‘do androids dream of electric sheep?’ philip k. dick

PHILIP K. DICK
DO ANDROIDS
DREAM
OF ELECTRIC SHEEP?
ONE
A merry little surge of electricity piped by automatic alarm from the mood organ beside his bed
Awakened Rick Deckard. Surprised – it always surprised him to find himself awake without prior
Notice – he rose from the bed, stood up in his multicolored pajamas, and stretched. Now, in her bed,
His wife Iran opened her gray, unmerry eyes, blinked, then groaned and shut her eyes again.
“You set your Penfield too weak he said to her. “I’ll reset it and you’ll be awake and – “
“Keep your hand off my settings.” Her voice held bitter sharpness. “I don’t want to be awake.”
He seated himself beside her, bent over her, and explained softly. “If you set the surge up high
Enough, you’ll be glad you’re awake; that’s the whole point. At setting C it overcomes the threshold
Barring consciousness, as it does for me.” Friendlily, because he felt well-disposed toward the world
His setting had been at D – he patted her bare, pate shoulder.
“Get your crude cop’s hand away,” Iran said.
“I’m not a cop – ” He felt irritable, now, although he hadn’t dialed for it.
“You’re worse,” his wife said, her eyes still shut. “You’re a murderer hired by the cops.
“I’ve never killed a human being in my life.” His irritability had risen, now; had become outright
Hostility.
Iran said, “Just those poor andys.”
“I notice you’ve never had any hesitation as to spending the bounty money I bring home on
Whatever momentarily attracts your attention.” He rose, strode to the console of his mood organ.
“Instead of saving,” he said, “so we could buy a real sheep, to replace

that fake electric one upstairs.
A mere electric animal, and me earning all that I’ve worked my way up to through the years.” At his
Console he hesitated between dialing for a thalamic suppressant (which would abolish his mood of
Rage) or a thalamic stimulant (which would make him irked enough to win the argument).
“If you dial,” Iran said, eyes open and watching, “for greater venom, then I’ll dial the same. I’ll dial
The maximum and you’ll see a fight that makes every argument we’ve had up to now seem like
Nothing. Dial and see; just try me.” She rose swiftly, loped to the console of her own mood organ,
Stood glaring at him, waiting.
He sighed, defeated by her threat. “I’ll dial what’s on my schedule for today.” Examining the
Schedule for January 3, 1992, he saw that a businesslike professional attitude was called for. “If I dial
By schedule,” he said warily, “will you agree to also?” He waited, canny enough not to commit
Himself until his wife had agreed to follow suit.
“My schedule for today lists a six-hour self-accusatory depression,” Iran said.
“What? Why did you schedule that?” It defeated the whole purpose of the mood organ. “I didn’t
Even know you could set it for that,” he said gloomily.
“I was sitting here one afternoon,” Iran said, “and naturally I had tamed on Buster Friendly and His
Friendly Friends and he was talking about a big news item he’s about to break and then that awful
Commercial came on, the one I hate; you know, for Mountibank Lead Codpieces. And so for a
Minute I shut off the sound. And I heard the building, this building; I heard the – ” She gestured.
“Empty apartments,” Rick said. Sometimes he heard them at night when he was supposed to be
Asleep. And yet, for this day and age a one-half occupied conapt building rated high in the scheme of
Population density; out in what had been before the war the suburbs one could find buildings entirely
Empty. . . or so he had heard.