“Human Is” is episode six of season one of Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams and is based on the short story of the same name.
This episode opens on Earth in 2520, although the name changes to Terra. The planet also doesn’t look to be in wonderful shape. A man’s voice is heard pledging loyalty to state, and then he is seen standing in front of an audience, dedicating an award he is receiving to his men, two of whom died during the mission.
Following the speech, a general, Olin, speaks to the man, Colonel Silas Herrick, whose wife Vera was in the audience, and says that Vera’s quick thinking as mission director saved more lives, and that the award really belongs to them both. Silas doesn’t take this well.
It seems that Earth only has five months of air resources left. Silas says that they need to return to another planet and harvest more of what they need from it, a substance needed to decontaminate Terra’s toxic air. Vera is less than happy with the idea, as the planet, Rexor IV, in question is occupied. She thinks that there should be another way than stripping an inhabited world. Terra’s society would seem to be very regimented, and the population appears to live deep underground. Vera’s marriage with Silas is less than wonderful, and she seeks distractions elsewhere.
Silas is sent on another mission to Rexor IV. It’s attacked, although the ship is filled with what they need. The troops appear to be on the verge of being overrun and a warhead is detonated and the ship makes its way back on autopilot, even though it was thought to have been destroyed. Silas, who is assumed to have died, is on the ship, one of only two survivors. Silas’s behaviour has changed, and for the better. He’s a lot more affectionate towards Vera, and more considerate as well.
It seems that two Rexorians – who appear to be some type of energy being – made it onto the ship, despite Silas saying they hadn’t. This raises official suspicions, and eventually Silas is arrested, after the other survivor turns out to be a Rexorian, a metamorph who has merged with him. The authorities are convinced that Silas is too. But is he? Certainly, he seems a different man, but is he literally one? The possibility that he might still be Silas is not considered – by any except Vera. Her belief does not go down well.