Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Why Can’t the Androids be Free? (MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS)

[Sandi]

The androids in “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” only live for four years and they can’t reproduce. They don’t suffer the effects of radioactive dust like humans do. The human population on Earth has dwindled to practically nothing and people are suffering from a lack of human contact. Why are the humans unwilling to give the androids freedom and allow them to live on Earth? Why must every android that has escaped from the space colonies be “retired”? What benefits could be derived from giving androids freedom on Earth?

[bsc]

I think it is due to fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of the ever-improving technology, fear of obsolescence. Just like society today has a sorta fear of sentient robots, who would build more robots and rebel against their human masters. It is mostly an irrational fear, but society can be slow to correct that kind of thing.

[Jon]

If the androids do not learn empathy, not only will they torture animals, eventually torture and kill humans, they will enevitably turn on themselves. That leaves Earth completely uninhabited and uninhabitable (until the dust settles, so to speak).

The escaped androids are "retired" because in order to escape they murdered their owners and quite possibly other humans as well. It's seems odd that man would create an assistant without some basic prime directives and/or a "kill" switch for emergency shutdown. Since the androids are made, they do not benefit from a childhood to learn ethics and familial relationships. And their lifespan is so short compared to a human's lifespan, it may also drive them to fight or flight - especially if they are organically patterned after humans with all the primal instincts replicated.

Not sure I would see any benefits to giving the androids Earth. Unless we gave them a directive to clean it up? And also gave them run of the factory? The humans would probably have to abandon Earth to the androids, though, unless the next generations of androids live longer and learn to overcome their inherent psychoses.

[Sandi]

What I found interesting was the lengths the Rosen Corporation was going to in creating new models of androids that could pass as human. They even programmed Rachael to seduce bounty hunters so they wouldn't be able to kill androids anymore. It may be that they become dangerous as a result of being hunted, not as a result of their inherent nature. Luba Luft is a contributing member of society until she's hunted down. She just wants to fit in and she pretty much succeeds.

Even after reading it twice, I didn't see any indication that the androids had killed anyone to get to earth. In one scene, Pris tells Isidore that they came because the colonies are lonely, even for androids.

If the androids could pass the empathy test, would they then be okay? I get the impression that the answer is still "no". Deckard quits hunting androids, but you know that there will be others to take his place.

[Lori]

Hmm, I most definitely got the impression that the only way for androids to escape is to murder their owners. A character states it, but I can't remember where.

Does Deckard quit hunting them? He says that he is cured from the Rachel curse. Especially, I would think, after she killed his sheep.

She killed his sheep! Doesn't that signify that the androids shouldn't live free? It proves a total lack of involvement and sympathy for other living things. I found the androids pretty dangerous.

And what about Buster Friendly? Even before the expose, he struck me as extremely sinister. So when we find out he is an android, it seems to be a power play between the humans and androids. There seems to be a conspiracy to wipe out what does make us human.

One could argue that the reason behind that is so the androids could live free, ie no Mercerism = empathy in humans, and so no empathy test. Yet there is no self-awareness, no thought to wonder what is this empathy and why is it so important? Instead there's a certain nihilism, tear down the system so we can thrive.

Whereas at the end, Iran orders the full selection for the new turtle out of love for her husband.

[Jon]

Bunny, how very true!

It is so sad to see humanity reduced to such a meaningless existence. And in our death throes, heaven forbid we should let anything, animals or androids, get the upper hand on survival. Who knows, the androids, if given a chance, might actually be able to heal the earth, and restore the animals. Not sure if they should bother with the humans, though. :)

[Lori]

Heh.

I guess I'm showing my bias towards animals!

Well I can only say that Rachel acted for vengeance and spite. Yes, humans in our world do that too, but we haven't seen them do that in the book. ANd only 2 android hunters have been able to continue in their jobs after their encounter with Rachel - the others all developed too much empathy for killing.

[J-Lynn Van Pelt]

They killed humans to get to earth. That is what they are being "retired" for, not a lack of empathy.

[Hertzan]

maybe we should start a thread specifically for the spider mutilation scene, the title of which might be HOW DARE THOSE BLASTED ANDROIDS DESTROY SUCH A LUCRATIVE GEM?

:)

[J-Lynn Van Pelt]

Funny.

I have to admit I hate spiders and it was hard for me to empathize with that scene. It was the first time in my life that I felt bad for a spider! Those blasted androids!