Warning: This article contains minor spoilers for the Uglies book series.
Scott Westerfeld's hit book series, Uglies, originally hit the shelves in 2005. Since then, fans have been waiting for a film adaptation. It seems the time has finally come, with Netflix picking up the film rights and production finishing up in January 2022.
While Uglies is set in a dystopian future, readers may have found that hard to notice behind the seemingly perfect functionality of society and the mass amounts of useful technology the characters are surrounded by. These advanced, yet enticingly realistic gadgets serve the series' theme of "pretty covering up the ugly" perfectly and have led many fans to anticipate the film's release just to get a peek at the cool tech in live-action. This series contains too many tech gadgets to include in one film, but in order to please fans, Netflix needs to have included some of the basics.
Hoverboards
Hoverboards are not the exclusive creation of Westerfeld, and they have been seen in many other pieces of media, even being one of the best inventions in Back to the Future Part II. However, fans of the Uglies series have been dreaming about riding around on one since they first read the book. A wheelless, floating board that relies on magnetics, hoverboards are the go-to transportation for Uglyville rebels.
Since much of the Uglies' story is traveling across the country to escape the tyrannical city of the Pretties, it would make very little sense to have a film without the inclusion of hoverboards. The Kissing Booth's Joey King, who is portraying Tally Youngblood, will need to be seen on a hoverboard to keep fans happy.
Bungee Jackets
Bungee jackets are harnesses that use magnetics to rescue s from a long fall. Intended for safely escaping burning skyscrapers, a person wearing a bungee jacket can jump from a tall building and bounce repeatedly until the momentum is expelled, like on a bungee cord.
When Tally desperately uses a bungee jacket to escape a tower in New Pretty Town, readers are first exposed to her thrill-seeking behavior. This quality is what first makes her stand out to the Crims, Smokies, and Specials, and it is ultimately what helps her break free of her pretty-minded brainwashing.
Wall-Screens
Wall-screens are essentially TVs, cell phones, and PCs all tied together and displayed over an entire wall of a room. While this technology is not unfathomable today, it is the uses of the wall-screen in the Uglies that fans will likely want to see.
In the book, Tally enthusiastically uses a Wall-Screen to scan her face and body and morph it into what she hopes to look like after her Pretty operation. Even what society sees as "normal" features appear ugly to her due to her brainwashing, so the result is someone completely unrecognizable, but someone Tally wants to become with every fiber of her being.
Eye Screens and Implants
Eye screens are wall-screens that are surgically implanted into the inside of a Pretty's eye. This allows the to see messages and play games that no one else can see, controlling everything with either voice or finger movements.
Eye implants can also be used cosmetically. At one point, Shay was excited to reveal tiny face clocks that she had implanted into her eyes with real diamonds. It is visual details like these that put Uglies among other YA novels that deserve adaptations. With the special effects that Netflix has available, it will be fun for fans to see these sorts of breathtaking features that make the Pretties so pretty.
Interface Rings
Interface rings are how citizens interact with the technology around them. The rings are what connects them to the city interface and forms of social media. They even need them to communicate with elevators and self-driving vehicles.
The real catch of the interface rings is that they are also how the city government tracks its citizens. This is the first glimpse audiences get into the controlling and tyrannical ways of the society that exists in the Uglies world. If a citizen wants to be able to have access to the conveniences of their homes and other buildings, they must always be wearing their rings, and therefore, must always be kept under surveillance.
Hole-In-The-Wall
Every New Pretty room is equipped with a Hole-In-The-Wall. When a new Pretty wants a new item, they must only tell the hole what they want. The hole will make it in a matter of minutes. When they are finished with it, they simply throw the item back in the hole, where the materials are recycled.
This technology is important as it is a great motivator for Uglies to turn 16 and move to New Pretty Town. Uglyville Dorms are not equipped with holes-in-the-wall because Uglies have not yet had the Pretty operation, and they do not have the brain damage that keeps them docile and under control. Therefore, they are more likely to be wasteful.
Flash Tattoos
Flash Tattoos are facial tattoos, typically of a tribal design, that pulse and move with the heart rate of the wearer. Tally and her friends first use these tattoos as Pretties to communicate when they are exhilarated or "bubbly," which means that they are breaking through their Pretty brain damage.
These tattoos quickly grow in popularity, which serves Tally well in determining if their mission of eliminating the brain lesions is succeeding. This is another example of how Tally turns the Pretty Regime upside down and why she is the original rebel.
Instant Food
When Uglies are traveling across the country to escape to The Smoke, they have to eat. They rely on dehydrated food that is placed into a water purifier until it is reconstituted into a delicious meal. When Tally is on her trip, she is given only one type of meal: SpagBol, or spaghetti bolognese. By the time she reaches the smoke, she is no longer able to stomach even looking at the stuff.
While SpagBol and other instant food may not be the most fascinating of Uglies technology, it becomes an important currency for the Smokies, who rely on hunting and trade for food. Instant food is one thing the Netflix adaptation needs to include, and if fans do not get at least a glimpse of the nostalgic SpagBol, they are sure to be disappointed.
Sneak Suits
In the Uglies world, weapons and tools are not available to all citizens. Sneak suits are full-body, weaponized, and armored suits that can adjust their color and texture depending on the wearer's surroundings. They are intended for long-term use, wicking away sweat and urine and recycling them both into drinkable water. They are also capable of hiding a person's thermal footprint, making them nearly impossible to detect by any means.
These suits are worn predominantly by Specials, making them even more terrifying and deadly. Between their cruel beauty and insect-like speed and movement, the added touch of the sneak suits will make the Specials all the more intense to see on screen. If audience enjoy some of the best tools from shows like The Mandalorian and titles like Dune, they are sure to appreciate gadgets like the sneak suit in Uglies.
Hovercams
Hovercams are flying cameras that follow their owner around everywhere they go. These cameras are intended for recording and making videos for social media and TV. They have low-level artificial intelligence, so they can be trained to the shot and angle preferences of the .
While Tally never owned a hovercam herself, they quickly became an endearing, pet-like technology of the series, and the Uglies universe will be lacking without at least one featured in the adaptation.
