Hacker News Reader

So, is Deckard a replicant?

Why don’t you ask him?

Of course he is.

Of course, he isn't. Later attempts to shoehorn him into being one in subsequent editions cheapen Batty's act of forgiving him. Thus, it is wrong.

Deckard being a replicant makes for a good sci-fi twist, heavier on the technological aspect of sci-fi rather than the reflection of our worries that it commonly poses, and an interesting solution to The Question as a puzzle.

And also cheapens the plot and the questions it poses by a lot, a lot. The movie leaves you with more after watching it if he isn't, or if it's just ambiguous.

It's ambiguous in the film and far more interesting if he's not, as it becomes an interrogation of what makes us human, and forces us to accept our imperfection and that of our fellow man.

Well, besides that you know, the obvious implications for the rights of intelligent beings, natural or not, but since we won't have strong AI for a while and it wasn't about animal rights no matter how much you stretch it, we're left with questions about our own nature and how we relate to other humans.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com