Rick Deckard and Eldon Rosen
Rick Deckard and Eldon Rosen meet as adversaries in a high-stakes negotiation over the validity of the Voigt-Kampff empathy test, which the Rosen Association attempts to discredit by having Deckard misidentify Rachael Rosen—a human-raised android—as human, thereby voiding the test's reliability and forcing Deckard into a corrupt bargain for an owl.
The Confrontation Over the Voigt-Kampff Test
When Deckard arrives at the Rosen Association Building in Seattle, Eldon Rosen greets him with a harried expression, as if everything has begun happening too fast. He immediately explains that the company does not manufacture anything on Earth and cannot simply phone down to production for a diverse flock of items, but he has done the best he can. Deckard, buoyed by the senior Rosen's nervousness, realizes that the Rosens are afraid of him; he can potentially force them to abandon manufacture of their Nexus-6 types, and what he does during the next hour could determine the future of the Rosen Association. Eldon Rosen and Rachael study him apprehensively, and Deckard feels the hollowness of their manner—by coming here he has brought the void to them, ushering in emptiness and the hush of economic death. He reflects that the enterprise is considered one of the system's industrial pivots, and if the manufacture of androids dropped into ruin, so would the colonization effort in time. Eldon Rosen has obviously been conscious of this since Harry Bryant's call.
The Failed Test and the Corporate Trap
After Deckard administers the Voigt-Kampff test to Rachael Rosen and concludes she is an android, Eldon Rosen insists she is not an android, explaining that she grew up aboard the Salander 3, born on it and spending fourteen of her eighteen years living off its tape library and what the nine other crew members knew about Earth. He argues that Deckard's empathy delineation test failed in response to his niece. When Deckard begins restoring his testing gear to his briefcase, Eldon Rosen asks what his instructions were if he wound up designating a human as android. Deckard replies that it is a departmental matter, then adds that he was told to cancel further testing, as he is now doing. Eldon Rosen points out that the problem stems entirely from the Rosen Association's method of operation, but Deckard counters that nobody forced the organization to evolve the production of humanoid robots to a point where the test fails. Eldon Rosen retorts that they produced what the colonists wanted, following the time-honored principle underlying every commercial venture, and that if their firm had not made these progressively more human types, other firms in the field would have. He insists that the Voigt-Kampff test was a failure before they released the Nexus-6 brain unit, and that Deckard's police department may have retired authentic humans with underdeveloped empathic ability, such as his innocent niece. He declares that Deckard's position is extremely bad morally, while theirs is not.
The Owl Bargain and Its Conditions
Eldon Rosen points toward the ceiling, revealing a camera lens that has recorded Deckard's massive error in dealing with the Rosens. He suggests that the right thing for them all to do is sit down and work something out, stating that there is no need for anxiety and that the Nexus-6 variety of android is a fact. Rachael then asks Deckard how he would like to own an owl. Eldon Rosen says that an owl is the thing Deckard wants, glancing at his niece inquiringly and suggesting that Deckard has no idea where this is heading. Rachael contradicts him, insisting that Deckard knows exactly where this is heading. Eldon Rosen then grates, "Tell him he can have his owl." Rachael specifies that Deckard can have the owl on the roof, Scrappy, but the Rosen Association will want to mate it if they can get their hands on a male, and any offspring will be theirs; that has to be absolutely understood. When Deckard proposes dividing the brood, Rachael instantly refuses, and behind her Eldon Rosen shakes his head, backing her up, saying that way Deckard would have claim to the sole bloodline of owls for the rest of eternity. Rachael adds another condition: Deckard cannot will his owl to anybody; at his death it reverts back to the association. Deckard objects that this sounds like an invitation for them to come in and kill him to get the owl back immediately, and he refuses to agree because it is too dangerous. Rachael counters that Deckard is a bounty hunter who can handle a laser gun and is carrying one right now, and if he cannot protect himself, how is he going to retire the six remaining Nexus-6 andys. She then yields on the reversion clause, allowing Deckard to will the owl to his heirs, but insists on getting the complete brood. She tells him that if he cannot agree, he should go back to San Francisco and admit to his superiors that the Voigt-Kampff scale, at least as administered by him, cannot distinguish an andy from a human being, and then look for another job. Eldon Rosen gives Deckard half an hour to decide, and he and Rachael file toward the door, having said what they intended to say.
The Revelation of the Artificial Owl
After Deckard retests Rachael and confirms she is an android, he asks Eldon Rosen if she knows. Eldon Rosen says no, that they programmed her completely, but he thinks toward the end she suspected. He tells Rachael not to be afraid of Deckard, explaining that she is not an escaped android on Earth illegally but the property of the Rosen Association, used as a sales device for prospective emigrants. As Deckard starts toward the door, he halts and asks if the owl is genuine. Rachael glances swiftly at Eldon Rosen, who says that Deckard is leaving anyhow and it does not matter; the owl is artificial, and there are no owls. Deckard mutters and steps numbly out into the corridor, realizing that the largest manufacturer of androids operates in a devious manner he has never encountered before.
