer to such an extent that they become physically harmed, and they are happy to do so.

“Office gossip annoyed him because it always proved better than the truth.”

The novel presents a constant tension between the authentic and the artificial. This tension is found throughout society, between electric sheep and real animals or between humans and androids. Office gossip is an example of this tension, presenting a version of the truth that is alluring but not real. The gossip performs the same function as the truth and aesthetically seems the same, but it lacks the fundamental authenticity. Gossip is another fake reality that serves to distract the characters.

“‘A major manufacturer of androids,’ he said thoughtfully, ‘invests its surplus capital on living animals.’“

Deckard notes the irony of the galaxy’s largest manufacturer of advanced androids being unable to resist the temptation of real, authentic life. The Rosens spend their money on living animals because these creatures contain a vivacity that the company can never truly replicate, only imitate.

“The tyranny of an object, he thought.”

In the novel, humans are cursed with empathy. This empathy distinguishes them from the artificial androids but it binds them to cycles and systems from which they cannot escape. Deckard’s empathy renders him subservient to objects. The “tyranny” (28) of the objects is invoked by his empathy, in his need to care for an artificial animal or an android. This feeling is not reciprocated. Unilateral empathy designates humans as unique but makes them servants to the artificial lifeforms that elicit their empathy.

“‘Is this testing whether I’m an android,’ Rachael asked tartly, ‘or whether I’m homosexual.’“

The complexity of the Nexus-6 models allows them to mimic dry, sarcastic comments as a way to deflect the efficacy of a Voigt-Kampff test. Rachael distracts Deckard with her mildly-flirtatious, sardonic responses as a form of self-defense. This illustrates the advanced nature of these new models before he even realizes that Rachael is an android.

“It’s an extension of your body; it’s the way you touch other humans, it’s the way you stop being alone.”

Isidore describes the way his empathy box allows him to “stop being alone” (40). Isidore is sincere in his belief that the device helps him but he ignores the salient fact that he is very much alone. He lives alone in an abandoned building in an abandoned suburb, without friends or neighbors. The empathy box is a substitute for human interaction in the same way that an electric sheep is a substitute for the real animal. Ironically, Isidore hopes that Pris might alleviate his loneliness, not yet realizing that she is an android.

“Even though I know rationally it’s faked the sound of a false animal, burning out its drive-train and power supply ties my stomach in knots.”

Isidore is not the most intelligent character in the novel, but he might be the most empathetic. His empathy is so strong and so keenly felt that it overpowers his intellect. He believes the cat to be artificial but he cannot help empathizing with it. This raw, powerful empathy demonstrates the fundamental difference between humans and androids; no matter how advanced or intelligent they become, they cannot replicate something innate to the marginalized Isidore.

“What kind of world is it, he asked himself, when an android phones up a bounty hunter and offers him assistance?”

The inversion of Deckard’s world is well underway but he is not yet aware of it. He is a bounty hunter who assures himself that he is acting morally because the world operates in a certain way. When the rules of the world begin to crumble in front of him, he can no longer rely on his moral equivocations. If something so absurd as an android offering to help a bounty hunter has occurred, Deckard does not know how he can trust his existing assumptions about the way the world operates.

“In a way, he realized, I’m part of the form-destroying process of entropy.”

Deckard is caught in the same entropic loop as everything else. From androids to humans, to plants to fake animals, everything is moving inexorably toward destruction. Rather than existing outside of this cycle of decay, Deckard is part of it. He retires androids, existing as part of an ongoing, entropic ecosystem from which he cannot escape. Deckard is as trapped in this cycle of search, hunt, and kill as the androids on his list. He is a slave to a system that he is only beginning to comprehend.

“Two parallel police agencies, he said to himself; ours and this one.”

The discovery of the fake police department is another example of the tension between the artificial and the authentic. The android police department resembles the human police department in every way, to the point where the officers enforce the law. Functionally, on a societal level, they are the same. As such, there is no way to tell which is real and which is fake, as even the fake department performs the same role in society.

“It has a wheel in its cage; ever seen a squirrel running inside a wheel? It runs and runs, the wheel spins, but the squirrel stays in the same spot.”

Resch’s description of a squirrel bears a striking similarity to Deckard’s life. He is caught in a cycle, waking up and repeating the same routine as though he is a caged animal with no agency. Deckard hunts and kills androids but he never makes any real progress. Only with recent events is he beginning to notice the existence of the cage that locks him into this unsatisfying, possibly immoral routine.

“She began to scream; she lay crouched against the wall of the elevator, screaming. Like the picture, Rick thought to himself.”

Even in her death, Luba is not able to function as anything other than an imitation of human creativity. At the opera, she recites words written by long-dead humans; in her final moments, she copies the pose of a famous painting. These pivotal moments of her life are not organic or unique. Instead, she is leading a facsimile life, searching for meaning and catharsis by reciting the art of others.

“Love is another name for sex.”

The extent of the replication and imitation in the novel includes language and synonyms. Rachael wants Deckard to believe that the abstract idea of love is simply another word for the physical act of sex. That they should be similar is important to Rachael, as she is capable of sex but—since she is incapable of empathy—she cannot love anyone. By convincing Deckard that love and sex are the same, Rachael is attempting to assert her humanity.

“That’s the sort of slip an android makes.”

Pris is more aware of her android behavior than Isidore. While Pris frets about fitting in and eliminating any mistakes from her behavior, Isidore does not even notice. He lacks the meticulous, cold observation skills of the androids, thereby differentiating himself from the artificial lifeforms by demonstrating his preference for emotion rather than intelligence. Isidore is more interested in empathizing with Pris than scrutinizing her, something that is not true of the androids at any time.

“He had an indistinct, glimpsed darkly impression: of something merciless that carried a printed list and a fun, that moved machine-like through the flat, bureaucratic job of killing.”

Isidore is easily manipulated. His vibrant imagination, his boundless empathy, and his desire to make friends mean that he falls quickly under the androids’ spell. When they describe the role of a bounty hunter, he conjures up a mental image of a monstrous figure who wants to hurt his new friends. This mirrors the humans’ framing of the androids as soulless, murder machines who have no compunction with breaking the law. Both humans and androids justify their behavior by positioning themselves as heroes and the other side as villains. Isidore, with no experience of the world, can easily be convinced of either truth.

“Well, so what.”

Roy does not care about the possibility of Isidore being hurt. His detached, unempathetic response demonstrates what makes the androids dangerous. Roy does not want Isidore to get hurt, but he lacks the empathy needed to summon any sort of emotional response. Ironically, the bounty hunters are forced to employ this same form of ruthless detachment when retiring androids, lest they become too attached to their bounties. In contrast, Isidore is the only person who truly empathizes with everyone around him. He is the only truly human character.

“I’d like to see you step up to the goat-class where I feel you belong.”

The salesman demonstrates the dark side of empathy. Through his sales technique, he tries to empathize to close the deal. He flatters Deckard, hoping to win his affection and then his money. This commodification of empathy occurs because pet ownership is a commodified way to performatively empathize with another living creature. As life becomes more artificial, everything becomes about money.

“See, now we have nothing to hide; what we’ve always wanted has come true. It’s a dream!”

Animal ownership provides an important function in the characters’ lives. Through pet ownership (both real and artificial), the characters can simultaneously care for another thing and perform empathy. They want the world to see them caring for an animal and, because they feel so alone and atomized in the dystopic society, this care replaces their need to care for other humans. Iran’s depressive mood is lifted by the arrival of the goat because at last, she has a recipient for her emotions.

“Time and tide, he thought. The cycle of life.”

Deckard is repeatedly told that androids are not alive. The more time he spends chasing the Nexus-6 models, however, the more he understands how his life resembles theirs. The “time and tide” of entropy affects him and the androids. He is a part of the same cycle and he cannot break free, even though he repeatedly tells himself that he will quit. Life is a cycle, a repeated routine that does not offer true agency to the characters. In this sense, Deckard is as much a robot as the androids, repeating the same cycle of work that defines the androids.

“I want to listen. I intend to listen.”

Rachael insists that she and Deckard listen to Buster Friendly in the hovercar. She asserts herself, demanding that Deckard cave to her demands. Rachael feels empowered after having sex with Deckard. She hopes that their relationship gives her power over him, just as sex gave her power over other bounty hunters. The demand to control the radio demonstrates Rachael’s growing agency and Deckard’s diminished authority over androids.

“You can’t go from people to nonpeople.”

Isidore empathizes so strongly with the androids because he feels the pain of marginalization. He is a special, meaning that the radioactive fallout from World War Terminus has affected his status and his freedom. Isidore considers the status of the specials to be similar to the status of the androids, as both are treated badly by human society. Isidore’s claim is a rejection of his marginalization. He is insistent that he cannot become a nonperson just because of a medical diagnosis.

“Everything is true.”

Deckard dismisses Rachael’s comments about Mercerism being exposed with an appeal to the impossibility of objectivity. Mercer may be revealed as a fake, but this exposé does not matter to the millions of people who engage with Mercer every day. To them, he feels real. This feeling is all that matters, and this subjectivity is something that the androids will never understand. Their lack of humanity means that they believed that they could bring down Mercerism with cold, hard facts. As Deckard suggests, a fake religion can provide just as much comfort as a real one.

“I’m Wilbur Mercer; I’ve permanently fused with him. And I can’t unfuse.”

Deckard’s journey takes him to the ultimate endpoint of empathy: He permanently fuses with the fake entity Mercer. He blends his own character with the idea of a character so strongly that he can never untangle himself. Deckard has learned to empathize with androids; now, he is empathizing with an abstract idea so strongly that it has merged with his consciousness.