Being Human

Abstract

The scene is the cavernous office of Dr Eldon Tyrell, the brilliant, eponymous CEO of the Tyrell Corporation and the creative genius responsible for the synthetic humans known as replicants. Rick Deckard had just administered the VoightKampff test to Rachael — ostensibly Tyrell’s niece. After Rachael is brusquely dismissed by Tyrell, the two men talk. Tyrell confirms that Rachael is a replicant that does not know that it is a replicant. Deckard is stunned: ‘How can it not know what it is?’ As Tyrell proceeds to explain, his company has created a new experimental model that is even more humanlike than previous models. Not only is Rachael physically almost indistinguishable from a human, she also has memory implants that lead her to believe that she is human. As Tyrell explains, ‘Commerce is our goal here at Tyrell. “More Human than Human” is our motto.’ Tyrell’s boast notwithstanding, Deckard now knows that Rachael is a replicant. Of course, at that point she still believes herself to be human; but in that she is deeply mistaken.

‘“More Human than Human” is our motto.’

(Dr Eldon Tyrell, to Rick Deckard)