I decided to read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick before watching the 2019 Blade runner sequel. It was loosely adapted into the well-crafted 1982 Blade runner film.

The novel tells a story of how on polluted dystopian Earth a bounty hunter “retires” runaway androids. These androids served as slaves on Martian colonies, where most of the human population emigrated escaping the Earth’s radioactive atmosphere. Yet again, humanity messes up. Throughout the novel, the protagonist searches for five believed-to-be-dangerous androids, falls in love with the some, develops empathetic feeling towards the others, questions his bounty hunting job and desperately wants a pet.

Concepts I liked:

Animals

Most animals are extinct due to the radiation, so the remaining become valuable. People want them for their amusement and identification of their position in society. The bigger a pet, the bigger the status.

TV

Only one channel with one comedy programme. This is a horrible mechanism for brainwashing, like in the Orwellian 1984.

Books

Old books are also scarce and valuable. Even androids want to read them.

Religion

People use “empathy boxes” to connect with a messiah-like figure and other religious followers. Think of a virtual reality social network. Philip K. Dick thought of this in 1968 and Facebook nowadays is moving toward this murky future.

Androids

Androids are created as servants. They’re so advanced, that some people even live and have sex with them. Awkward.

Overall, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is a deep and complex book and makes an enjoyable read. The novel once had a large influence on the sci-fi genre and I’d recommend it to anyone interested in stories about post-apocalyptic future and robots.