Throughout the novel, authenticity and artifice exist in tension with one another. In an age dominated by technology, the desire for authenticity motivates many of the characters. Martha Einkorn, the Enochites, and even Lenk Sketlish view technology as a destructive force, and not without just cause: In the novel, technology contributes to the destruction of the natural world and increases wealth inequality and social isolation. However, technology is also portrayed as a necessary part of life: Lai Zhen’s entire career is predicated on the utility of technology for survival. Throughout the book, the characters struggle to resolve the tension between authenticity and artifice.

Martha, often posting as OneCorn, expounds on her philosophy regarding the artificial, as represented by settled cities, versus the real, as represented by natural forces. In her interview with Zhen, Martha suggests that “[t]he wilderness doesn’t have symbolic drawings to tell you where to find food or where it’s safe to [urinate]. Where you find a sign in the real world, it’s a sign made by the thing itself” (54). Martha mistrusts the dependence on and proliferation of artificial signifiers. Still, she comes up against the unavoidable fact that technology appears to be indispensable in the modern world.