Philip K. Dick's dystopian novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? takes place mainly in 2021.
The novel imagines Earth after World War Terminus, a catastrophe that has contaminated much of the planet and driven many humans to emigrate to colonies on Mars. Rick Deckard works as a bounty hunter, tracking down escaped androids whose appearance is difficult to distinguish from that of humans.
The 2021 setting belongs specifically to Dick's 1968 novel. The book's chronology is often confused with the 1982 film Blade Runner, which shifts the story's principal year to 2019 and changes several details, including names and plot emphasis.
Animals are also central to the novel's social world. Owning a real animal is a status symbol after ecological devastation, while artificial animals offer cheaper substitutes. The title's question links empathy, authenticity, and the boundary between human and machine.