The Girl Who Was Plugged In

“The Girl Who Was Plugged In” (1973) is a novella by James Tiptree Junior, the pen name of American author Alice Sheldon. It’s set in an imagined future where large corporations use technology to control most aspects of life. This future world is capitalist and consumeristic. Beautiful celebrities (who other people control remotely) sell products and lifestyles.

The novella tells the story of P. Burke, a neglected 17-year-old girl who becomes a Remote controller for a celebrity, Delphi. Under the control of the Global Transmissions Corporation, Burke gives up her own life and lives in an underground suite, controlling Delphi from a capsule that projects her mind into Delphi’s body.

At first, P. Burke falls in love with her new life and excels in her role as Delphi. Then, she meets and falls for Paul Isham, a rebellious film director. She becomes caught between the corporate world that controls her and Paul’s influence. Burke deeply identifies with Delphi and longs to leave her own body behind. Paul doesn’t understand the true nature of Delphi’s identity. Believing he’s setting her free, he takes her to the technology complex where he encounters P. Burke. Not understand who she is, Paul pushes Burke out of the way, severing the connection between Burke and Delphi and killing them both. Later, a different remote takes over the role of Delphi.

Although the story is set in an imagined future, Tiptree draws on social and technological trends evident in 1970s America and critiques aspects of that society. The novella raises questions about the role of technology, entertainment and consumerism in modern culture, the relationship between body and mind, and the way that female bodies are perceived and socially constructed.

The edition of the text used and referenced throughout this guide is found in the collection of Tiptree stories, Her Smoke Rose Up Forever, Arkham House, 1990.