Mercerism In Animals

Before asking ourselves what happened to the animals in the novel (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?) we must first understand the setting. Set in the future following a third world war, or as it is called in the book, World War Terminus, the earth has become a radioactive shell of its former self. The nuclear weapons used during the war caused radioactive fallout to spread across the globe. This gave humans incentive to leave the wasteland they created behind and move to off-world colonies, Mars being the primary one. But the fallout proved deadly to many animals. Many species of animals throughout the world became extinct overnight, owls being some of the first to perish. Because of this, animals soon became valuable. Following these events,

soon everybody had to take care of at least one animal, thus creating the culture of owning animals. Much like todays cars, animals would represent one’s wealth. Comparing an ostrich to a squirrel would be like comparing a Lamborghini to Hyundai.
For the average person, taking care of an animal represents their contribution to a bigger picture, that of saving its species.

On the other hand, the importance of animals in Mercerism represent the emotion of empathy in humans. By taking care of an animal that is unable to sustain itself, humans demonstrate a certain emotional connection to it by aiding it out of goodwill. And Mercerism is all about emotion and empathy. Which may explain why the androids do not understand Mercerism. In an immoral experiment to determine if a spider can get by with only four of its eight legs, Pris Stratton cuts them off one by one. Even when the spider attempts fleeing and is trembling with a mix of fear and pain, the android continues its research. Isidore, even though he is considered special, is horrified by its actions. This reveals a clear distinction between the humans and the androids. Even though he has a low IQ, Isidore is against unnecessary suffering in an attempt to learn a bit of trivia. The androids on the other hand see no harm in causing the spider pain because they cannot identify with the spider. This lack of empathy for smaller things is what separates the humans from the

androids.
Animals are important in Mercerism, some more so than others.

Both the toad and the donkey are Mercerism’s most important animals, the former being a bit more valuable. But why these ordinary creatures? Firstly, a donkey is often used as a carrier. In other words, they are the ones who do the heavy lifting. They don’t really complain and are often portrayed as being overloaded. Secondly, a toad is known for is survivability. Even though it is not one of the prettiest animals, toads are great at living in hostile environments. They dig themselves into the ground and live of scraps to get by. Together they represent humans. Hardworking people that are willing to do what it takes to survive. By working together, humans managed to create spatial colonies. And those that stayed behind on Earth, even though it is slightly radioactive, learned to live with their dangerous

environment.