I’ve been listening to a lot of audio book read by Scott Brick lately-he just seems to like to read the kinds of books that I like to listen to. But after a while, his slow delivery and Southern drawl kind of work their way into my mind and I find myself breaking my words down by syllable. I like Scott Brick’s performances, but he does have pretty much the same delivery whatever the subject matter happens to be.
Ok, on to Blade Runner-well, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick. For some reason Philip K. Dick is the most loved Sci Fi in Hollywood, his books and short stories have been made into a lot of movies, some good, some not so good. And one that is ranked among the top of all Sci Fi films ever, Blade Runner. I think the audio book would have been better if they could have gotten Harrison Ford to read it, but I guess he was busy making Indiana Jones.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep is the story of Deckard, a Bounty Hunter, who lives on a dying Earth-an Earth were there are no wild animals, no wild insects, and so few people that most cities are ghost towns filled with Kipple. Kipple is the piles of rotting stuff that just happens through natural decay over time.
Hunting down rouge Androids, or Andys, is not our hero’s main concern-he wants a real animal, as all he can afford is an Electronic Sheep. Owning a fake sheep is a source of private shame for Deckard, who once owned a real sheep, but it died. Everyone in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep carries around a copy of a catalog that sells animals-everything from insects to ostriches. Deckard lusts for an ostrich, well, for any real animal.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep was published in 1968. The Voight-Kampff Empathy Test is the only way to tell an android from a human being-as androids have no empathy at all. This is a funny sort of test for a dead world-most people alive right now have no empathy to speak of. The androids are in fact organic and can only be verified android by a bone marrow test. The Retirement of the Rouge Androids is quick and efficient, Deckard kills them easily and gets back to the serious business of whether or not he should buy himself and his wife an animal.
There is also a lot of business about a virtual reality device which allows the user to share the experience of an old man walking up a hill and being stoned to death. The device is so real that users are cut and bruised by the rocks. This is called Mercerism and the shared empathy of Mercer’s struggles seems to be the only cult left on Earth. There is also the odd use of a Mood box which allows the user to be happy or want to want tv-no matter what is on.
Among the many odd things in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep is the fact that Androids only have a four year life span. They haven’t figured out that whole cellular regeneration thing yet. In the film Blade Runner, this is explained as a safety device to keep the rouge Androids in check, in the book, it is just a design flaw. So if these Androids only live four years anyway, why is there any need to hunt them down and kill them? The Andys we see are certainly not very nice, but they are not rampaging murderers either.
As with all Philip K Dick works there is an underlying feeling of desperation-a feeling that everything might work out if they can just get out of the dreadful situation they find themselves in. Of course, there is no escape. In Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Earth is hell and Mars is worse. The Dust falls all the time and makes people stupid-Chicken Heads or Ant Heads. Nothing good is ever going to happen on Earth again.
It was an interesting book, though not as good as The Man in The High Castle, Philip K Dick’s best book. I kept expecting Deckard to turn out to be an android himself, and at one point, Deckard seems to think that everyone else on earth is an android. It was a complex and confusing book, but I still liked it.
