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Chapter 10
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Humanity and Empathy
Reality vs. Artificiality
Alienation
Religion and Faith
Consumerism
Summary
Analysis
As Resch leaves Garland’s office to retrieve testing equipment, Garland cryptically warns Resch that he won’t like the results. After Resch exits, Garland pulls a laser tube on Rick. Rick tells Garland that killing him would be pointless, as Resch would still administer the test. Garland hesitates and then lowers the weapon. Then, Garland explains that androids like himself and others in the building arrived together from Mars, posing as humans, and infiltrated this parallel police department. Along with many others, Garland reveals, Resch is an android. Garland also explains that the call Rick made to Iran was rerouted to someone in Garland’s department.
Garland’s decision to lower the weapon and confess his android identity reveals a startling truth: the infiltration of androids extends even to law enforcement, institutions that are supposed to uphold humanity’s dominance. By implicating Resch as an android and explaining the rerouted call to Iran, Garland sows further doubt about the reliability of Rick’s reality, introducing the unsettling possibility that humanity’s systems have already been irreversibly compromised.
Themes
When Resch returns with the testing equipment, Garland immediately attempts to kill him with the laser tube. Resch reacts swiftly, firing his own weapon and killing Garland with a precise shot to the head. Resch inspects the android’s body, noting that it acted exactly as he expected. Resch expresses disbelief over the situation, wondering how he had unknowingly worked under androids for years. He speculates whether his own memories might be fabricated, a possibility that unsettles him. Despite his confusion, Resch prepares to leave, propping up Garland’s body in his chair to temporarily avoid suspicion.
Resch’s swift reaction to Garland’s attack juxtaposes his physical efficiency with the emotional chaos that follows. His immediate action demonstrates an unthinking adherence to survival, but his introspection afterward reveals the depth of his unease. As he examines Garland’s android body, Resch’s disbelief becomes palpable, and his musings on fabricated memories turn what could be a straightforward victory into a profound personal crisis. The concept of working alongside androids unknowingly highlights the thin veil separating humans from the artificial.
Themes
As they navigate the building, Resch handcuffs himself to Rick for security. The two make their way to the roof, passing unnoticed by other officers. Resch considers the possibility that his department has always been compromised, and he becomes increasingly introspective about his identity. Once airborne in Resch’s hovercar, they head toward the opera house to confront Luft. Resch insists Rick test him afterward, suspecting what the results might reveal. To justify his humanity, Resch recounts his care for his pet squirrel, which he claims to love. Rick avoids confirming or denying Resch’s suspicions, focusing instead on the immediate task of retiring Luft.
The journey to the roof is both a literal and metaphorical ascent into uncertainty. Resch’s growing introspection exposes his fragile sense of self, as his request for the Voigt-Kampff test reflects his desperation for validation. By bringing up his care for a pet squirrel, Resch ties his humanity to an emotional bond, once again emphasizing empathy as a distinguishing human trait. Rick’s unwillingness to fully entertain Resch’s concerns speaks to Rick’s own discomfort with really interrogating what’s real and what’s artificial.
Themes
