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finds a dead body - his own. Just before he blows up, Olham has a feeling of
surprise at finding out that he really is a robot. The story illustrates a classic
Philip K. Dick nightmare about AI. How can one tell an android simulating
a human from a human? In this case, Dick adds the twist that even Olham
cannot tell the difference - all of the android's memories are the same as the
human version of himself. A movie version of “Imposter” was released in 2002.
Dick explored these themes of identity and memory in two more works that
were made into successful movies - Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? , which
became Blade Runner ( Fig. 17.14 ), and “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale,”
which became Total Recall ( Fig. 17.15 ).
Dick's obsession with the idea of the world around us being just a
simulation received a modern movie treatment with the release of The Matrix in
1999. Intelligent machines have taken over the Earth and now breed humans
in gigantic incubators. The humans are connected into an incredibly real
computer simulation of the world with people apparently going about their
everyday lives, loves, and careers. The hero of the movie is a computer hacker,
Thomas Anderson, who discovers that the day-to-day banality of life is virtual
and there is a life and death struggle going on between the machines and a
band of rebel humans. Anderson is contacted by the rebel group who introduce
him to the unpleasant reality of the world. He is identified as the “messiah”
who will lead humans to ultimate victory over the machines ( Fig. 17.16 ).
Fig. 17.12. An imagined sentient robot
from the novel Robopocalypse by Daniel
Wilson.
The English counterculture
In contrast to the seriousness of much of American science fiction, English
science fiction writers introduced a much more lighthearted tone of self-parody.
We look at three examples - the TV series Red Dwarf written by Doug Grant and
Rob Naylor, Douglas Adams's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy , and the Hex com-
puter at Unseen University on Terry Pratchett's Discworld .
The opening credits of Star Trek announce that the Starship Enterprise
“boldly goes” to new frontiers and brings with it the federation's benevolent
humanitarian culture. By contrast, the crew of Red Dwarf unashamedly “cow-
ardly drift” around the galaxy, running as fast as they can from any threaten-
ing situations ( Fig. 17.17 ). Computer technology is everywhere but is used only
Fig. 17.13. Minimalistic poster for the
movie Minority Report . The plot of the
movie is based on a short story by Philip
K. Dick. The hero, played by Tom Cruise,
is shown searching police databases
using hand gestures. Such gesture-
based technology is now a reality with
Microsoft Kinect technology.
B.17.12. The work of science fiction novelist Philip K. Dick (1928-82) is now enjoying a major
revival. He is perhaps best known for his 1968 novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? that was
made into the memorable movie Blade Runner by director Ridley Scott. His short story “We Can
Remember It for You Wholesale” was the inspiration for the movie Total Recall . His 1962 novel The
Man in the High Castle is one of the best “Alternate Worlds” science fiction novels and pictures a
United States dominated by the Germans and the Japanese after their victory in World War II.
 
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