Becoming Cyborg was a 5-session class on technological embodiment. It took place at Prospect Park in the sticky, firefly-filled evenings of June & July 2025.
Taught by Kyle & Olivia of the Chimeras Collective
chimerascollective.cargo.site
@chimerascollectiveHold
by Claire Kwong
clairekwong.com
Hold is a live action role playing game for two players. One player is the User, and the other is the Phone. The game hopes to spark questions about comfort and discomfort, care and consent, submission and domination.
One player is the User.
The other player is the Phone.
Players can interpret these roles in any way.
They may touch as much or as little as they agree on.
Before playing, both players must consent with each other:
- Can I touch you?
- Where on your body would you like to be touched?
- Where on your body would you not want to be touched?
- Can we agree to check in or stop whenever either of us are uncomfortable for any reason?
Here is a suggested role play scenario:
The Phone vibrates and makes a notification sound.
The User picks up the Phone, and unlocks the Phone with a moment of eye contact.
The Phone tells the User about the notification.
The User can ask the Phone questions or give it commands. These questions are based on how they use a phone: Tell me what I should do today. Tell me what my friends are up to. Tell me what's going on in the world. Entertain me.
The Phone can only do what the User asks them to do.
The Phone tries to make the User pay attention to it for as long as possible.
The User may also touch the Phone with physical gestures, with their consent.
As the Phone speaks, the User can stroke the Phone on their body, mimicking a scroll. They can hold the Phone's torso for more intimacy, or their arms for less. Or they can just hover their hand over the Phone's body.
When the User asks questions, they may hold the Phone on both sides of the Phone's body and move their thumbs, mimicking typing.
The User may move the Phone into any position: carrying them, putting them down on the table, throwing them on the floor, bringing them to bed.
The User can put the Phone to sleep at any time by pressing the side of their body.
I hope to highlight how users interact with their phones in a touchy and intimate way, and depend on it to fulfill logistic and emotional needs. Yet, users treat their phones like an object whose sole purpose is to serve them. I hope to spark questions about comfort and discomfort, care and consent, submission and domination. I want to see if another person can fulfill the deep needs that a phone does, and maybe even more.
P.S. I played this game in public with my friend and got some stares!