Love stories; Robots -- Fiction; Science fiction; Short stories
"And robot marriage," hummed Frank softly. "There has to be robot law,
too. I've thought it all out. As skipper of the first robot-owned
rocket, I'm entitled to marry couples in deep space at their request."
"But who marries us, darling? You can't do it yourself."
"I thought of that, too," said Frank, turning to me. "This human
gentleman has every right to marry us. He's in command of a moving body
in space just like the captain of a ship. It's perfectly legal, I looked
it up in the Articles of Space. Will you do it, sir?"
Well, what could I say when Frank dug into his fatigues and handed me a
Gideon prayer book marked at the marriage service?
Elizabeth and Frank said their I do's right there in the Renting Office
while the other robot colonizers looked on. Maybe it was the way I read
the service. Maybe I should have been a preacher, I don't know. Anyway,
when I pronounced Elizabeth and Frank robot and wife, that whole bunch
of lovesick mechs wanted me to do the job for them, too. Big copper work
robots, small aluminum sales-girl mechs, plastoid clerks and typists,
squatty little Mumetal lab servos, rationaloids, non-rationaloids and
just plain sub-robots--all sizes and shapes. They all wanted individual
ceremonies, too. It took till noon the next day before the last couple
was hitched and the 990 left for Alinda.
Like I said, the spotel business isn't so different from the motel game
back in California. Sure, you got improvements to make but a new
sideline can get to be pretty profitable--if you get in on the ground
floor.
Min and I got to thinking of all those robot colonizers who'd be coming
out here. Interplanetary cleared the license just last week. Min framed
it herself and hung it next to our orbit license in the Renting Office.
She says a lot of motel owners do all right as Justices of the Peace.
Transcriber's Note:
This etext was produced from _Fantastic Universe_ December 1957.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S.
copyright on this publication was renewed. Minor spelling and
typographical errors have been corrected without note. Subscript
text is shown between {braces}.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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