Replicant

This article is about characters from Blade Runner. For the 2001 film, see Replicant (film).

A replicant is a bioengineered or biorobotic being created in the film Blade Runner. The Nexus series — genetically designed by the Tyrell Corporation — are virtually identical to an adult human, but have superior strength, agility, and variable intelligence depending on the model. Because of their physical similarity to humans a replicant must be detected by its lack of emotional responses and empathy to questions posed in a Voight-Kampff test. A derogatory term for a replicant is "skin-job."

Origin

Philip K. Dick's novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? which inspired Blade Runner used the term android (andy), but director Ridley Scott wanted a new term that did not have preconceptions. As David Peoples was rewriting the screenplay he consulted his daughter who was involved in microbiology and biochemistry. She suggested the term "replicating" which is the process of duplicating cells for cloning. From that Peoples came up with "replicant" and inserted it into Hampton Fancher's screenplay.

As for the Tyrell Corporation, it's probably homage to the 1974 fictional television series Kolchak: The Night Stalker, where the "Mr R.I.N.G." episode features a violent genetic-mechanical hybrid android that develops a survival instinct. To avoid deactivation, the android escapes and collects artifacts and possessions, attempting to become more "human". The manufacturer of the android is the "Tyrell Institute."

Replicants in the film

Rachael, a replicant.

Replicants are illegal on Earth after a bloody mutiny by Nexus-6s off-world. The Tyrell Corp. discovered that the longer a Nexus-6 lived the more life-experience it gained. With these memories they often developed their own emotional reflexes, and unstable personalities so Tyrell added a "fail-safe device" to Nexus-6 models: a built-in four-year lifespan to prevent them from developing their own "emotional responses." This was especially necessary for Mental-A models whose intellectual capacity at least matched their genetic designers.

Special police units (Blade Runners) are sent to investigate, test and ultimately "retire" (kill) replicants found on Earth. Because the escaped replicants are the latest Nexus-6 generation Deckard had no experience with them, and wasn't even sure if the Voight-Kampff test would work given Holden was surprised by a Nexus-6.

Escaped replicants (all Nexus-6 Physical-A models):

• Roy Batty (played by Rutger Hauer) is a self-sufficient combat model for the colonization defence program. (Mental-A)
• Pris (played by Darryl Hannah) a basic pleasure model for military personnel. (Mental-B)
• Zhora (played by Joanna Cassidy) was retrained for political homicide. (Mental-B)
• Leon (played by Brion James) is a combat model or loader for nuclear fission. (Mental-C)
• Hodge was killed in an electrical field at the Tyrell Corporation.
• Mary, the 6th replicant was cut from the script creating a plot hole and speculation among fans whether Deckard was the 6th replicant with new memories.

Pris and Zhora's descriptions were mixed up (perhaps on purpose) in the film: Zhora acts as a "basic pleasure model", attempting to pass off as a stripper, while Pris is capable of acrobatic combat moves which nearly kill Deckard.

Other replicants:

• Rachael (played by Sean Young) is a prototype Nexus-6 (possibly a more advanced model, i.e. Nexus-7) with implanted memories from Eldon Tyrell's niece.

Tyrell developed Rachael as an experimental replicant with false memory implants, so she would think she was human. Tyrell said that these memories would act as a "pillow" to cushion her developing emotions. As a result, Rachael behaved far more "human" than any previous replicant. Normal replicants aren't very empathetic or "human" in character, and are emotionally unstable, largely because the experiences humans develop over decades they have to squeeze into four years. Thus, Leon who is only two years old is somewhat immature; while four year old Roy Batty who is feeling the effects of his impending death shows a range of emotions. Roy appears capable of love, guilt, sorrow, and empathy (although these emotions confuse him to a degree). In the end, Roy is something of a Blake-type character in the film, and almost a hero. He even saves Deckard's life, even though Deckard was sent to kill him.

The theatrical cut's voiceover ending said that as an experimental replicant Rachael didn't have the pre-determined four-year lifespan, but the Director's Cut left that ambiguous.

In Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? the Rosen Corporation simply did not know how to manufacture an android capable of living longer than four years.

Was Deckard a replicant?

Main article: Themes in Blade Runner

Blade Runner's dark paranoid atmosphere – and multiple versions of the film – adds fuel to the speculation and debate over this issue.

In the book, Rick Deckard (the main character) is at one point tricked into following an andy, who believes himself to be a police officer, to a faked police station. Deckard then escapes and "retires" some andys there before returning to his own police station. However, Deckard takes the Voigt-Kampff (different spelling) test and it fails to indicate that he is an android.

Harrison Ford, who played Deckard in the film, has said that he did not think Deckard was a replicant, and also states he and the director had discussions that ended in the agreement that the character was human. Director Ridley Scott has said that Deckard is a replicant. He collects photographs, seen crowding over his piano, yet has no obvious family, beyond a reference to his ex-wife (who called him cold fish). Furthermore in the Director's Cut police officer Gaff (played by Edward James Olmos) leaves Rick Deckard an origami Unicorn a day after Rick dreamed of one. Just before Deckard finds the unicorn, Gaff says to him in passing, "It's too bad she [Rachael] won't live...then again, who does?"

Paul Sammon, author of Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner, has suggested in interviews that Deckard may be a Nexus-7, a next-generation replicant who possesses no superhuman strength or intelligence, but brain implants that complete the human illusion. Sammon also suggests that Nexus-7 replicants may not have a preset lifespan (i.e., they could be immortal).

Čapek's robots

The Robots from Karel Čapek's play R.U.R., where the word robot was first used, were not made of metal like those we associate the word with nowadays, but were artificial biological beings similar to the replicants in Blade Runner.

Replicants in popular culture

• The genetically engineered troops in the later film Soldier are Nexus-series replicants. Both films are set in the same fictional universe.
• One of the most prominent examples of Replicant-like robots in modern culture are the humanoid Cylons on the Sci-Fi Channel series Battlestar Galactica. Blade Runner was acknowledged as an influence on the series. Actor Edward James Olmos, who stars in the series, also co-starred in Blade Runner. Further, Tricia Helfer, who plays the main humanoid-Cylon character "Number Six" on the series, was having trouble determining how to play a humanoid robot when production began, so co-star Olmos advised her to watch Blade Runner: Helfer has stated that it greatly informed how she approached the role. The human resistance on Cylon-occupied Caprica even referred to the bio-mechanical humanoid Cylons as "skin jobs", the prejudicial slang term for Replicants from Blade Runner, in the late season 2 episode "Downloaded". This was met with popular reception by fans, and many characters in season 3 now regularly refer to the humanoid Cylons as "skin jobs".
• In the TV Show Stargate SG-1, a race of technological nano-machine based robots known as the Replicators eventually made humanoid Replicator androids.
• The Replicants was also the name of a Demo crew involved in the Atari ST demoscene.
• In the anime series Bubblegum Crisis, the character Priss Asagiri is named after the replicant Pris and leads a band called The Replicants.
• In the TV show Earth: Final Conflict, the Jaridian race employ shapeshifting machines to scout and attack Earth. These machines were called replicants.
• In the dystopian video-game Flashback, some android enemies are referred to as CY-BORG 2.1 or replicants.
• In the sci-fi video-game Snatcher, the storyline centers around a police detective searching for robots who masqerade as humans, much like replicants.
• In Deep Space Nine episode "Whispers" replicants were mentioned.
• The comedy series Red Dwarf includes violent humanform androids called "simulants", which is probably intended as a play on "replicants".
• The Realians in the Xenosaga trilogy of video games are bio-engineered humanoids similar to Replicants. Two of the playable characters in the game are in fact Realians. Although the main plot is not explicitly centered on them, several plot points throughout the trilogy involve issues related to their humanity (or lack thereof).
• The concept of Bioroids used in many cyberpunk books, games, comics, and anime seems to be very close to that of Replicants, sometimes being virtually the same thing.
• German Power Metal band Blind Guardian's song "Time, What is Time" is loosely based on the film and speak about replicants (The things she remembered / Had never been her own / Replicant or human).

References

• Sammon, Paul. (1996) Future Noir: the Making of Blade Runner. (aka: Blade Runner Bible) ISBN 0-06-105314-7

External links

• BRmovie.com - The Blade Runner FAQ – What are Replicants?