Are Simulacra Disrespectful to the Dead?

          The idea of the simulacrum can be found throughout the history of sci-fi. In Mirzoeff’s “An Introduction to Visual Culture,” Baudrillard’s theory of the simulacrum is discussed all too briefly. However, this brief mention proves useful when applied to discussions of simulacra in science fiction, such as Caprica (Reiner, 2009) and Philip K. Dick’s novel The Simulacra (1964). In Caprica, the creation of a simulacrum is a purely selfish act and the simulacra in The Simulacra are necessary to maintain societal stability. Despite the difference between these works, the simulacra present in both pose similar and important moral questions.

          Daniel’s obsession with his Zoe’s avatar in Caprica and his desperation to bring her into the real world proves that he is willing to accept the death of the real Zoe. Even if she becomes a perfect simulacrum, a perfect copy; even if the only difference is “a difference that makes no difference” (as Dr. Graystone says in the pilot) there still exists that difference. It may not make a difference to Dr. Graystone directly, or to the others that may encounter the new Zoe, but the real and original Zoe Graystone has still died and left the world that they all inhabit. Despite the perfectness of the copy, it will exist purely in service of his selfishness and vanity. The death of the real Zoe cannot be reversed, regardless of the accuracy of the simulacrum. Furthermore, if Dr. Graystone gets his wish, and continues to raise the simulacrum as his own daughter she will become truth in her own right, the only and therefore real Zoe. The old truth will be replaced by a new truth, and the real will become blurred into the artificial.

          Joseph Adams (Adama) refuses to accept the evolution of the image into the simulacrum and the death of the real. Although he initially is tempted toward remaking his daughter and wife, when faced with the reality of the artificial he backs down. His loved ones are gone, and any simulacrum that may stand in for them is not the wife and daughter that he knew. Despite the resemblance, the original versions are gone for good. Bringing to life two new replicas is not going to change that.

          In his novel The Simulacra, Philip K. Dick takes these moral questions to a larger scale. Dick creates a world that relies on the pseudo reality of the simulacra. Nicole Thibodeaux, leader of the matriarchal government has been in power for 40 years, remaining there through the use of simulacra (in all of that time, she has not aged). The majority of society is ignorant as to the artificial nature of the government, and relies heavily on Thibodeaux’s influence. Dick, thus, presents us with a different depiction of the incorporation of simulacra into everyday life, where the artificial is necessary to maintain the real.

          However, like Daniel wishes to alleviate his pain through creating the Zoe simulacrum, the Nicole Thibodeaux simulacrum also serves the needs of others, as opposed to saving the original Nicole. The Thibodeaux simulacrum helps maintain a necessary balance in society, thus benefitting everyone but the real and original Nicole, who has been replaced and long since forgotten.  Conversely, in Caprica Dr. Graystone is disrupting a pre-existing balance. By Caprica’s close, we have been introduced to the foreboding, hell-bent-on-destruction Cylon model that Graystone’s company has created. It’s no coincidence that Zoe enters the world through a similar Cylon model, a warning of things to come and changes that will take place in the pre-existing world.

          Jean Baudrillard dubs the simulacrum as a “murderer of the real,” (28) the “final stage in the history of the image.” (28) In both Caprica and The Simulacra, the simulacra present have (or will) effectively destroy the real. However, certain paradoxical relationships are present, especially in The Simulacra, where the real hinges on the incorporation of the fake into everyday life.  In Caprica, Daniel believes that his happiness depends on the re-creation of his daughter, as does ignoring her artificial nature. What is important is that in each case the image will ‘murder’ the reality of what was, and the dead are and/or will be forgotten.