this machine will not communicate

I liked it okay, but it isn't something I'll reread, which tells me that I didn't think it was that great. I had two major problems: the story took far, far too long to get started, and I didn't particularly care for the protagonist. He was okay, nothing specifically objectionable, but I just...didn't care. But I still thought it was an interesting premise and I enjoyed reading it. I think you hit the nail on the head, though - it never really realized its potential.