As deadlines for internships close in, exam season looms in the not-so-far distant future, and 9am lectures seem to become brutally earlier by the day, we seem to collectively crave an escape. Whether this be taking a book to the river which, despite positive intentions, acts as an impromptu sunshade rather than a checkmark off your reading list, or “just one” drink on C-Sunday which rapidly becomes “just one more.” And yet, that essay or lab report or presentation lingers towards the back of your mind, persistently imposing itself on your temporary relaxation, and demanding your return to responsibility and reality.

Now, what if I told you with one detour to Curry’s on Newmarket Road, you could wholly detach from these pressures, providing a genuine — no, a perfect — respite? The TCKR Systems Nubbin™ brain chip offers precisely that: the user may access and curate memories, immerse themselves into cinematic landscapes, and even craft their own virtual worlds. When your reality is conceived and developed for you, by you, caffeine-fuelled assignments and stressful supervisions exist only in our singular, tangible world. Irrelevant really, when you have multitudes at your fingertips. (A sentiment you might not want to share with your supervisors…) You aren’t running, you’re reinventing; as TCKR Systems epitomises, with your Nubbin™, “it’s better in here.”

Before you frantically redirect to the tech company’s website, or tenaciously question a (likely very confused) Curry’s employee, I must instead steer you to Netflix’s recent release of Black Mirror Season 7. For the sleek, futuristic device is unobtainable beyond the fictional landscapes depicted in Hotel Reverie (S07E03), Eulogy (S07E05) and USS Callister: Into Infinity (S07E06). Within these installments of the series, the Nubbin™ is featured as a small, metallic plate which the user affixes to their temple. And yet, just as the hardware remains visually consistent, the software and product name adapt according to the narrative.

Hotel Reverie follows the eponymous cult favourite romance film, remade entirely through virtual production. The sole actor cast is the famed Brandy Friday (Issa Rae), whilst the other characters are AI-generated from the original source. Friday is transported into the film’s digital setting through the use of a ‘Mesmeriser’, but a technological dysfunction holds her and her newly sentient lover Dorothy Chambers (Emma Corrin) in the otherwise frozen world, blurring the lines of reality and artifice.

“Typical of the franchise, one plot twist just isn’t enough”

Eulogy, as expected by the title, surrounds the death of the protagonist’s ex-girlfriend, or more specifically, her memorialisation. Eulogy Systems sends Phillip (Paul Giamatti) a ‘Guide Disc’, which allows him to pass through old photographs accompanied by the female voice of The Guide. His former lover’s face remains shrouded from our vision as we watch their turbulent relationship unfold and split, until he learns a devastating truth about his late girlfriend. Typical of the franchise, one plot twist just isn’t enough — who is the voice of The Guide?

The tone of USS Callister: Into Infinity treads in a darker direction than the previous two. As an anthology, Black Mirror is ideal for the more distractible viewers — myself included — as the standalone narratives allow you to dip in and out of the series, without the commitment (very scary word for some of you) to a relentless linear plot. This episode calls back to season four’s USS Callister, but with a twist. Into Infinity delves into cyber piracy, and the question of avatar’s rights, all made possible by the ‘Experiencer Disc’, or ‘Nub.’

“Nubbin™ became real, blurring the boundaries between truth and fiction, not only in the series’ universe, but also our own”

Regardless of the product’s name or the domain it hails from, Nubbin™ is fundamentally bound to the Black Mirror universe. Why then did I direct you towards Curry’s, if not to baffle the staff? Simply, to demonstrate the brilliance of the Season 7 advertising campaign. The electronics retailer, alongside other popular influencers, endorsed the authenticity of the device, posting unboxing videos and ‘first-time reactions’, in which they place the interface on their temple (as in the series) before their eyes fade to a milky hue. The hyper-realistic TCKR Systems website was activated, complete with contact information, FAQs, and even career vacancies. Devoid of any Black Mirror branding, Nubbin™ became real, blurring the boundaries between truth and fiction, not only in the series’ universe, but also our own.

The show’s central premise is technological dystopia, typically set in an alternate reality or distant timeline; and yet if Nubbin™ is believable, how far off can we truly be? After all, what exactly is a black mirror? Creator Charlie Brooker imparts the dual metaphor of the title: the dark, empty screen surface, and our own reflections staring back — exposing the bleakest parts of our humanity.

In an attempt not to contribute to the frenzied crisis of exam season, Nubbin™ is, in fact, an advertising campaign for a 15+ TV series and not an immutable harbinger of doom. Perhaps it serves as a reminder however, that the fantasy of escape will not halt the real world, real responsibilities, and real consequences ahead of us. Or, the more charming interpretation: perhaps this is a defence for those necessary breaks of sunbathing, punting, and drinking lukewarm beer in a field as we opt for sunlight over screens — our own black mirrors. No matter your perspective, Season 7 is unmissable, and at least this existential dread comes with a gripping storyline, and not just an exam timetable.

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