“Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?,” by Philip Dick is set in a post-apocalyptic future world after the nuclear fallout of World War Terminus on Earth. In the aftermath of this war, the majority of humans have either all been killed, or are slowly deteriorating because of its devastating effects. After the war, Earth was left practically uninhabitable, driving survivors to relocate to a colony on Mars. However, there were people who were left behind and forced to stay on Earth because the nuclear war left behind a radioactive dust that had degenerative effects which lowered people’s I.Q.’s. In addition, virtually all animal life has been irradiated leaving the ones still alive to be extremely desired, and very rare to come by. Therefore, owning one conveys a symbol of status, and those of which who cannot afford one can buy android animals. Furthermore, this novel considers the value of empathy in an ever more increasingly technological world where humans grapple with relevance. …show more content…
His mission is to retire the six Nexus-6 type of androids that have escaped from an off world colony on Mars and immigrated to Earth to attempt to live as human beings. As Deckard encounters these androids his own morality comes into question. Deckard gets lost in his confusion of the question of what is this difference between real and fake, androids vs. humans. The novel contemplates the issue of artificial intelligence and raises the question of what it means to be human, a question investigated via the conflict between “authentic” human beings and numerous artificial beings that are attempting to imitate humans. This being said, the novel utilizes this question to introduce its viewpoint by the way of two comparisons: humans and