iStone
iStone as Reminder
[09-30-19] The iStone is the physical embodiment of a whole range of powers that Uncle Joe might wield. There are icons for apps there, but they aren't so much about activating remote infrastructure as much they are a sort of reminder for him of all his options, everything he is capable of.
That's why the icons can imply magical powers, demon summoning, or time travel along with more mundane activity like surveillance and maps. Ideally, there should be row upon row of visually intriguing icons that get scrolled through but never activated.
Spook Porn Machine
The iRock is a sort of spook porn machine, which is why Joe has to throw it away eventually. He has to let go of specifics and control and get out of the way.
Another reason why Joe decommissions the iStone, throws away, because along with being a placeholder for his powers, the iStone is also an instrument to implement the Clique's great plan. Joe is a double agent, but he has seem to support the Clique's agenda, he has to carry Clique instrumentality... and because he has to be convincing in his Clique costume, he himself is an instrumentality. There's only so much apocalypse he can redirect. There's still going to be a massive depopulation, just not one that the Clique expected.
To break the machine, he has to become a trusty cog. Before he shatters the machine, he must help it go.
Surveillance and the Audience
Joe secretly watching Christina and Gerry is a violation of privacy. The audience is also secretly watching. The audience and Joe are the same - creepy voyeurs. Can they feel that?
Maps and other mothers
Map, icon of Big Boat and route, perhaps flashing. Other icons that don't flash, other mothers of DOGs. Chaff and back up plans.
Other mothers will show up again when Joe is watching Do It Again
The "map" is still but later icons and terrain get depth through parallax, boat approaching is the slowest or farthest away. Viewport is Joe. 3D means something else, representing information in a way that can remain mysterious. Proximity as... insignificance, probabilities in the multiverse?
Functionality Demonstrated
Surveillance through the mediatronic boxes. A map leading to Christina and the Big Boat. Teach the future sends Signals from a Nearby Now to the People, helping them to remember the lessons of the past epoch through oral history and preparing them for the advent of the Daughter of God. Pwning Christina's laptop with a mock DVD.
iStone is why CD works
There needs to be some iStone survellience graphics before Gerry comes on the screen. That CD is a remote feed from Joe's iStone, much like how an old school cassette insert with a mini jack repurposes tape heads to be generic audio inputs. It looks like a DVD, but it's not. It's Joe tech.