Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

In a future where Earth is almost empty because of a big war and everyone moved to Mars, fake people called androids run away and pretend to be humans. A hunter named Rick has to find and stop these super-smart androids using a special eye test that checks if you have real feelings for animals and people. Rick wonders if androids can feel love or dreams like us, and he learns that sometimes humans aren't as nice as they think, while living with his fake sheep and a machine that changes his mood.

In Philip K. Dick's 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?', set in a post-apocalyptic 2021 San Francisco ravaged by nuclear fallout, bounty hunter Rick Deckard is tasked with 'retiring' six rogue Nexus-6 androids who have escaped from Mars. These advanced replicants, indistinguishable from humans except through the Voigt-Kampff empathy test, challenge the boundaries of humanity as Deckard navigates a world obsessed with owning real animals—status symbols in a dying ecosystem—while grappling with his own electric sheep and using a mood organ to regulate emotions. The novel weaves in the religion of Mercerism, a simulated empathy-sharing experience that binds survivors, exposing the fragility of human compassion amid isolation and decay. As Deckard pursues his quarry, including the seductive Rachael Rosen and the vengeful Roy Baty, he confronts profound philosophical questions about identity, authenticity, and the nature of life. Encounters with special J.R. Isidore, a 'chickenhead' living in abandoned luxury apartments, highlight societal prejudices and the blurred lines between human flaws and android perfection. The story culminates in a tense, revelatory climax that subverts expectations, leaving Deckard—and readers—to ponder whether true humanity lies in empathy, suffering, or the illusion of both, cementing Dick's reputation for existential sci-fi mastery.