I think most writers have a point of view, and that probably comes across in the themes of their stories. I find that most writers I think of have common themes running through most of their work. I'm not sure that I agree with you about Kress's theme. I see her writing more about the unforseen effects of science - both positive and negative - on society and relationships. I value her writing because she has a very sharp eye for how normal people react to the abnormal and a strong feel for how interpersonal relationships work. While this story is a cautionary tale, I wouldn't necessarilly consider the creation of the Sleepless in her trilogy beginning with Beggars in Spain to be science gone bad per se. I saw it as science with lots of unseen ramifications, on both the pro and con levels. That's just my two cents, of course.
Czhorat, I'm so glad you said this. I agree with you: obviously the author has a point of view. However, often what people see as the theme may have more to do with their own point of view than with the author's. We all bring ourselves to what we read. I, like you, did not see "science gone bad" as the overriding theme of either this piece, "Ej-Es", "Nano comes to Clifford Falls" (which I didn't care for, btw) or the one about the sisters (whose title escapes me at the moment). It's not that I think "science gone bad"
isn't a theme in her work, but I don't think it's the overriding message, nor the sharp-sticked point other commenters seem to make of it. I (like you) was also thinking of
Beggars in Spain as a counterexample to people's insistence that Kress' futures are invariably dystopian.
Personally, I see the major theme as "guns don't kill people, people do" only s/guns/techs. I also see a pattern of unintended consequences as a major recurring motif in her work (a motif that I enjoy in fiction). I think there's textual evidence for both of my assertions in the work, but I wouldn't presume to say either was Kress' central point when she wrote the pieces. That's just what I got out of what she wrote.
As general commentary, I must say I'm a little tired of the autistic/asperger's person as focal character in recent SF, though I've read a number of pieces where it was very well done ("Inappropriate Behavior" by Pat Murphy comes to mind), but I'm assuming it's a phase and this too will pass before it drives me to distraction. I'm also a bit done with the India/Nepal stuff viewed through the western lens (Ian McDonald comes to mind, though he's not alone in this sandbox), but that's neither here nor there.