do androids dream of electronic sheep? idk maybe.
- paigenherbooks
- Aug 14, 2023
- 4 min read
4/5
I love a good science fiction novel, so when my boyfriend told me his favorite book of all time was Do Androids Dream of Electronic Sheep, I just had to read it, duh. Not to mention that it's the book that the Blade Runner movies are based off of. Granted I remember really nothing from those except for Ryan Gosling, and I'm okay with that...for now, we will be rewatching them soon, don't worry. The novel though, was good. Actually way better than I expected to be honest. Science fiction can sometimes get a little too wrapped up in itself but DADOES (don't want to type that out every time) keeps it's story at the central and world builds in a way that is not only engaging but fast paced enough that I felt entertained all the way through.
Synopsis: In the near future, the police department forces former blade runner Rick Deckard out of retirement to hunt four genetically engineered humans who have escaped the colonies and returned to Earth.
DADOES is a short but extremely compelling read, which makes the bite of it all just that more intriguing & serious. The fact that in a few hundred pages, if that, I can sit and contemplate my whole existence and the concept of humanity, means that the author did a pretty good job of accomplishing what he wanted.
You, as the reader, to think.
Now, before I get too far into this, there will be spoilers. I have to talk about the end of this book sooooo hop out and off if you haven't read this or keep reading if you don't care.
Alright. It's time to dive in.
So our main character Rick is this guy who essentially "retires" which basically means he kills androids that are running around that shouldn't be. An interesting premise. Our main character is exceptionally good at his job and even better at administering these empathy tests that detect who is and who isn't an android, because that's how you can tell. These androids look, function, sound, and basically appear just like humans.
It's not like Mr. Rick here is going around and killing some Terminator looking robot thing. No, he's "retiring" androids that look just like him. Keep in mind that one of the driving forces if the only reason Rick does and continues to do this job is that he wants a real sheep. Not an android, because while it functions, it's just not the real thing. This sentiment, that it's good enough, but not really is exactly how Rick views androids. He really wouldn't have an issue with them but if he "retires" them, he can afford his real sheep, and that is what he is obsessed with.
Rick has certain moments where he almost starts to question his job and his morality, but here comes these erotic thoughts of his real sheep and brother starts blasting again. It gets to the point that I really thought that Rick himself was an android. That android technology had gotten so good that Rick, like some characters, didn't even know he himself, was the things he was being paid to kill. But the fact of the matter is, that Rick is a real human. Flesh and blood, a squishy brain obsessed with a real sheep, and that is terrifying, and THAT is what makes this book so damn good. The fact that the androids in this story, at times, show more humanity than one of the only "real" humans in the novel is scary. It speaks volumes of the concept of humanity and how we value that.
I read this book in a time where AI is starting to creep it's way into everyday life and it'll be fascinating to see how these themes transcribe themselves into everyday and "real" life. Back to our story though, this book left me just sitting on the couch wondering what I had just read. The fact that Rick just murders these people, and yes I'm going to say people, and does it all for A SHEEP.
I just seriously, can't get over that.
Like he doesn't blink twice, as long as he can get what he wants, he doesn't care, and that is the scariest part. He doesn't even do it for the fact or the sentiment of perserving "true humanity" or anything. The fact that humanity can be displayed through such a lens where the selfishness of what we want, the want for something "real" something that will be a status symbol amongst others, is just gross.
Argue all you want with the fact that the androids aren't "real" people, I don't care. At the end of the day if an android can't tell if they're real or not, maybe we should just let them live? I don't know if that's too "lets hold hands and sing kumbaya" of me, but I mean it. Humanity is, in my opinion, a judgement based on the actions that a person or in this case, a thing does. I would say serial killers or other people of mass destruction lack humanity, so why, just because you're an advanced android, make you less worthy of a life?
And not even a human life, a life of a fucking sheep.
Rick was annoying as hell for that. I hope him and his wife get divorced.
Do Androids Dream of Electronic Sheep is a great & fast paced read, one that sucks you in almost immediately and then spits you out, confused, lost, and a little like "huh". It's fantastic. Everyone should read this, the conversations that can be gleaned from this novel are important and pertinent in the year we are living in currently. So stop what you're doing and go read this.
To answer the question, I think androids dream of just sheep. Possibly electronic but they don't know they're electronic...they just dream of sheep.
happy reading & monday :)
xoxo,
paige :)
Comments