4 ms·
The differences in empathy was kinda the whole point of the book. Which is to say, the androids didn't have any. In the context of the story, they could act and
by Finnucane 3y ago
The differences in empathy was kinda the whole point of the book. Which is to say, the androids didn't have any. In the context of the story, they could act and look like humans, but were essentially psychopathic killing machines. PKD felt that being fully human required empathy.
- yomlica8 3y agoI guess I kind of felt it was a wacky way to establish that, and I felt it wasn't necessary. The absence of it in the androids would be sufficient to highlight it. The aspect of Mercerism being unveiled as a fraud being the androids grand plan and it not mattering (because Mercer being a real deity was never the actual point anyway) was great at highlighting how the entire idea was just a bridge to far for the androids. I probably just have some bias here since I like the film's nuanced interpretation of the androids and having one of them show mercy at the last moment is a better twist to me.
- Finnucane 3y agoThe book goes the other way--in the end, Deckard quits his job because he is starting to feel empathy for the androids.