“Without sockets, there’s not much in the line of work you can do!” p. 125

As far as we have read, the association of technology with separate identity, a personality of its own, creates the idea of “other,” followed by opposition, while blank, vacant technology is incorporated largely without challenge.

In Nova, technology without identity has become a part of the human worker, with sockets connected to the Mouse’s flesh as deeply and permanently as the plugs in Neo or the blades in Molly. However, a personalitied technology exists in Prince Red, who must compensate for his lacking with a humanoid mechanic arm. Not completely human with a robotic arm, and yet not whole without it, Prince comes too close to “other” to be comfortable around other humans (acknowledgement of his otherness leads to inevitable death). And yet, besides an anxiety over his inhumanity, what does the presence of a cyborg limb do to Prince?

In the interview between Mark Dery and Professor Tricia Rose, they discuss a common tendency for cyborgs to code as “impregnable masculinity” while flesh remains feminine. For Ruby and Prince, this coding of machine and flesh holds true. Prince’s efforts for explicit dominance are extremely masculine, often relying on shows of physical force. This male intimidation relies on his robotic arm, to attack Lorq at the Parisian party or to threaten him with lumps of quartz on Gold. Meanwhile Ruby, Lorq’s female love interest, is devoid of mechanical adaptations, just a fleshy beauty. Masculine machinery would be out of place on the vulnerable female. Prince’s robotic limb serves to exaggerate his gender role as male.

However, the Reds, who ally themselves to Earth, are out-dated, and lose the race to control the future. Lorq, a product of a new system, a new culture and new ideals, wins.

In Lorq, and his crew, there is a combination of technology, without personality or gender roles, which works to place them clearly in the future. The sockets are not threatening or polarizing; the technology does not challenge humanity with a new other identity to incorporate. Through eliminating technology as a new group and accommodating it into existing ones, Lorq and his crew avoid the restrictive gender and social roles of technology, giving them the ability to work freely in the future.