- Really like that they introduced the very vague and secret 4th floor management. Unlike the above, never thought they would be computers particularly because of when the split happened and the fact that the prime world hasn't developed technology to the extent of the alpha world.
I think the tech is just advanced or behind in different areas based on what happened. The side with the flu epidemic has advanced medical tech, whereas the alpha has better (smart) phones and PCs and such.
- Finally, the one plot hole that continues to bother me. The crossings are so procedural and documented it doesn't make sense that others can stay so long without raising red flags. Clare spent weeks or months studying her other before taking her place and obviously never went back. You would think when Roland's secretary's other crosses for an extended time warning bells and whistles should have been blaring. I get they have to do it for the plot, but it's that one thing that bothers the crap out of me.
I kind of saw it as keeping a tight lid on things PR wise. Most people in the world don't know the first thing about the split; and the prime directive is to keep it that way.
If someone goes to the other side and disappears, a relatively few people on each side know them to be a fugitive. Management might send small numbers after them, but it's not really all that difficult to disappear, if that's what you are trying to do. You can't put an APB out on these people.
Howard Prime's job is to go over for extended periods and retrieve rogue persons. But every extra person you send across is another 'risk', so to speak. And he's to be 'decommissioned' as a growing risk.
They assume, and understandably so, that the people crossing have different personalities and skills, so 'infiltrating' the opposition isn't really something they'd consider imo. Look at how much work it took to get the trained kids across.
It's tenuous, and obviously done to forward the story, but I can kind of see it.