The most important tool to combat AI is Cyberdeck

In the years following the book’s release, a community of hobbyists became involved in using their own wires and monitors to create homebrew devices, often for on-the-go hacking or coding purposes. Historically, decks resembled a heavy-duty laptop, featuring a screen and a small keyboard, often stylish and utilitarian, housed in a Pelican case to play out imagined apocalyptic scenarios. Over a year ago, the radio YouTuber titled his video tutorial “DIY Doomsday Cyberdeck EMAIL/TEXT WITHOUT INTERNET” and, of course, included the hashtag “prepper.”

What sets Tan’s electronic collection apart is its aesthetic. Inside its revamped clamshell case, hardware-wise, is a single-board Raspberry Pi computer with a small keyboard and monitor. It’s all fairly standard stuff — the E-Surface’s feminine shell and crafty details are what subvert expectations. “I’ve never seen anyone do something overly feminine before,” she says. Tan felt an appreciation for the tactical aesthetic previously established by the Cyberdeck community, but wanted to craft a version that felt more authentic to her style. “I’ve always been anti-minimalist,” she says. “In my life, I want color, and I want everything I own to convey that it is me.”

To make her electronic mermaid collection less reliant on Internet access, she transferred piles of files from her computer, loading songs, books, maps, Wikipedia articles, and even some pictures of her cats directly onto the device. And when the dedicated mouse is connected, it can even run death attic.

In addition to her mermaid-inspired online collection, Tan has also co-built a platform featuring solar panels on TikTok.

Courtesy of Aniki Tan

Tan says the most widely watched audience for TikToks is about three-quarters of women. “A lot of people were like, ‘Oh, I didn’t know you could make a computer like this,'” says Ling Lu, a 28-year-old product designer and illustrator who lives in New York City. “I thought it should be a gray box, like any other Mac or Dell or whatever.” Tan’s videos inspired her to try making her own contraption, the audio journal “cyberduck,” a bird-shaped recording device for personal use.