When reading "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep," I thought of how the earlier androids were easier to be detected by the bounty hunters due to their limited intelligence. However, as android technology improved, bounty hunters had to administer the Voigt-Kampff empathy test in order to distinguish humans from androids. This test was done by measuring empathetic responses, or lack thereof, from questions designed to evoke an emotional response, often including animal subjects and themes. Since androids lack empathy, their responses are either absent or feigned and are measurably slower than a human's.
This made me think of serial killers, psychopaths, and hardened criminals in real life. Many of these types of people lack empathy, compassion, and sense of remorse that the larger portion of society would be able to express. There are men who would rape and kill, finding it as thrilling as if they were children going out to devour ice cream. They are like monsters living among us, among human beings, hidden in society with the exterior of humans. It makes me think of this quote from the anime "Death Note," in which the detective known simply as "L" confesses to a child that his greatest fear are monsters, and gives this explanation:
There are...many types of monsters in this world: Monsters who will not show themselves and who cause trouble; monsters who abduct children; monsters who devour dreams; monsters who suck blood, and... monsters who always tell lies. Lying monsters are a real nuisance. They are much more cunning than other monsters. They pose as humans even though they have no understanding of the human heart. They eat even though they've never experienced hunger. They study even though they have no interest in academics. They seek friendship even though they do not know how to love. If I were to encounter such a monster, I would likely be eaten by it. Because in truth, I am that monster.”
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