“Mercer doesn’t have to do anything alien to him. He suffers but at least he isn’t required to violate his own identity.” (241) (Rick talking)
“Go and do your task, even though you know it’s wrong.” (242) (Mercer talking)
“You will be required to do wrong no matter where you go. It is the basic condition of life, to be required to violate your own identity. At some time, every creature which lives must do so. It is the ultimate shadow, the defeat of creation; this is the curse at work, the curse that feeds on all life. Everywhere in the universe.” (243) (Mercer talking)
These quotes stem from Rick’s desire not to kill the last three Andys. He feels empathy towards them, and he now considers it morally unjustifiable. Rick feels as though killing them violates his identity, especially now that his feelings towards them have changed.
However, Rick decides after his conversation with Wilbur Mercer in the empathy box that although it is morally wrong, it is something that has to be done. I have already explored the idea in past blogs about whether or not it is right to retire the androids, but these thoughts from Mercer completely bypass that question. Instead, Mercer is saying that it doesn’t matter in this instance whether or not it is right, to retire them, because it is something that has to be done. It is this logic that ultimately causes Rick to decide to hunt down the Andys. Despite the logic’s effectiveness in convincing Rick, the questions still remain: Is what Mercer said correct? Is it possible to live without doing wrong to anything or anyone? Or, as Mercer would put forth, does our action which positively affects one inherently negatively affects another? The answers are incredibly determinant of how we decide to live our lives and which actions we decide to take.
Great American Novels 