Were the "friends" of Sebastian essentially small replicants or were they something else?
In Blade Runner, it seems to me that making small replicants would be illegal for the same reason that replicants were hunted on Earth even though they were small. Was Sebastian using a combination of replicant technology and mechanical parts to make his "friends?" Is this explained anywhere in books, because I am pretty sure no details (in any version I have seen) are provided about the tech Sebastian uses although we know he works professionally helping to create replicants.
EDIT: Two things, one which might be a separate question.
- Firstly, which is related to their nature: clearly they are not very intelligent, almost lacking in intelligence at all but more like the windup toys they sort of resemble as they bump into things and repeat phrases irrespective of what is going on. But at the same time, I think a saw one of the "toys" look concerned or afraid when the replicants were doing something threatening.
- Secondly, I recall that one of the toys resembles Leon (the replicant whom Rachel shot) -- I wonder if that resemblance was intended by the director/writer -- perhaps they wanted to show that JFS was using replicant technology to create the toys by this resemblance.
Best Answer
You can't use the book as reference for anything in the movie(s). They're very dissimilar. JF Sebastian isn't even in the book.
There is no reference anywhere to precisely how the toys were made.
They are replicants, or of the same manufacturing type as replicants, but were made my J F Sebastian for his own amusement or as company. They are clearly shown to have low intelligence & probably not even sentient, as they try to repeat the same script to Batty as they do when JF comes home.
As with all the replicants, it is unclear whether they are entirely biological, or part mechanical.
Sebastian was a geneticist partly responsible for the creation of the actual Nexus replicants along with Eldon Tyrell.
From Wikipedia - list of Blade Runner characters
J.F. Sebastian is a genetic designer working for Tyrell. He is not allowed to emigrate off-world because he has Methuselah Syndrome. Because of this, he ages faster and has a shorter lifespan, something he has in common with the replicants. He is only 25 years old, but his physical appearance is of a middle-aged man. With the Bradbury Building all to himself, he makes the most of his considerable talents creating automata companions. He is loosely based on the character J. R. Isidore from the novel.
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Is JF Sebastian a replicant?
J.F. Sebastian is a genetic designer working for Tyrell. He is not allowed to emigrate off-world because he has Methuselah Syndrome. Because of this, he ages faster and has a shorter lifespan, something he has in common with the replicants.Why are replicants illegal on Earth?
Prior to the events of the film, replicants became illegal on Earth after a bloody off-world mutiny by a band of Nexus-6 models.Lore summary - From Drakengard to Nier: Automata
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Answer 2
In the Blade Runner game from 1997 (which take time at the similar time as the movie), the player character can visit JF Sebastian's house. If my memory is right, upon pointing at the walking "toys", the protagonists comments
They are obviously replicants, but no one would pay me for retiring them.
Since you are the Police officer and the toys are not commented while talking with theirs author, you can assume that having such toys is not illegal, but they are indeed replicants.
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