Thad hated the silly custom demanding a
robot romance. If a man wasn't careful a thing
like that could linger on—after the wedding!
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy
May 1955
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
Thad Morgan looked around his little room. The two deactivated robotsand the framework that suspended the limp suit hardly left room for himto move around. At the moment he felt mildly disgusted with this wholeconvention.
He asked himself why engagements and marriages had to be surroundedwith tradition and ridiculous games. But, of course, he had to gothrough with it. Myrna seemed to have been filled with excitement whenthey were discussing the final plans for the ceremony. He might as wellget started. He glanced at the clock; it was almost eight. He picked upthe book of rules and looked at it again.
He re-read the instructions for operating the mechanism. First,it said, inspect the facsimile and see that it is well-groomed andentirely in order. He looked at the two lifeless twins of himself.Yes, they looked all right. He decided which one he would use tonight.Then, he read, he was to get into the suit (the book called it aharness), activate the selected facsimile, and set the controls. Itwent on to say that every movement he made would be duplicated by therobot. Everything the facsimile experienced would be transmitted to theharness becoming his experiences. Well, he had practiced all that sincerenting the thing three days ago. He turned towards the marriage gamerules.
The rules dictated seven situations. That would mean, in his case,seven evenings for Myrna and him to decide whether they were meetingeach other's robots or their real selves.
The book pointed out that the primary or real body had to be usedat least once in the first five situations. The first contestant tocorrectly identify the other's real body won the game and the contestwas over. The winner received commendation and was supposed to be thedominant spouse. Of course, the last was mere convention. However,the most important, the most rigid, and to Thad the most fantastic,rule in the whole contest was that if the girl won, the couple wasrequired to wait a year before completing the marriage ceremony. Thatseemed a weightier matter to Morgan. He read on. The first contestantwho correctly identified the other as a facsimile won a point. Ifhe failed, the other contestant had the opportunity to make anidentification. The situation ended when one contestant made a correctidentification or when both failed. Laying the book down, he decidedhe'd better get started because it was getting late.
He climbed into the harness and hung in mid-air suspended by his belt.He activated one of his facsimiles and turned his head so he could seehimself through the robot's eyes. Thumbing his nose, he watched thecreature hanging in the harness do likewise. It gave him an eeriefeeling. Even though he knew he was walking in thin air and gettingnowhere, it really seemed as if he could feel the floor under his feetand see the room move around him in a very ordinary fashion. As soon ashis facsimile left the room, his mind made the adjustment and it was asif it were really he strolling nonchalantly down the corridor.
He drove to a florist's shop and started to purchase a corsage.Abashed, he caught himself. He rushed out of the shop and went home toput a wallet and handkerchief into his pockets. He would have to bemore careful, he realized. Slips like that might cost him the contest.
With corsage box in hand,