In "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?", many humans leave Earth for Mars. Philip K. Dick’s 1968 novel presents a post-apocalyptic Earth damaged by radioactive fallout after World War Terminus. Governments encourage people who can afford it to emigrate to off-world colonies, especially the Martian colonies.
Mars is central to the novel’s setting, although it is not portrayed as a welcoming paradise. The promise of a new life is tied to status, technology and government incentives, including the offer of android servants. Some androids flee the colonies and return to Earth, where bounty hunter Rick Deckard is hired to find and “retire” them.
A common mix-up is confusing the novel with its film adaptation, Blade Runner. The movie keeps the off-world-colony idea but changes many details and does not focus on Mars in the same way. The book’s title also refers to artificial animals: real animals have become rare, so owning an electric sheep is a visible sign of social standing.