@mtomczak@qoto.org drug hallucination is always a possibility with Cronenberg, sure.
Still, look at Crimes of the Future and we see a pretty similar vision.
It makes me think of The Three-Body Problem where the author has real Opinions about what 500 or 5000 years should mean for technological progress.
Seems to me that Cronenberg might be trying to avoid having his fictional gadgets be too relatable to keep the viewer off balance.