Deckard: Replicant or human?

"The custom-tailored, genetically engineered humanoid Replicant designed especially for your needs."

There is a significant difference between a human and a humanoid.

Depends on your point of view.

1. It would be hard to sell 'genetically engineered humans' ("that's what it is to be a slave"). Humanoids are much more palatable as a marketable entity. Calling Replicants 'humanoid' dehumanizes them.

2. Replicants are viewed as "machines" by cops, yet Tyrell calls them "more human than human." We're not told how the public views them. We only have vague hints as to how they are created.

3. In the past, certain groups of humans were marginalized by referring to them as sub-human, or humanoid. Likely the same attitude would continue into the future.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanoid
A humanoid (/ˈhjuːmənɔɪd/; from English human and -oid "resembling") is something that has an appearance resembling a human being. The earliest recorded use of the term, in 1870, referred to indigenous peoples in areas colonized by Europeans.

What do we know? The four-year lifespan is genetically engineered by using Sebastian's genes; he ages more quickly because of Methuselah syndrome.

"Pris: Thanks. -- How old are you?
Sebastian: Twenty-five.
Pris: What's your problem?
Sebastian: Methuselah's syndrome.
Pris: What's that?
Sebastian: My glands. They grow old too fast."

----

"Roy: Why are you staring at us Sebastian?
Sebastian: Because. You're so different. You're so perfect.
Roy: Yes.
Sebastian: What generation are you?
Roy: Nexus six.
Sebastian: Ah, I knew it. 'Cause I do genetic design work for the Tyrell Corporation. There's some of me in you. Show me something.
Roy: Like what?
Sebastian: Like anything.
Roy: We're not computers Sebastian, we're physical.
Pris: I think, Sebastian, therefore I am.
Roy: Very good Pris, now show him why.
[Pris throws hot egg at Sebastian]
Roy: We've got a lot in common.
Sebastian: What do you mean?
Roy: Similar problems.
Pris: Accelerated decrepitude."
Referring to the 4-year life span.

Also, we know that Chew makes, or at least designs, eyes for replicants. SOME replicants might need enhanced vision and would need their eyes replaced with superior designs.

"Chew: Don't know -- I, I don't know such stuff. I just do eyes. Just eyes -- Just genetic design -- just eyes. You Nexus, huh? I design your eyes.
Roy: Chew, if only you could see what I've seen with your eyes."

Appears like the question is still unanswered. Obviously, human DNA is used (Sebastian), but we don't know the process by which Replicants are created.

If you have an organ transplant, are you still human? If Roy has an eye transplant, does that make him less human? It's not like he's a Frankenstein-type monster, he's just an enhanced being with human DNA.

Good point: human or humanoid? It's not a cut and dried question.
If they can reproduce with humans (which we don't know) then they are of our species, and therefore human. If they can't, is it by accident or design? An impotent or sterile human is still human although they cannot reproduce.

Impossible is illogical.
Lack of evidence is not proof.
 +  = 

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As much as I love philosophical debates and movies with questions that fans can discuss for years afterward, the whole "Is Deckard a Replicant or not" argument is one that I never understood in the first place. Yet whenever I search on the Internet, it seems almost all of the arguments I find are in favor of Deckard being a Replicant.

Now I've seen the original version of Blade Runner on TV and I have the DVD of the Director's Cut from 1992 (which I personally prefer), and in both versions I still believe that Deckard is human. In fact, the major reason it seems that people are still claiming Deckard must be a Replicant is because Ridley Scott decided he wanted to have Deckard be a Replicant too.

However, there are multiple reasons presented throughout the film that explains why Deckard is NOT a Replicant:

1.) Batty and his group are all Nexus-6 models, which are the most advanced Replicants out there which is why they have the Voight-Kampf Test, because there's no other way to tell if they aren't human. Deckard has been a Blade Runner for years and is even "retired," which means he can't be a Nexus-6 because he wouldn't be able to pass as a human.

2.) As I just mentioned, Deckard is "retired," or at least on break from being a cop at the beginning of the film. If Deckard was a Replicant, he wouldn't be "retired" as in quit working, he'd be "retired" as in "executed" like other Replicants to prevent him from going rogue. The cops even make it a point to call it "retirement," so it wouldn't make sense for them to call Deckard "retired" and have him still on the loose. Also, if he was a Replicant and was allowed to retire like a human, he'd pose too much of a risk out walking the streets.

3.) Why would Tyrell explain to Deckard the whole process of implanted memories and fooling Replicants into thinking they're human? If Deckard were a Replicant, then doing so would only cause him to begin doubting himself until he uncovered the truth, and that would pose a huge risk to both Tyrell and the cops. Especially for Tyrell, since he needs the Blade Runner to stop his defective products wandering the streets and causing another Replicant to go rogue would be counter-productive.

4.) If Deckard was a Replicant, then he would likely be a combat model like Batty or the other Replicants. However, Deckard is repeatedly almost killed by the Replicants because his reflexes aren't as fast and he isn't nearly as strong. If Deckard was a Replicant, then that means he isn't aware of his own advanced capabilities (which would be a complete waste of the police department's time on having their own Replicant in the first place). And again, he wouldn't be a Nexus-6 model and thus wouldn't be able to pass for human anyway.

5.) Everybody points to the origami unicorn as a definitive sign that Deckard must be a Replicant because that must mean that Gaff knows Deckard's dreams. Again, even if Deckard were a Replicant, he couldn't be one of the most recent models. Rachel isn't even a Nexus-6, she's an experimental model, and Tyrell suggests as much. The whole "implanting memories to make them think they're human" thing isn't Replicant-wide, it's something the Tyrell Corporation is just now starting to experiment with. That means Deckard couldn't have implanted memories because Rachel is the only Replicant who has those because she's practically just out of the laboratory.

6.) As for Deckard dreaming about a unicorn in the first place, remember when Deckard asks Rachel if their owl is artificial, to which Rachel replies "Obviously" and that it is very expensive. The Earth by 2019 has become extremely heavily industrialized and thus extremely polluted. This is even reflected in how the government is urging people to move to colonies in outer space.

With the environment so f!cked up, animals of any species are most likely extinct, or on the verge of it. Seeing an animal in real-life for people in 2019 that wasn't artificial would be like seeing something out of mythology, like a UNICORN. Seeing something mythological like a unicorn, when normal animals are an extreme rarity, is certainly impossible. Also notice how the rest of Deckard's dream takes place in a lush woodland environment, which would also be an impossibility in the Los Angeles of 2019 where people like Deckard probably spend their entire lives. It could just be Deckard's subconscious trying to reconcile with the industrialized world he lives in.

7.) Gaff revealing that he supposedly knows Deckard's dreams and thus revealing to Deckard that not only is he a Replicant but that the cops have known this whole time would only create more problems. Deckard is known as the best Blade Runner the police department's ever had, and the case involving Batty's group has shaken Deckard to his core psychologically. The cops are probably aware of this considering they're carrying out 24/7 surveillance on everyone and Gaff is definitely keeping tabs on Deckard. If the cops know that Deckard is already unstable and then Gaff decides at that time to shatter Deckard's sense of identity and reality, then all they're doing is just asking for the best Blade Runner they've ever had to go rogue. Which again, if he's a Replicant owned by the police than it would make no sense for them to do so.

8.) Gaff leaving Deckard an origami unicorn does not automatically mean he's seen Deckard's dreams anyway. A quick scan of the Wikipedia article on unicorns says under "Middle Ages and Renaissance" that "Interpretations of the unicorn myth focus on the medieval lore of beguiled lovers", or that "the lover is attracted to his lady as the unicorn is to the virgin." I know Wikipedia is not a definitive source but for the purpose of argument that sounds a little bit like Deckard and Rachel's relationship. Both are now going to be hunted by the police because Rachel is a Replicant and Deckard has been sheltering her. Or that Rachel is a "virgin" in the sense that she's just discovered her humanity and emotions, or in the more literal sense as she's likely never had a relationship before Deckard.

Gaff is a smart fellow and is able to pick up on Deckard's emotions. He does a chicken when Deckard tries to get out of the case, he does a man with an erection after Deckard meets Rachel, and does the unicorn at the end. Other interpretations of the unicorn depict virgins (Rachel) taming the unicorn (in this case Deckard), allowing the unicorn to be hunted. If this is the definition of what Gaff meant, then it could just be Gaff being a smart@$$ by showing the best Blade Runner being "tamed" by a virgin/Replicant/Rachel. Honestly, just about all of these different mythological depictions of the unicorn I think could be applied to Deckard and Rachel equally, which is one of the reasons why I love this movie.

9.) Gaff has already shown he's aware of Deckard's relationship with Rachel because he's constantly following Deckard, and is probably who the cops have tailing Deckard in case they need to call him in again. He left the origami man with an erection to show he's figured out how Deckard feels about Rachel, and he says "It's a shame she won't live. But then again who does?" showing that he understands Rachel is going to have to be "retired." However, at the end Deckard finds an origami unicorn in his apartment where Rachel is staying.

Whereas Deckard seems to resent Gaff (probably because it's his job to keep an eye on Deckard) and get frustrated and irritated by him, Gaff left a unicorn at his apartment instead of alerting the police or "retiring" Rachel himself to show Deckard that he's not going to touch Rachel or get them in trouble. Maybe Gaff was listening in on Deckard's apartment and heard Deckard tell Rachel that he wouldn't come after he, but "others" (meaning the police) would. It could be that Gaff, already aware of their secret relationship, knew Deckard's concerns about the omnipresent police and wanted to let his fellow cop know that he would leave Deckard be.

10.) Deckard could've come into work one day and said to Gaff "I had this really weird dream about a unicorn." Or the cops have to undergo psychological testing (which wouldn't be all that unusual for a cop whose job it is to "retire" Replicants that look and act exactly like people) and told the psychiatrist "I've had weird dreams about unicorns once in awhile." Gaff, being Deckard's tail, read his dossier, found out about Deckard's dreams that way and decided to screw with him.


Basically, the main reason I always seem to find for Deckard being a Replicant is either because people say "Gaff knows Deckard's dreams" or "Ridley Scott wanted it to be so it is." Scott himself has taken up the position that if you don't believe Deckard then you're a moron, and honestly as much as I like Scott's work I think that's kind of a d!ck move to the fans. Especially since, aside from a few brief scenes like the origami unicorn, nothing else in Blade Runner was filmed to support Deckard being a Replicant, and as stated above the whole movie is full of reasons why he isn't.

Sorry if it seems like my post got a little long, but I'm just tired of people saying Deckard HAS to be a Replicant and that's how it is. Hopefully I've explained my case well.

Can't be too careful with all those weirdos running around.

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