PRIVACY AND THE GOVERNMENT
NO OFF BUTTON
The MASS implant that all soldiers in this military have as standard is a double edged sword that helps the soldiers perform their duty but it also is constantly recording the memories and experiences of the soldiers in both reality and their augmented reality. Soldiers have no obvious signs of being implanted and have no way of deactivating the implant. The implants capabilities allow for a reward system as well as a way to easily control the soldiers. The control is exercised by the military psychologist when Stripe is played back his own actions without their augmented reality features as a way to torture him, he is also threatened to accept a mind wipe or face life in a cell replaying the experience of killing roaches without augmentation. Contrarily they reward soldiers who perform well with dreams while they’re off duty, showing a deep government interest in everything about their soldiers, achieved only through completely demolishing the difference between their private and military life. The closest real world example of something like this is the HUD (heads up display) that fighter pilots have been shown to use, these real helmets however are taken off and only assist the soldier whilst flying, meanwhile the MASS implant cannot be removed or shut off and has many more features.
DNA SCREENING / REGISTRATION
It is suggested that all people in this world are subjected to some form of mandatory DNA analysis from the acting government as a way to protect everyone from disease. The details of this technology are sparse to not only the viewer but seemingly to the people within this world. These requirements for your DNA seem arbitrary as when Stripe meets some “roaches” face to face there are no obvious signs of poor health that may result from DNA with “defects,” including "higher rates of cancer, muscular dystrophy, MS, SLS, substandard IQ, criminal tendencies [and] sexual deviances." Anyone who doesn’t fit these untold requirements is hunted by the soldiers the acting government tricks into doing their dirty work. These “roaches” are accused of contaminating food and residences simply by touching them, adding to the propaganda scheme that these “roaches” are dirty, spread disease, and need eliminating like an invasive species.
BOOMER/RECON DRONE
The soldiers use a number of sophisticated technologies to help them do reconnaissance before a mission, all technologies that have most likely also been used by the government for information gathering on not just the location of roaches, but the location of anything and everything they desire, further adding to the lack of privacy that the people in this world enjoy. The “boomer” device is the most advanced of the spying technologies shown as this device seems to send out an echolocation-esc signal that allows for a detailed layout of farway surroundings without alerting anyone to the soldiers presence. The drone they take advantage of seems to be grounded largely in reality with a controller and a camera on the drone to get a closer look at a target, the drone also seems to have the ability to link with the MASS implant so that a screen is not required, the display is beamed directly to the implantees eyes.
ENTRAPMENT AND BLACKMAIL
Based on what little we are shown of Stripe before he joins this military group he seems like a young and hasty kid, who easily signs away his rights to the group to implant him with the MASS and become a soldier for them, as Stripe believes he is fighting the good fight but is being duped. Once Stripe discovers the truth he is horrified and then promptly captured, tortured and bullied into signing another document to forfeit his memories or face jail time and further torture. Here we see most of the major uses of the MASS implant, the dehumanization of the enemy, a common war tactic, is taken to the extreme by changing their physical appearance to the soldiers. The MASS also assists in the control and regulation of the soldiers via total control of their dreams, suggesting the ability for the device to influence waking thoughts as well. The implant is also a vital part of the interrogation and torture of Stripe as if he hadn’t had the MASS implanted there was far less of an ability for the psychologist to coerce Stripe into giving up, had he been a regular soldier he could’ve exposed the truth of the circumstances, assuming anyone else in this world would care...