Dick, Philip K.
The inspiration for Bladerunner. . . Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? was published in 1968. Grim and foreboding
even today it is a masterpiece ahead of its time. By 2021
the World War had killed millions
driving entire species into extinction and sending mankind off-planet. Those who remained coveted any living creature
and for people who couldn't afford one
companies built incredibly realistic simulacrae: horses
birds
cats
sheep. . . They even built humans. Emigrees to Mars received androids so sophisticated it was impossible to tell them from true men or women. Fearful of the havoc these artificial humans could wreak
the government banned them from Earth. But when androids didn't want to be identified
they just blended in. Rick Deckard was an officially sanctioned bounty hunter whose job was to find rogue androids
and to retire them. But cornered
androids tended to fight back
with deadly results.