# Blade Runner question **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 17, 2009, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blade-runner-question/481780 "2009-01-17T21:11:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blade-runner-question/481780/41 "2009-01-20T00:02:17Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Was it quick? I don’t remember the scene. But anyone can pull an egg from boiling water with a bare hand, the trick is not getting burned. Being that the direction of the heat flow is toward the hand, you might do it really quickly and avoid ruining your hand. Something for mythbusters, not home experiment. Now freezing in liquid nitrogen, a human is going to destroy their hand no matter how fast. It wasn’t a quick dunk in the boiling water. Pris sticks her hand in it, and fumbles around for a few seconds before grabbing an egg. She then tosses it to Sebastian who has trouble holding on to it because of how hot it is. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blade-runner-question/481780/42 "2009-01-20T00:15:57Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > It was Pris who pulled the egg from the water 🙂 Gah! Total brain fart. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blade-runner-question/481780/43 "2009-01-20T00:26:09Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > He’s detained on a mysterious island. #6 is Rachel. She “escapes” from the confines of the Tyrell Corporation. No? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blade-runner-question/481780/44 "2009-01-20T00:26:20Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > That empathy test always struck me a being a little haphazard. Many humans have no empathy for animals at all and quite cheerfully abuse them for fun or sport. By that test the Runners woud end up wiping out half the world’s population! Lesbians too! ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blade-runner-question/481780/45 "2009-01-20T00:28:05Z")
> [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > #6 is Rachel. She “escapes” from the confines of the Tyrell Corporation. > > No? I can imagine that’s what the screenwriter had in mind in an early draft, but it doesn’t match up with Bryant’s speech unless you really really force it. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blade-runner-question/481780/46 "2009-01-20T00:45:45Z")
> [@Small\_Clanger](#): > > Yup. The film doesn’t follow the book all that closely In the book, those left behind on Earth were those unfit to travel to the new colonies (as advertised in the film). Which made me wonder why they didn’t want the androids on Earth, surely they’d be as likely to go nuts off world? Are they too good for Earth somehow? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blade-runner-question/481780/47 "2009-01-20T02:30:35Z")
Another potential plot hole (although I like the movies), is during the briefing when Bryant tells Decker that the replicants have returned to earth and Decker says “that’s unusual, why would they do that?” If replicants never return to earth and they are only allowed to be used off earth, then who did Decker hunt as a bladerunner? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blade-runner-question/481780/48 "2009-01-20T04:47:13Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > And while you’re waiting for the lab to get back to you with the results, the replicant rips your lungs out. The replicant can’t do that while you are performing a lenghy psychological examination?:dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blade-runner-question/481780/49 "2009-01-20T04:56:23Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > The replicant can’t do that while you are performing a lenghy psychological examination?:dubious: And how many did we see getting the psychological exam? Two. Rachel and Leon. Leon freaked out and shot dude by about the third question. Rachel was the only one who didn’t give it away (in Deckard’s own words) within a few questions. Deckard was apparently the best of the Blade Runners, which is why Bryant drug him out of “retirement.” Remember, also, that not all replicants were designed for killing. Its possible that a model like Pris, never would have picked up on the fact that the test was designed to reveal if she was a replicant and thus not decide to describe her mother using a gun. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blade-runner-question/481780/50 "2009-01-20T09:50:34Z")
Replicants aren’t allowed on Earth. They are dangerous because they don’t have a lifetime worth of memories from which to form a stable psychology. I suppose they could just round them up, and either kill them or wait for them to die, but why take the added risk when it’s easier just to kill them on the spot? Even if they weren’t near the termination date, having gone rogue they aren’t fit to send back to work off earth. ---
**Author:** ![Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dread_pirate_jimbo/32/3897_2.png) [@Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dread_Pirate_Jimbo)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blade-runner-question/481780/51 "2009-01-20T21:16:11Z")
> [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > #6 is Rachel. She “escapes” from the confines of the Tyrell Corporation. > > No? > [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I can imagine that’s what the screenwriter had in mind in an early draft, but it doesn’t match up with Bryant’s speech unless you really really force it. I would agree that this is probably a boo-boo from an early script draft – or possibly even from an early shooting draft – but since Rachel was still happily living at the Tyrell Corp., unaware that she is a replicant, when Bryant gives that speech, it doesn’t follow at all to assume she is the sixth replicant mentioned. Bryant doesn’t know Rachel is a replicant at that point, nor does Deckard, so I don’t think its possible to do enough forcing to make that fit. ---
**Author:** ![Strassia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e8c25b/32.png) [@Strassia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strassia)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blade-runner-question/481780/52 "2009-01-20T21:28:44Z")
> [@Pushkin](#): > > In the book, those left behind on Earth were those unfit to travel to the new colonies (as advertised in the film). Which made me wonder why they didn’t want the androids on Earth, surely they’d be as likely to go nuts off world? Are they too good for Earth somehow? 😕 I imagine it comes down to control and population density. On a new colony you have plenty of room to segregate the replicants and no large population they can disappear into. Add this to the fact that on a new colony there are lots of potentially fatal tasks for them to do, and it just make sense to use them. Remember that “the fit” that got off world would be a small fraction of the total. Most new colony scenarios have population shortages. Homeless people on Earth probably outnumber all the colonists off earth. Jonathan ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blade-runner-question/481780/53 "2009-01-20T22:13:21Z")
See the [Blade Runner FAQ](http://www.faqs.org/faqs/movies/bladerunner-faq/) for notes on many questions being discussed here. (Now really out of date of course.) In particular section 11. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2009, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blade-runner-question/481780/54 "2009-01-20T22:29:59Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > Another potential plot hole (although I like the movies), is during the briefing when Bryant tells Decker that the replicants have returned to earth and Decker says “that’s unusual, why would they do that?” If replicants never return to earth and they are only allowed to be used off earth, then who did Decker hunt as a bladerunner? The tech to make replicants existed on Earth (and was legally used to make pet animals). There may have been an underworld/black market in human looking replicants (assasins, sex slaves, stuff like that) made on Earth. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blade-runner-question/481780/55 "2009-01-21T02:51:08Z")
> [@CaerieD](#): > > I’d thought that as well. If humans naturally winced at the thought of hurting animals, then we’d all be vegans (except for a few lucky people with cows that they lavished with love) and nobody would hunt. The fact that the humans in the universe of the book/movie didn’t want to hurt animals had more to do with their culture and the high value it placed on animals than human empathy. When I read the book I figured that was part of the point, that it’s hard to say what special quality makes a human a person. The humans in Dick’s novel placed a high value on empathy for both other humans and other species and saw this as separating them from the replicants. But these same humans rarely had any empathy for replicants, and their great concern for the well-being of animals only came about after the near destruction of all animal life by humans. > [@DrDeth](#): > > Another plot hole. If the replicants were so identical to humans that you need special pyschological tests, then they couldn’t pull eggs out of boiling water without being burned. If their skin was that tough, you could tell by a simple DNA test, taking a small sample or even a drop of boiling water. That’s not a plot hole, it’s just a failure to predict future technology. There was no such thing as a “simple DNA test” in 1968 (when the book was written) or 1982 (when the film was made). As recently as 1995 DNA evidence was still viewed with suspicion by many – remember the O.J. Simpson trial? And even today it’s my understanding that people who are merely suspected of a crime are not required to provide DNA samples to the police. Identifying replicants by trying to burn or scald them would be problematic for a couple of reasons. If the replicant realized what was going on it could just pretend to be hurt. If a drop of hot water were the test, the replicant could just say “Ouch!” and be indistinguishable from a regular human. If the test involved is more extreme, you’ve basically got a witch-dunking scenario. A human wrongly suspected of being a replicant could only prove his/her innocence by being badly burned or injured. Identifying replicants through questioning would be a lot easier for the police from both a technical and legal perspective, and easier on the wrongly suspected as well. Prior to Rachel the VK test was both effective and quick, with most replicants not lasting more than a couple of questions. There was no need to use more complicated or dangerous methods. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blade-runner-question/481780/56 "2009-01-21T03:12:07Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > That’s not a plot hole, it’s just a failure to predict future technology. There was no such thing as a “simple DNA test” in 1968 (when the book was written) or 1982 (when the film was made). As recently as 1995 DNA evidence was still viewed with suspicion by many – remember the O.J. Simpson trial? And even today it’s my understanding that people who are merely suspected of a crime are not required to provide DNA samples to the police. > > Identifying replicants by trying to burn or scald them would be problematic for a couple of reasons. If the replicant realized what was going on it could just pretend to be hurt. If a drop of hot water were the test, the replicant could just say “Ouch!” and be indistinguishable from a regular human. If the test involved is more extreme, you’ve basically got a witch-dunking scenario. A human wrongly suspected of being a replicant could only prove his/her innocence by being badly burned or injured.. One drop of boiling water would raise a small blister on a human, not so on a replicant. **ftg** ’s site also recognizes this as a plot hole. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blade-runner-question/481780/57 "2009-01-21T03:51:07Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > One drop of boiling water would raise a small blister on a human, not so on a replicant. I’ve splashed one or two drops of hot water on myself plenty of times while making tea and have never noticed any blistering from it. I _feel_ it, but I don’t remember ever seeing a red mark unless it’s more than a brief drop. So either this blistering doesn’t always happen or it isn’t very obvious. I also don’t remember the book or movie making it clear that replicant skin is totally immune to heat, only that the replicants weren’t as bothered by it as a human would be. Even if replicants don’t blister, throwing one drop of boiling water on a suspect and then quickly examining them for a tiny blister doesn’t strike me as being any easier, safer, or more effective than administering the VK test. > [@](#): > > \ ***ftg** ’s site also recognizes this as a plot hole. \*Not really. It raises the question of skin tests in the “problems” section and says that, while it would “perhaps” be possible to identify a replicant through such a test, it would have been impractical to perform a skin test on Leon. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blade-runner-question/481780/58 "2009-01-21T20:02:39Z")
If Deckard really is an android, why did Gaff let him go? Surely he’d just go nuts and kill off some humans like the other replicants did. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blade-runner-question/481780/59 "2009-01-21T20:13:57Z")
> [@Pushkin](#): > > If Deckard really is an android, why did Gaff let him go? Surely he’d just go nuts and kill off some humans like the other replicants did. No. Deckard - if you believe he’s a replicant and I refuse to - and Racheal had a lifetime of memories implanted that made them psychologically stable. Gaff had to ask himself how much difference that makes. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2009, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blade-runner-question/481780/60 "2009-01-21T20:34:04Z")
> [@Pushkin](#): > > If Deckard really is an android, why did Gaff let him go? Surely he’d just go nuts and kill off some humans like the other replicants did. The other replicants _didn’t_ “go nuts” and start killing humans. Leon shot the first Blade Runner because he knew if he _didn’t_, then he would be killed. They presumably killed the eye maker and his partner, to keep their presence on Earth a secret. Zora attempted to kill Deckard in self-defense, Leon made the attempt for similar reasons, as did Pris. The _only_ replicant who could be considered to have gone “nuts” was Roy, and he was a combat model replicant, so killing people was part of his programming, and his reason for killing Tyrrell and Sebastian could be considered rage and frustration, it could also be seen as a way of preventing any future replicants from being made and having to go through the same thing as Roy and the others did, knowing that they only had 4 years to live. Deckard and Rachel would only be a threat to people who knew that they were Blade Runners. Bryant and Gaff would be the only ones outside of the Tyrrell Corporation who knew such things. The Tyrrell Corp could be expected to keep quiet about it, Bryant didn’t give a shit unless there were replicants running around that no one else could handle. Gaff’s concern about Deckard was that Deckard was a roadblock to Gaff’s chances to advance. You have to figure that being a Blade Runner, in the years after the replicants were culled from the Earth, was pretty much a cushy job. Most of the time, you probably sat around the office, drank, and smoked. Deckard had no interest in any of that by this time, so that left Gaff in a position of power, with Bryant. Gaff no doubt had plans to use the Blade Runner job as a springboard to much higher office (mayor, perhaps). With Deckard gone, Gaff was free to focus his energies on wresting power from Bryant. His origami message to Deckard (replicant or not) was that Gaff would leave Deckard alone, so long as Deckard and Rachel disappeared. Deckard would want to keep quiet, since if he poked his head up, someone would kill Rachel. Depending upon which version of the film (and/or interpretation) you subscribe to, one could expect Deckard and Rachel to die fairly soon, or that after Rachel’s death, Deckard would no longer have the stomach for killing replicants. Either way, he’s no threat to Gaff and his ambitions. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blade-runner-question/481780.md?page=2)