Remote-Controlled Girl (Book)

Alice Bradley Sheldon wrote the short novel “Remote Control Girl” in 1973. The novel is set in a dystopian future where advertising is banned and holovision technology dominates every aspect of life.

In this world, celebrities have risen to godlike status, and media and visual imagery have come to control everything. The protagonist, P. Burke, is a young woman who has attempted suicide due to physical disabilities and social exclusion. GTX, a major broadcasting company, offers P. Burke the opportunity to remotely control Delphi, a flawless and attractive synthetic body. Thus, P. Burke appears to the public as a perfect young girl and maintains her connection to society through Delphi. Yet in the real world, P. Burke continues to exist as a discarded “outcast,” lying at the bottom of a dungeon stinking of electrode paste, severed from her own body.

P. Burke: The narrator and true protagonist of the novel. Her physical body is deformed and rejected by society. She remotely controls Delphi, a flawless puppet body. P. Burke’s inner world symbolizes the chasm between reality and appearance.

Delphi: A young and attractive puppet body controlled by P. Burke. Designed through genetic engineering, her external appearance is perfectly flawless. Yet without an operator, she is merely an inert “vegetable.” Delphi appears in holo-shows as the face of hidden advertisements and is deeply loved by viewers.

Paul Isham: The son of a GTX executive who meets Delphi. He falls in love with her but is unaware that she is not a real human. Unlike his father, Paul is critical of the system and disturbed by the false reality of the dystopian world.

The novel critiques the control exerted by media and advertising over the individual and the artificiality inherent in the construction of image. It explores themes of the mechanization of the human body and identity, obsession with physical perfection, and disconnection from reality. It also questions the boundaries between technology and the body. Social exclusion, value judgments based on appearance, and the pressure exerted by dystopian society on the individual are examined in depth.

The novel begins by directly addressing the reader, creating a conversational atmosphere between narrator and audience. This narrative style encourages the reader to think actively and question assumptions. The story continues with intense psychological depth and philosophical inquiry.