Darlene Alderson, the de facto leader of F Society, is not playing around in this season of Mr. Robot. She helped bring about the collapse of the American economy, her partner is either in self-exile or institutionalized, and her co-conspirators have mostly deserted her. But after a good cry, she puts on some warpaint and addresses her followers: "We are in a war and we are on the losing side of it," Darlene tells them before stomping a smartphone into shards.

Carly Chaikin, the actress who plays Darlene, might not be a hacker or coder of any kind, but when Mr. Robot debuted, she was still taken aback by those who asked her what it was like to play a female hacker. Her mother raised her without any particular expectations or boundaries in terms of gender, Chaikin explained during a Disrupt the Ratio: Women in Tech event in Manhattan on Monday, so those types of questions made her feel "like a unicorn who spoke English."

Since then, Chaikin has explored Darlene's interests offscreen, paging through Hacking for Dummies and, as she did at last night's Mr. Robot-themed Story space, encouraging women in technology to be unafraid of risk. She also designed some of the Mr. Robot-themed items for sale this month at Story (on display in the photo above), located at 144 10th Ave. at 19th Street.

Chaikin took some time out before the panel to speak with PCMag about this bleak time in Darlene's life, the dynamic between Elliot and Darlene in their childhoods versus today, and how she feels about the societal disconnect our devices encourage. Watch what she has to say in the video below, and catch Mr. Robot on Wednesday nights at 10/9c on USA Network.