Future thoughts in present time…

Every time I watch this movie this scene, it always gets to me. The combination of the end game, where the machine realizes its dream of becoming a human will never be foreseen. The nature of the current environment created an atmosphere of subtle subjugation where things such as them were hunted down like the animals. The assumption of them developing emotions and creative thought that one day they would become more than a thing. They would determine their own path in life and inherit the struggles of failing and the victory of joyful emotions. Could Roy dream of electric sheep?

Deckard would just kill him nonetheless.

I guess it all depends on your upbringing. If you was bought up as a free thinker or grown in religion. One offers the knowledge to establish ones own foundation, the other has a foundation already present. Both influences the person’s ability to expand or stagnat their particular understanding of the surroundings. The mention of human worth is splendid to the average human. Our worth could be seen as a progression of spirit, mind and body. The belief in certain goals that would be attained from work, creating our own imaginations that would have trouble understanding any thought variation that differs from our dogma. Yet these goals are still need to be written, spoken into existence even with a hint of suppression or inactivity. Those are the risks and struggles of life, they cannot be avoided. Without such notions the development of humans would be at stand still; my guess a 600 year regression with little progression.

Back to Roy, he didn’t ask for this nor did his companions. They were built to follow the orders of humans. They were given dreams and cognitive content that were not their own. They were molded to follow, listen, believe, and even talk a prevarication. They would kill, pleasure, and obey any order by the state. Again human. The world around them was dying, all animals disappearing without any known rational motive. It would be illogical for Roy to want to come into such a place. A place of quiet deaths and visible oppression.

He wanted to be human more than he envision of life itself, but was he already there?

There are some who would scoff at that question, in fact would place it so far out of their mind that they would choose not to believe it even existed. Are they afraid of their personal brief system would be in danger due to such a question? I would say give it a try, ponder it for a session or two, maybe a week or more or even for a year. Just think on such a notion with deep thought striving for clarification. Was Roy developing into a human, an entity who was self aware of oneself and have the emotions to identity what they were thinking, believing, and want for their respective lives. They would be the consummate everyman, innocent and naive. Well maybe not due to their initial nature of being willing to obey any order dictated by their humans controllers.

How could one who is made up so unnatural but behave as nature would had intended for a human? Roy had cause and effect. The effect was created from the choices he had made, positive and the negative. He develop the ability to reason with his decisions and at low times felt sadness over them. I would dare say he was empathetic. I suppose I would question as he killed so easily with little effort. His face however showed pain in such an act, just for a little but it was there.

I’m thinking it was hidden from me, maybe our own bias.

So the question is could a machine become a sentient being who can develop a cause and effect from the goals one sets for themselves with the influences of emotions and rational thought?

Or should we just stop right there and wish such an inquiry did not exist?

(Phillip K. Dick is one of the greatest writers I had the honor of reading!  Above movie clip is from Bladerunner with Harrison Ford, based off from Dick’s book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?)