Feathers?

I find it quite strange that Jeff Noon resorted to such a low-tech mechanism as feathers to allow the access to a virtual world. It just feels weird. It's difficult to visualize that in a future where humans can immerse themselves in an alternate reality, the tool used to do is just color-coded feathers (?!). Wouldn't it make more sense to "jack into" the virtual world, literally, by using a plug inserted into our bodies? Heck, if one chooses to go the low-tech route, even pills would have been a better choice, I think.