Wed Jun 12, 2002 6:06 pm by Mercer
Assumption: Although it is unpleasant, physical pain is an essential component in the survival mechanism of higher species. With results similar to fear, it typically prevents repetitive damage or destruction to our bodies, such as lacerations or burns. For example, once we cut our finger with a knife or burn our hand on a hot stove, we try to avoid those scenarios again because we do not wish to repeat those harsh and tormenting sensations we call pain. Pain also alerts us to a physical malfunction or failure within our bodies when we would otherwise have no way of detecting an internal injury, disease or ailment. Pain, promotes a continuum of wellbeing to the living tissues that compose our bodies and is, therefore, good.<BR><BR>Thesis: If there is no possibility of damage or destruction to living tissue, there is no need for any sense of pain in a living being.<BR><BR>Proof Text: When addressing the question "Do Replicants feel pain?? one must also address another burning question (pun intended): "Do Replicants experience severe physical trauma and/or body tissue damage when submerging their extremities into boiling liquids at opposite and extreme temperatures? For example, at sea level liquid oxygen "boils" at -297? Fahrenheit and tap water "boils" at +212? Fahrenheit (ouchhhhh!). In my absolute favorite movie of all time, Pris unhesitatingly plunges her arm almost elbow-deep into what is supposedly boiling water and Leon casually reaches his hand wrist-deep into some sort of boiling, deep sub-zero solution that evokes a panicked admonishment from Choo (?Cold!?Those are my eyes!?Freezing!?) and neither of these Nexus 6 Replicants appear to sustain any physical trauma or tissue damage whatsoever, not to mention the complete absence of pain!<BR><BR>Conclusion: I propose that the body tissue of Nexus 6 Replicants is so durable that a sense of pain, as human beings know it, may actually be unnecessary for their survival. Besides, should a Nexus 6 Replicant ever sustain an injury or other damage that is beyond repair, an off-world resident could simply trade in his or her damaged Replicant for a newer model (?This was not called execution. It was called early retirement?)! Nevertheless, in a fit of genius that he is famous for, Dr. Tyrell undoubtedly built a pain-sensing factor into all Nexus 6 Replicants? brains and neuro-systms as a fail-safe "just in case" function, thus making the sensation and degree of pain experienced by Nexus 6 Replicants purely optional and under their conscious control ("More human than human is our motto?"). In other words, Nexus 6 replicants could actually control when and to what extent they feel pain depending on the type of situation or crisis they may be experiencing at any given moment in time. Example: Roy Batty may have simply ?willed? a specific level of pain to be sensed when he pushed that dirty old rusty nail through his hand (?Unless your alive, you can?t play?and if you can?t play??)!<BR><BR><BR><font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Mercer on 2002-06-13 02:14 ]</font><BR><BR><font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Mercer on 2002-06-15 10:38 ]</font><BR><BR><font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Mercer on 2002-06-15 10:41 ]</font>
Mercer
