A POSSIBLE CONSPIRACY: NEXUS-7 BLADE RUNNERS

(contains spoilers)

In 1993, the Director's Cut was released. Only one new scene — or actually an old scene which originally was rejected by the producers — had been added: Deckard's vision of a unicorn. 

The scene in the end of the movie, when Deckard finds Gaff's origami unicorn, suddenly gets a whole new meaning. Deckard's vision and Gaff's message — it cannot possibly be a coincidence in a world of heavy urbanisation where folklore must be scarse.

The obvious explanation is that Deckard is a replicant and that Gaff has seen his file! Just like Rachael, Deckard is the victim of a cruel experiment: his memories are falsifications, implants in his bio-mechanically engineered brain. Exactly what function the unicorn has is open for debate. Is it simply a false childhood memory? Or is it a conditioned response triggered by something in the movie? Or perhaps a cognitive representation of a function in a brain implant?  

There are more examples of circumstancial evidence than the unicorn, though:

Deckard's replicant eyes: Replicant eyes can be seen glowing in a peculiar way in the movie. It is probably most apparent during Rachael's Voight-Kampff test and Roy Batty's confrontation with Eldon Tyrell. It has been confirmed by the crew that this was intended. Note that the glowing eyes are intended as a purely cinematic tool. Anyway, Deckard's eyes can actually be seen glowing in the same way during a brief moment in the movie. It appears in a scene in Deckard's apartment, after the scene where Rachael retires Leon:

 

J. F. Sebastian's unicorn: In widescreen versions of Blade Runner, a toy unicorn can be seen in J. F. Sebastian's home. Sebastian says to Roy and Pris: "There's something of me in you." Could this be the case with Deckard as well? Could Sebastian have been involved in the creation of his brain implants? Coincidently, Deckard and Sebastian never meet each other in the movie.

Deckard's photos: Leon value his "prescious photos" highly: evidently, they are substitutes of memories. Deckard seems to be fond of photos too: he has a whole collection on his piano. Could it be that he has a vague feeling that something is lacking? Could it even be that his memory is failing him?

Rachael's line: "You know that Voight-Kampff test of yours. Did you ever take that test yourself?" Is she beiginning to suspect that Deckard has been deceived just like she has? Could it even be the driving force in their illegal love affair? 

Gaff's line: At the end of the movie, after Roy Batty's death, Gaff delievers a strange line: "You've done a man's job, sir." Man as opposed to machine? Does Gaff suspect that Deckard is a replicant? Is he even watching him on Bryant's orders? Or even someone else's orders?

Batty's lines: During the end battle, Batty makes some equivocal remarks: "Proud of yourself, little man?" "I thought you were supposed to be good. Aren't you the good man? Come on! Oh, Deckard! Show me ... what you're made of." Could this mean that Batty suspects that Deckard is a bio-mechanic brother? And could this be the reason why Batty saves Deckard's life? It would indeed be a cruel irony; possibly the cruelest irony in the history of dystopian fiction.

Fans have speculated for years, but quite recently the director of Blade Runner, Ridley Scott, confirmed that Deckard is a replicant. Scott's view on the issue:

To me it's entirely logical, particularly when you are doing a film noir, you may as well go right through with that theme, and the central character could in fact be what he is chasing...

I tend to agree, but Deckard as a replicant does not only follow the film noir tradition, but also the dystopian tradition. Deckard's replicant status is a drastic illustration of the essential conclusion of dystopian fiction: the offender becomes the victim, the master becomes the slave, the hunter becomes the prey — literally. Just like in Nineteen Eighty-four, collaboration with the evil does not guarantee immunity. On the contrary, one may even have to endure more suffering inside the system than outside.

Scott's imagination does not end there, though. He has even been speculating that Deckard could be the next generation of replicants, a Nexus-7:

If Deckard was the "piece de resistance" of the replicant business — "more human than human", as Tyrell would say — with all the complexities suggested by that accomplishment, then a Nexus-7 would, by definition, have to be replication's perfection. Physically, this would mean that the Tyrell Corporation would be prudent in having Deckard be of normal human strength but extended lifespan — resistance to disease, etc. Then, to round off their creation, the perfect Nexus-7 would have to be endowed with a conscience. Which would in turn suggest some kind of need for a faith. Spiritual need. Or spiritual implant, in other words.

The mind reels...

So, lots of circumstancial evidence in the movie, a confirmation from the director — Deckard is a replicant, end of discussion. Right? By no means. Many fans, possibly as many as 50 %, reject the whole concept: they find such a conspiracy to be unplausible and/or think a replicant Deckard weakens the movie's message. Ten years has past since the release of the Director's Cut, but the debate is still raging in forums and newsgroups: Is Deckard a replicant? The two fractions have even been baptised: "Deck-a-Humans" versus "Deck-a-Reps". I leave it to you to explore the pros and cons together with other fans in the different forums and newsgroups. To start a "Deck-a-Rep" debate is still like opening a can of worms... 

Yours truly has been a proud member of the Deck-a-Rep fraction since 1993. Join us or die.

Note: The Ridley Scott quotes have been taken from Paul M. Sammon's brilliant book Future Noir — The Making of Blade Runner.