“Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” by Philip K. Dick – A Matter of Defining Humanity

At this point most of you have no doubt heard of the classic movie Blade Runner starring Harrison Ford, about a bounty hunter named Rick Deckard who is tasked with the “retirement” (AKA destruction, killing, murder, whichever suits your fancy) of numerous androids, robots made to be as human as possible in every way, allowing them to blend in with them.

However, the novel on which the movie is based on, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick seems to get considerably less attention, which is somewhat understandable when taking into account its philosophical approach to the storyline, rather than something in line with the movie.

For those who aren't familiar with it, the whole thing takes place in the year 2021, when the Earth's ability to keep people alive is dwindling rapidly, leaving those who are better off to be sent to Mars, effectively colonizing it and preparing humanity's future.

Rick Deckard is one of those left behind on Earth, to be slowly eaten away by the radioactive dust which never settled after wars of years past. In the book, he is assigned with the retirement of six androids of the newest prototype who have managed to murder their masters and escape from Mars, attempting to dissimulate themselves amongst the humans of Earth.

Though there are certainly a few tense sequences and some action dispersed here and there throughout the book, the main focus of it all is placed on the examination of what really makes humans what they are, and whether or not a being that is not a human could be assigned such characteristics.

As the line which distinguishes robotic androids from living beings becomes increasingly blurred we are treated to numerous internal monologues and struggles that have the power to make the reader question what is to be considered a living being worthy of the same rights humans take for granted.

The way in which the world is portrayed is certainly one of the strongest points of the novel in my opinion, with the image of a crumbling Earth with its decaying soil, poisonous air, vile moralities and its endless crowds of sickly survivors being depicted in the most vivid and palpable details.

There is no question left about it: the planet is dying, the end of an era is coming, and humanity is obliging the end-time prophecies by cranking up the cruelty, discrimination and violence factors. It does wonders to help build an ever-persisting atmosphere of dread and hopelessness, the kind that makes for a truly memorable dystopia.

Do not expect the book to be like the movie based on it; it is slower in its progression, far more detailed with more attention paid to the exploration of ideas rather than the advancement of the story.

If you are into science-fiction stories that take their time in building the atmosphere and making you truly feel as if you are witnessing the development of important events and hypotheses, then I definitely recommend you check this one out; there really is no shortage of food for thought or opportunities to get yourself lost in dreamy landscapes.

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Philip Kindred Dick (December 16, 1928 – March 2, 1982) Philip K. Dick was a novelist, short story writer, essayist and author of American origin, who almost exclusively dealt with the science fiction genre. He is most famous for bringing gems such as Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (The movie Blade Runner was based on this) and A Scanner Darkly, based on which a movie was also made.