“Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep” by American author Philip K. Dick is known for a multitude of reasons; aside from the combined science fiction prevalence and influence of its great film adaptation, as well as general critical acclaim, it is a deep novel with a multitude of advanced themes. Thereamong, the issue of simulacrum is raised together with a meditation on the bane of the human condition—that is: entropy and mortality. Even though the latter in particular is not central, the story of Rick Deckard taking prime focus, it is precisely that which has fascinated me about the novel and thence it is this element which I will discuss in the article following.
PKD’s1 analysis and discussion of entropy is incredibly and surprisingly complex, as illustrated by the way in which the aforementioned concepts are portrayed. Namely, the duality of entropy is embodied in the form of Mercer and Kipple, two archetypes or memes2 who are presented as opposites. Kipple is more or less the in-universe equivalent of entropy, while Mercer is a slightly more complex paradigm; as he isn’t purely antithetical to Kipple. The struggle between the two may be outright Sisyphean, but the details and nuance differentiate this rivalry from classic chaos and order motifs.
More specifically, the author portrays Mercer as being a messianic figure in tact with other such archetypes, this form not followed expressly, however. As it is told in the novel, Mercer at first had the desire to return dead things to the living, in an obviously anti-entropic and cliché manner. However, he soon realised that this struggle is unachievable and turned to accepting entropy as being part of existence.
The vision of him scaling a hill is a typically seen portrayal of this. In an extended metaphor, he accepts rocks being thrown at him as being part of his uphill journey; these are the obstacles—the enemies and entropy taking its toll on a weary old man. In that manner he concedes to the proper course of the universe: things move towards heat death. Everything is eroded by master of all—time, but the archetype of the person who treks through impenetrable entropy gets the last laugh, for he is eternal.
Conversely, Kipple appears everywhere: in apartment buildings, in the radioactive dust, the rocks, the androids; everything seems to be collapsing and thence corrupting the human soul along with it—J.R. Isidore, another character in the novel, experiences such death and decay in one of his visions: “Again, he thought, It’s happening to me again. I will be down here a long time, he realized. As before. It’s always long, because nothing here ever changes; a point comes when it does not even decay. A dry wind rustled, and around him the heaps of bones broke. Even the wind destroys them, he perceived. At this stage. Just before time ceases.”3 It is here that Mercerism4 finds its true application.
Mercerism is both philosophy and religion. In part it attempts to combat that depressing reality by uniting humans through their empathy; the only thing that differentiates humans from androids. Otherwise it functions as a set of principles that humans follow in an increasingly inhumane, inhuman, and yes, even nonhuman world.
Herein the concept of fusion stands as another piece of the puzzle. Those with empathy are capable of “fusing” with the Mercer by the use of the “empathy box” and thence are able to experience his and others’ Sisyphean struggles. This is done repeatedly. Mercer scales the mountain while being humiliated, over and over again; and the people participating in the ritual are along for the ride. This virtual cathartic fellowship then partially resolves the dreary reality of the remaining humans on Earth, as they experience Mercer’s and others’ apparent feelings, and therein pain.
The mood organ poses a very similar function in being able to regulate the emotions of its user. Deckard’s wife Iran uses it constantly in the novel, sometimes to great effect. Nevertheless, one may say that it is only a temporary solution to the bane of existence. Truly, one may liken it to substances which affect humans in a certain way which are, truthfully, long extant even in our reality. However, suffice it to say, that these are almost never the final resolution of our problems; dealing only with symptoms and not causes. Mercerism is thence a more complete system of resolving the roots of issues, but not one without scrutiny.
Towards the end of the novel the concept of Mercerism gets criticised and deconstructed by Buster Friendly, an android—TV and Radio host, who points out the apparent truth that Mercerism is a hoax; this done fairly convincingly—with consistent proof. However, Rick Deckard, J.R. Isidore, and surely others as well, remain believers. I would say that for them, Mercer is not real, he is hyperreal and archetypal. With the apparent lack of meaning in the depressing post World War Terminus world, the inhabitants of Earth need something to offset the dreary existence and the inevitable onset of death and Kipple, entropy. That solution is not merely a device that can alter states of consciousness, but a moral and philosophical system which can resolve the entropic bane that everyone deals with on a daily basis.
This draws plenty of parallels to reality, wherein faith is constantly being deconstructed. What often lacks, however, is the understanding that the archetype is oftentimes more important than the discussion of whether something is real or not. Namely, the archetype can become eternal if it describes a mode of being, which is repeated, and transferred by memetics; this in spite of the truth of its origin. Case in point, even when the actor that plays Mercer is found to be an old drunk by Buster Friendly, people believe in the idea that Mercerism portrays. And thence Kipple is beat, for even when the man erodes, the archetype still persists. Likewise, archetypes present in faiths, with potentially doubtful origins, still communicate a mode of being that powerfully transcends time.
Conclusively, it is difficult to pinpoint precisely what PKD intends to point out with this specific element in the novel, but it seems as if what is being presented, in part at least, is a solution to the entropic problem of humanity—that a consistent philosophical and, dare I say, religious, system can set us free from a dreary existence by its principles. This philosophy and way of thinking is fascinating to me as it shows the issue from a futuristic, dystopian perspective. All in all, PKD stands, for me at least, as a brilliant writer, who has not only written a fantastic science fiction novel and built an amazing world, but also expanded certain philosophical ideas in a new direction.