“She’s sitting over him, her open robe falling to either side. For once she has on more clothing than he does, and she feels how it shifts the balance of power between them in a not-unpleasant way.”

The politics of gender as they intersect with power in relationships are at the forefront of this novel’s thematic project. Although Annie is not “human,” she is attuned to the way that power functions in her relationship with Doug, and in this moment, she notes that it is primarily through her sexuality that she is able to gain the upper hand over Doug.

“Annie watches Doug for a cue, waiting for him to decide whether she should stay or go. He has given her a direct command, but she knows that his commands are subject to change, and he doesn’t like her to obey immediately as if she has no choice. The catch is ascertaining what will please him, but his mood is complicated by cross signals related to Roland.

Annie must always monitor Doug’s emotional state for signs of displeasure or anger. The toll that this vigilance takes on her battery (watching Doug in this way is intensely draining for Annie) becomes a broader metaphor for the toll that stress, particularly stress in relationships, takes on the body. Although Annie is not technically human, her sentience and “autodidactic” nature question the boundaries between human and artificial intelligence, and many aspects of her embodied experience of the world are meant to comment on the way that relationships impact heterosexual women.

“She does not contradict him. She notes that his displeasure has swiftly gone from 0 to 3 out of 10.”

Annie’s ability to read Doug’s moods is an example of her emotional intelligence, and the way that she is able to assign a 1-10 numerical value to his moods speaks to her enhanced, artificial intelligence.