Jack's House
When Jack returns home to find his house burned to the ground, it hammers in a message that's been building in their minds for a while: things will never go back to the way they used to be. The image of Jack's home, now ash and ruin, gives testament to the fact that the Elgen have wreaked havoc on their lives, and it's now impossible to ignore. This is the point when the Electroclan realizes that this mission is life-or-death; there's no turning back.
Michael's Phone
The phone that the mysterious woman in the tanning salon gives Michael is a great symbol of the way life has changed for him. The phone only works for him; it uses an electric strip on the back to ensure that only one with Michael's powers can use it. Michael's powers have gone from a minor, occasionally irritating part of his life to the biggest and most determining feature. His new goal, to fight the Elgen, rests almost entirely on his powers, which have grown to engulf his life. The phone also only receives calls, not able to make them, reflecting the quickly decreasing levels of control Michael has over his own life; he must simply sit back and wait for the people to contact him before they can make any move.
Rats
The rats, the source of the Elgen's new power, can be seen as symbols of the Elgen's philosophy of "whatever works," as well as their hunger for power. Using live rats as a power source is a purely pragmatic concept; it reveals that the Elgen are not above stooping to genetically manipulating living creatures and forcing them to eat each other for the greater good of power. The connotations of using rats also cast an unfavorable light on the Elgen; rats are dirty, foul creatures, and by associating them with the heart of the Elgen, the author causes the reader to associate dirtiness and foulness (of morality, at least) with these antagonists.
The Darts
When the Elgen invade the first "safehouse," they use special darts to subdue the electric teenagers. These darts, according to Michael, seem to suck the life out of him; presumably they absorb electricity, thus rendering their powers useless and making them feel as if their life source has suddenly dried up. Zeus says the darts seem "like Nichelle in a can" (ch. 11). These darts represent everything the Electroclan stand against: control of their power as well as the actual, physical and chemical opposite of their essence.
Reverse Spelling
The Elgen, when coming up with names for their machinery, have a tendency to spell normal things backwards to create impressive-sounding words. For example, the RESAT (the electric shock-delivering mechanism) is simply TASER spelt backwards. Starxource, the title of their new power plants, begins with "star", which is just "rats" in reverse. This reversal of letters symbolizes the philosophy of the Elgen: the reversal of everything, including morality and human decency, in pursuit of power and advancement.
