^V'Ger doesn't appear, but its aftereffects are very important to the story.
I've revisited the post-TMP era in Mere Anarchy: The Darkness Drops Again and DTI: Forgotten History. I continue to look for more opportunities.
Do those stories take place before or after "Ex Machina"?
I guess I can check the book themselves when I get home, but I figure I ask for conversation's sake.