Editorials
A Guran
As project manager M. Christian states in his introduction of the Operating Manual for Eros Ex Machina: Eroticizing The Mechanical(tm) , his product utilizes "revolutionary Book(tm) technology" to present a "manually operated, language-driven interface device intended to function as an easy to-use recreational sensual and erotic entertainment system." As with all such devices its successful function relies on the quality of the input imagery, i.e., its linguistic architecture. By combining a variety of verisimilitude, unique concept, and imaginative engineering, Eros Ex Machina (tm) more than fulfills its function. When design and engineering combine at this level, art, as well as utility, results.Art, of course is subjective. But the premise of this Book(tm)'s province -- an exploration of the literal and figurative love of machines -- is one that consumers can, with some cognition, relate to. We are, after all, emotionally involved with our favorite forms of technology. We express our "love" for our cars, our kitchen aids, our power tools; we appreciate beautiful devices with a thrill that is close to sexual in nature. Haven't we all had deeply emotional response, or at least a personally intense reaction to how our computers work or don't work? We desire machines and also resent their inevitability.
There is certainly a great amount of playfulness and fun to be found in Eros Ex Machina (tm), but not surprisingly, many of the stories(tm) are dark. We are both attracted to and repulsed by the idea of mechanical sex. More importantly the crafters of these modules examine the dark themes of human need and obsession. This is a Rhinoceros book and explicit sex is implicit, but many of the stories(tm) if re-written with less graphic language and a soft- instead of hardcore tilt, could be plugged-in to a more mainstream mode. As sexual as Eros Ex Machina (tm) is, it is the investigation of human interface with the mechanical and with the emotional that makes it work.
The mechanically mundane is warped into the erotic -- a Nautilus Leg Press, a washer and dryer, ATMs, trains, toothbrushes, monitors and video screens, tape players, automobiles, trains, a roller coaster; there are devices developed specifically for sexual gratification. and partners are mechanized or humans mechanically adapted or used in several stories. There are less literal interpretations as well.
Purchase value on this technology is high with an amazing 29 high grade contributors including Pamela Briggs, Pat Califia, Stephen Dedman, Nancy Kilpatrick, Kevin Killian, Marc Laidlaw, Carol Queen, Stephen Mark Rainey, John Shirley, and Lucy Taylor. Based on lab analysis and short, but intense, reliability evaluation, this tester rates Eros Ex Machina (tm) as Highly Recommended for users over age 18, but please read and follow all warnings and instructions to safely use this dangerously good technology.
—darkecho.com