Philip K. Dick - "Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?"

[1] It is a quality of Dick's writing that he will drop in some important fact very late in the novel, which is not mentioned earlier by the characters, since it is so well known. Only in the course of certain specific conversations will it come up. It is not crucial knowledge needed to follow the novel thus far, but it is critical for understanding at the end of the book, what the reader's mind has passed through.

In this novel, in Chapter 17 of 22 Chapters, this fact is that Androids, which are made as adults, live only for about four years. This is due to technical problems in their creation. Also, they are made in batches of identical lookalikes; and as Rachel Rosen the Android says, if she does feel Empathy, it is for others of her type. Rick Deckard has to "retire", that is kill Pris Stratton, who is of the Rachel Rosen clone. Rachel is very upset, understanably, but still helps him in this endeavour. Later she assuages her troubled mind by killing Rick's much loved real live Goat, which supplemented his Electric Sheep. It is not specifically said so in the book, but surely Rachel's killing of the Goat, by pushing it off the roof of Rick's apartment building, is as a Human as an action can be.

[2] A big problem which Rick has, is that he feels Empathy for Female Androids. He is told by another Bounty Hunter that is just Lust, but Rick has great trouble convincing himself of this. The twist from our times and thinking, is that we would have great problems killing the Androids, much more than killing Animals.

Also, Philip K. Dick may well have had in mind one Adolph Hitler, who was very kind to Animals. He introduced strict anti-vivisection laws when he came to power in Gemany, in the early 1930s. However, as is very well known, he disregarded what he considered as "Inferior Races"; denying them any rights at all.

[3] What is a Human indeed? And how should a Human respond to another Human, who is different in some distinct way? Should a mere technical difference be granted any importance?

This is a brilliant and exhilirating novel; yet one which leads the alert reader into deeply troubling enigmas of what it is to be Human. From what I perceive Phip K. Dick's standpoint to be: a Human is only truly Human, if their behaviour has what we term, without any trace of intended irony: Humanity.

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