Character Analysis
A Take-Charge Kind of Guy
When Titus's Dad, Steve, shows up on the moon after the kids' feeds have been hacked, he immediately takes charge of the situation:
He was being very powerful and businesslike. He was dressed up, and he looked like he was ready to give some orders and sort some things out. He looked like everyone around us was stupid and he was going to roll up his sleeves and do some real clarity work. (13.1)
Okay, great. Big bad dad, ready to do some real work. Only, look at that paragraph more carefully: he "looked" ready, he "looked" smart, and he "looked"… well, you get the picture. (So to speak.) Maybe underneath all that fancy dress, Steve is nothing more than a grown-up Titus.
Who's Your Daddy?
Once Steve opens his mouth, the illusion is over: "She's like, whoa, she's like so stressed out. This is... Dude [...] Dude, this is some way bad shit" (13.7). We hope this doesn't sound like one of your parents, because it sure doesn't signal adult authority. In fact, if we stuck this on a test, you wouldn't be able to distinguish it from Titus. Steve sounds like just another one of the units. Not only does he speak the same lingo they do, but he also "goes in mal" like the kids do. There's no attempt to teach his son any lessons in adulthood, and all he seems interested in is the latest cars and trying to get jiggy with the V.P. of Sales.
Okay, sure. He does teach Titus two important lessons: (1) how to consume and (2) how to be the type of ideal sheeple that the corporations want. Want an example? When the kids return from the moon after being hacked he has the perfect opening for a real heart-to-heart, Valuable Lesson moment, but instead… he takes his son out car-shopping.
Who needs father-son bonding time when you've both got feeds to bond with?