Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick (1994, Abridged, Audio Cassette)

With very few exceptions, literary visions of the future are bleak and dystopian. Science fiction literature it seems wants to instill fear into the minds of its readers, or at least make the reader extremely cautious to the dangers of "technology run amok." It is difficult to say what motivates the authors to present the future in this fashion. But from the standpoint the marketplace it certainly is a formula that works, as is readily apparent by its wide readership. And the authors, these provocateurs of the amygdala, continue to put more of this anti-technological diatribe on paper.

This book, first published in 1968, represents one of such works, but in spite of this it turns out to be very insightful into the current technological morass called the twenty-first century. All of the characters in the book, human and otherwise, represent many of the moods and concerns of the twenty-first century citizen. The devastating third world war of this book did not happen but the anxieties that some feel about technology are reflected in this book in the killing of the androids (the "andys") and the fear that the "empathy box" may change one's identity permanently. Indeed, the events in this book have their analogs today in the purposeful destruction of genetically engineered crops by some fanatical groups and the research labs that produce them, and also in the misguided legislation that has attempted to thwart developments in genetics and molecular biology. Those who carry out these activities evidently do not foresee their consequences to human health, and have no empathy it seems for those who may starve or die because of the lack of food or medicines brought about by genetic engineering (perhaps they need an empathy box of the sort described in this book to assist them in gaining insight into their actions).

This story can still be enjoyed however by those readers who strongly advocate technological advance and are proud of human accomplishments in this regard. This is so because it is a kind of adventure story, and will make such readers salivate at the mouth when it discusses robotic ("electric") animals, human colonies on Mars, videophones, and hover cars. In addition, the author it seems had a rudimentary knowledge of cognitive neuroscience, at least at the level of what was available at the time of publication. And without conscious awareness perhaps, the reader can feel empathy for the androids, which must constantly face the prospect of execution or an irreversible four-year lifespan. Perhaps an update of this story is in order, but perhaps not. After all, this is the twenty-first century, and one need only pick up a technical journal or newspaper to read about technological developments that are much more exciting than what is contained in this story. And thankfully there is more ahead, much, much more.