愛, robot

"black is traditional, but if you'd prefer pink, or vermillion, or chartreuse... no you might make me jealous"

Liam reliving memories through the grain. When characters rewatch memory footage their eyes "grey over" and indiction by the creators that the technology being used are on some level "unnatural, even revolting".

the other mother has moved on to other children

An attempt to become the subject material... a humanoid robot

Image of Hannibal Chew from Blade Runner (1982). Source

Hannibal Chew in Blade Runner (1982) is a designer of replicant eyes for the Tyrell Corporation. On their quest to find their creator to extend their lives, Roy Batty and his band of replicants find Chew and torture him into revealing a link to accessing Tyrell, J.F. Sebastian (a genetic designer). Eyes here function as a symbol for “the window into the soul” and therefore, the path to Batty’s self-actualization and humanity begins with finding the origin of his eyes. Once Batty confronts the engineer of the eyes that allow him to perceive others and collect visual memories he continues on his journey to Tyrell. It is no coincidence that Batty ultimately kills Tyrell by gouging out his eyes, for when confronted by the callous disregard of his creator for his lifespan, he impales Tyrell’s soul.

Eye in opening scene of Blade Runner (1982).

The eye at the opening of Blade Runner reflects the industrial wasteland of 2019 Los Angeles, and ushers in the film's extensive use of eye motifs. A central theme of Blade Runner is questioning and examining humanity, and in watching this close-up eye view of the setting, the viewer is programmed to question what they see and society's omnipresent surveillance.

“And now Nathaniel saw that a pair of eyes lay upon the ground, staring at him… Then madness seized Nathaniel in its burning claws, and clutched his very soul, destroying his every sense and thought.” ~ “The Sandman” E.T.A. Hoffmann 

The German short story, “The Sandman” by E.T.A. Hoffmann mixes early robotics, the uncanny, and distorted reality to disorient the reader, providing a chilling effect to Hoffmann’s interpretation of German folklore. The story follows Nathaniel through his psychological conflicts as he first narrates a deeply upsetting scene of childhood drama involving the Sandman (Coppelius) to his eventual suicide. Although instead of the story serving as a purely psychological thriller, Nathaniel’s obsession with the automaton Olympia makes “The Sandman” another science fiction reflection on eyes and their capacity to “other” the robot to which they belong. At first, Olympia's eyes only seem “singularly still and dead” to Nathaniel, but after gazing at her for longer he observes that it was as if “most moonbeams were rising in Olympia’s eyes.” Once Nathaniel overcomes the eeriness of Olympia’s eyes, he can accept her as fully human even though all of the other scholars know she is an automaton. The next time Nathaniel and Olympia interact, he is looking at her through Coppola’s glass, and says her eyes “beamed back full of love and desire.” Subsequently, Nathaniel misses all hints that Olympia is not human; his friend Sigismund specifically postulates she would be beautiful if “her glance were not so utterly without a ray of life - without the power of vision.” Nathaniel defends Olympia’s “uncanniness” to his friend and proceeds to fall deeper and deeper in love with her. 

During the climax of the story, Professor Spallanzani and Coppola/Coppelius (the narrator confuses their distinction as two separate people) tear Olympia into pieces, and Nathaniel sees the lifeless—and eyeless—Olympia carried away by Coppola/Coppelius. Only when Nathaniel sees Olympia’s eyes on the ground does he descend into total madness as exhibited by the above quote and illustration. Her eyes fully expose her inhumanity to Nathaniel—Nathaniel cannot cope with that inhumanity. Although he regains some lucidity to attempt to marry Clara, when Clara is behind Coppola’s glass he is reminded of Olympia and tries to murder Clara before committing suicide. 

The use of eyes in this story is extensive; the evil gaze of Coppelius haunts Nathaniel his entire life, Nathaniel himself is a voyeur, and Olympia’s eyes serve as the catalyst for Nathaniel’s mental breakdown. All of the eyes culminate in Nathaniel’s final words, “Ah pretty eyes - pretty eyes.”