At its core, this story is a thought experiment about the potential consequences of a future defined by technological advancement. Margie’s internal struggle is defined by technological forces she takes for granted—specifically the mechanical teacher—until she and Tommy read through the book. As a child, Margie is unable to articulate why school and the mechanical teacher are failing to meet her needs; she only knows that she is frustrated and unfulfilled. She recalls “hoping they would take the teacher away altogether” (126) because, on an unconscious level, she understands that it is not meeting her needs.

The book, on the other hand, offers her the direct experience of a different, older kind of technology, providing an unwitting contrast to learning on a computer. Because its subject matter is also about school, the book provides her some information and context for how things were done differently. As she reads and considers this new information, Margie implicitly realizes that she is lacking experience with peers and adults who could provide her the support and connection that the mechanical teacher never will.