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The Android: A Servant or Sex Doll?
The object of the sex doll is to not only do the obvious, elicit sexual pleasure to those who use it, but the doll fills a void. The most common reason for an individual to purchase a sex doll is for the reason that there is an element of human interaction missing in their life. One might assume the individual is socially inept, unlucky in love, or simply views the doll as easily attainable in comparison to finding a real human; nevertheless the individual acquires no human interaction when using such a doll. The android is one in the same as the sex doll as it fills a human void for those missing human interaction on Earth after the destructive war.
In the case of the sex doll and nuclear war technology, these elements exemplify the idea of risk management. Randy Martin, in his essay “Where Did Future Go?” writes an interesting metaphor using risk management, “For those workers in the world who could secure a seat on the bus, the trip to tomorrow would take them to a market utopia… The fortunate would be freed from work in the form of retirement and leave the earth secure in the knowledge that their kids would do better than they had” (Martin). His metaphor uses a bus as an analogy as a vehicle that guides people into a future utopia. The bus is a safe haven, or an easy road designed for a better tomorrow. The idea of risk management is definitely seen in the Blade Runner universe, and definitely in our current society. The nuclear warfare both in the stories and in modern times is seen as a device that is supposed to devastate the opposition. In our society the nuclear bomb is seen as the last resort, but always available in case of disaster. The “bus” is seen also in the android/sex doll scenario, as the androids were seen as glorified servants to the humans but in reality they filled the void of humans that were dead. As for the sex doll, the doll is used as a safe haven for individuals, who are safe in knowing they will always have a sexual partner at their disposal at any time.