The theme of social and technological tyranny drives much of the plot and character development of the novel. The portal represents the majority culture at work. An increasingly homogenized global culture is policed by the expectations, norms, and social roles of the portal’s users. This form of social tyranny is enhanced by the addictive qualities of the portal so that complete dependence on technology becomes a form of tyranny created by the portal’s users.

The protagonist discusses the idea that cultural, gender, and political norms are just the way things are, saying, “But didn’t tyranny always feel like the hand of the way things were?” (7). The users of the portal go along with traditional or new habits because it is “what you do.” This impulse to follow the majority’s expectations in order to be accepted as a “good” person symbolizes the protagonist’s struggle with the social tyranny of the portal. As Part 1 of the novel progresses, the protagonist increasingly loses her sense of individuality, falling to the totalitarian social expectations the portal imposes on her. “The mind we were in was obsessive, perseverant” (71) and addictive. The protagonist becomes aware that she is no longer an individual but part of a collective “we” that acts as a single mind.