Beatrice Langford: “The title grabbed me immediately; Does Kalki Dream of Virtual Cows? seemed like such a clear nod to Dick that I looked it up, as if approaching something already familiar. And of course, I expected something inspired by Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?—something that might evoke Wilbur Mercer, perhaps, and the brief moment when Al Jarry appears in the story. But I was surprised… from the very first pages, I felt I had entered a different universe, and yet, it felt very ‘Dickian,’ if I may put it that way.”
Dante Montfort: “Dickian? I’m not sure I’d go that far, though I do admit that at every step, I see inevitable parallels. When reading it, Barry’s character—a drunk, criminal anti-hero elevated to a messianic role—reminded me of those Dick characters who always seem trapped in a network of imposed realities and roles. But here, the relationship between reality and simulation feels more… self-aware. In Do Androids Dream…, the cult of Wilbur Mercer and Al Jarry’s presence exist in a world where people seek something authentic in a spirituality worn out, almost without hope. Here, on the other hand, the cult of Kalki seems to gain strength precisely because people are hungry for a ‘true’ illusion.”
Beatrice Langford: “To start, the protagonist isn’t a hunter of androids; he’s the actor who plays the messiah and navigates this world of virtual beliefs he himself embodies, though he doesn’t know where the character ends and he himself begins. And I think that’s where the similarity with Dick lies: that constant ambiguity between who you truly are and the role you’re given. He’s not exactly Al Jarry or Mercer, but that same tone of alienation and identity play reminded me of them.”
Dante Montfort: “I see what you’re saying. But here, we’re not talking about a society that ‘latches on’ to illusion as a simple escape valve, right? The virtual religion Barry embodies is building something… a cult he himself seems unaware of.”
Beatrice Langford: “Exactly. And that’s where it gets interesting. In Dick’s story, Mercer becomes a cult figure through a religious simulation meant to provide comfort, while here, the technological cult around Kalki becomes a ‘real’ illusion for the people, more than a guide or redemption.”
Dante Montfort: “Yes, though the essential difference would be that, in Do Androids Dream…, Mercer’s cult is more like an echo of manipulated spirituality, nearly worn out by its own system. Whereas here… Kalki’s figure ends up seeming more real than the simulation itself, as if it inevitably becomes tangible, and I think that’s a fresh twist.”
Beatrice Langford: “Totally agreed. And I think that’s why I’d call it a ‘Dickian’ world, even though it clearly takes its own direction. I’m not sure if it’s the tone, the characters, or that uncertainty between reality and virtuality, but it conveys that same restlessness, that feeling that makes you wonder if we ever stop being under the control of a greater simulation.”
Dante Montfort: “So, in a way, Barry not only battles his role as Kalki, but he’s also forced to confront the nature of the simulation around him. The illusion of a messiah, but with the possibility that everything is upheld by a lie… although it’s a lie he eventually accepts. Quite an interesting point, I’d say.”
Beatrice Langford: “Definitely. And in the end, I think that ambiguity between illusion and reality is what makes this work resonate with Dick’s universe, though in a new way. Barry doesn’t become Kalki because someone gives him the role; rather, the cult absorbs him until the fiction becomes real… or something like that.”
Dante Montfort: “Yes, it’s almost as if the lie itself becomes a truth due to how people need it. For me, that has always been one of Dick’s most fascinating themes: how real is what we believe when everyone believes it, even if we know it’s a construct?”
Beatrice Langford: “I noticed there are android hunters in this story, though they’re very different from Deckard… I don’t want to reveal too much about this fascinating and unpredictable book, but these Martian android hunters are almost the opposite of what we find in Dick’s work. They’re repulsive, inhuman in their brutality, and their programming to ‘neutralize’ seems disconnected from any sort of self-awareness. They aren’t solving a problem; they almost feel like part of it.”
Dante Montfort: “Exactly, the hunters here are anything but empathetic. Sometimes, the androids show that calculated coldness, which could even be read as humanity reduced to its most pragmatic form… but agent López, the ‘neutralizer,’ is a completely different story. If there’s anything inhuman in this work, it’s his coldness—a kind of cruelty so perfected it makes you uncomfortable. Unlike Dick’s hunters, who seem torn between indifference and guilt, López seems almost like a machine in his own brutal relentlessness. Perhaps he doesn’t even have that fragile empathy we usually expect from a human figure, and that makes him more disturbing.”
Beatrice Langford: “What I find so fascinating about this story is how it captures something mystical and, at the same time, apocalyptic. It’s not just a sci-fi tale; it’s as if it mixes spirituality with a very direct message about technology and the power it holds in building modern idols.”
Dante Montfort: “Exactly, and Barry is central to this. He’s more than just a figure for the hologram; three years of experience as Kalki transforms him. He’s not just lending his image… it’s a vision of what it would mean to live as a god, or at least to feel it, from within one’s own being.”
Beatrice Langford: “That’s a powerful point, and it’s fascinating how the novel alternates between dark humor and those almost poetic, surreal, even chaotic moments. Sometimes I felt like I was seeing a Metal Hurlant comic: pure delirium, but also profound.”
Dante Montfort: “True. It has that visual, almost cinematic tone. The rhythm feels that way too: moving from humor to religious satire, or even social criticism. Here, technology serves as a substitute for the divine, and the novel doesn’t hesitate to mock contemporary idolatry.”
Beatrice Langford: “Yes, and in that sense, its rhythm feels somewhat like a modern series, I think. But with unexpected twists. As I read, I wasn’t sure if Barry was Barry, Barrilito, Kalki, or all three… and, even more unsettling, if he actually knows who he is in all this.”
Dante Montfort: “That’s the most disconcerting part, right? The novel sets him up as Kalki—or at least, that’s how it seems—but the ambiguity remains. That play between Barry’s different identities and his manifestations on various levels almost creates a paradox of who he really is.”
Beatrice Langford: “The narrative itself becomes a bit of a challenge: mixing logic and chaos so coherently that you end up believing it. It’s a mystical thriller, in a way, that seems to strain logic without breaking it.”
Dante Montfort: “And with that structure… it’s like you’re in a story you have to build yourself. It’s more than reading; it’s assembling the world between the lines. Sometimes I felt like I was watching the destruction of a reality from within.”
Beatrice Langford: “Yes, the destruction of a virtual world from its very foundations—something that, paradoxically, was built to shape it… It’s a novel of twists, but not just in the plot; also in its meaning.”
Dante Montfort: “Right, and that’s what makes it such a captivating read. It’s almost as if the reader needs to integrate into it to extract its full meaning. Without a doubt, a story to re-read and rediscover, over and over.”
Beatrice Langford: “So, would you say it’s a Dickian work? I think… yes and no. It has that ambiguity and identity play that reminds me of Dick, that way of leaving the reader wondering who’s who, or what’s really ‘real’. But at the same time, I feel the rhythm and atmosphere here are different. It’s a less dense, lighter blend, and at the same time wilder, something you can enjoy without necessarily sinking into melancholy.”
Dante Montfort: “Yes, I’d partially agree. That instability in reality, the loss of meaning in a universe that seems to come apart at the seams… that’s definitely Dick. But then there’s Barry… he has a more cynical and, at the same time, vulnerable tone, something that makes him less dark than Dick’s anti-heroes. It’s as if this story has an irony that Dick lacks, a sort of play with the divine idea that doesn’t intend to be solemn.”
Beatrice Langford: “Maybe that’s why I’m inclined to think Does Kalki Dream of Virtual Cows? could be Dickian at heart. That exploration of truth in a world of simulations, of who we are when we believe in something illusory… And yet, there’s also an almost playful approach to the story that distances it from Dick and brings it into its own space, as if this universe were less sad and more… delirious.”
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario