The Human Condition

"The Human Condition" is the third episode of the Blade Runner: Black Lotus anime.

Plot[]

"With help from the mysterious J, Elle learns more startling truths about the nature of her identity."
―Official synopsis

Elle wakes in Joseph's apartment and confronts him about shooting her. He explains that he found her by utilizing a police radio and he continues to decode the data device. When Elle indicates she is unfamiliar with the Blackout, Joseph explains it and Elle suggests that she may have never had any memories.

Meanwhile, Officer Davis finds Drove and attempts to question him about Elle. After a brief scuffle, Davis tells Drove's gang to flee and Drove explains Elle's attack upon the gang and the fact she was carrying a data device.

Elle watches news coverage about Arthur Bannister's death and after Joseph turns off the television, she asks him what a replicant is, due to Bannister telling her she is one. He answers her question and checks her eye for a serial number, a hallmark of Nexus-8 replicants. Since Elle is still confused, Joseph brings out a machine to perform a Voight-Kampff test on her. When asked if she recalls being in love, Elle recalls a lover, who gave her the black lotus tattoo, saying it symbolized purity. Joseph ends the test, telling Elle that she is not a replicant.

Niander Wallace, Sr. and Wallace Jr. view the news coverage of Bannister's death. The younger Wallace notes that this death would make it less likely for replicant production to be legalized, though the elder is not so worried. Wallace Sr. concedes that his son's innovations in synthetic proteins saved the world from starvation, but notes that his son's ideas often lack power and funding. The younger Wallace, feeling he has provided for mankind, compares himself to a god.

Davis continues her search for Elle, encountering Doc Badger outside of his shop. He is resistant to giving any answers and retreats to his shop. As she leaves, she tells him that they will be in touch. She then boards her spinner and drives away as Joseph watches.

After a rest, Elle wakes and notices that the data device is finally decrypted, uncovering footage of a replicant hunting trip by Bannister and the journalist Hayden Hooper. Someone in the recording notes that the replicants they hunt – herself among them – were made to be fully submissive to humans.