Moonlight and Robots By Jerry Dunham 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 robots and the framework that suspended the limp suit hardly left room for him to move around. At the moment he felt mildly disgusted with this whole convention. He asked himself why engagements and marriages had to be surrounded with tradition and ridiculous games. But, of course, he had to go through with it. Myrna seemed to have been filled with excitement when they were discussing the final plans for the ceremony. He might as well get started. He glanced at the clock; it was almost eight. He picked up the 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 and entirely 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 a harness), activate the selected facsimile, and set the controls. It went on to say that every movement he made would be duplicated by the robot. Everything the facsimile experienced would be transmitted to the harness becoming his experiences. Well, he had practiced all that since renting the thing three days ago. He turned towards the marriage game rules. The rules dictated seven situations. That would mean, in his case, seven evenings for Myrna and him to decide whether they were meeting each other's robots or their real selves. The book pointed out that the primary or real body had to be used at least once in the first five situations. The first contestant to correctly identify the other's real body won the game and the contest was over. The winner received commendation and was supposed to be the dominant 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 was required to wait a year before completing the marriage ceremony. That seemed a weightier matter to Morgan. He read on. The first contestant who correctly identified the other as a facsimile won a point. If he failed, the other contestant had the opportunity to make an identification. The situation ended when one contestant made a correct identification or when both failed. Laying the book down, he decided he'd better get started because it was getting late.