Asimov and the Live-in relationship©

This one was definitely interesting. Indian myths to complex mathematics. Harry Potter to Charles Dickens. Conversation. Not an inane, dopey stare while I hurried through several topics, smiling brightly, eyes furiously scanning the crowd for a familiar face who could rescue me from yet another "suitable" match.

I drank through the tepid coffee in its Styrofoam cup, not minding even the large and irritating fly, which tried to commit suicide there.



“I particularly like Asimov” I murmured. This usually was the acid test.


And he passed. “ Aha the Galactic Empire. Trantor”


This was only getting better.


“But you know I particularly love the robot stories”


“Positronic minds better than our own”


And my special comment:” No, human minds don’t shut up like that. You know like when you say ‘death for humans’. We wait and listen”


“Aah but Brain also listened. He only got all funny”


Wow, this guy even liked my favorite story. This was simply wonderful. My least favorite aunt became my favorite one.



“I wonder how the shut down takes place” Non- technical me really needed enlightenment on that.



“Well a little fuse goes off somewhere in the case of the input- verbal here and the system just shuts down- remember the three laws of robotics.. the first- ‘A Robot may not harm a human being or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm’ is supreme. And once that switch is triggered, something else fires, little bulbs light up screaming ‘shut down’, ‘danger’ ,’low reserves’ ,’ destroy’..”


Pretty technical stuff it was - and I was actually listening! This was unbelievable.


I sipped demurely at the now- stone-cold coffee . The fly, abandoning all hopes of ending his sorrows in my cup, moved on to hover around him.


We moved on to Susan Calvin, and then went on to women in general, fashion and high society. The usual.



I was beginning to daydream about holding forth on the telephone- the instant messenger( this was a techie) about my favorite bits of intelligent small talk.

When "So do you believe in Live- in relationships?"

Now belief is a serious thing. Believe in myself, believe in God, believe in the absolute indestructibility of the human soul. Or believe in a particular religion.

How could I- or anyone else for that matter have a core value based on two young(well alright not young ) people choosing not to follow a particular social convention.?

Frivolous to the extreme. Do I believe in duplex houses. Or maybe in Tata Tetley tea bags…

Or maybe it was a question of incredulity. Believe in ghosts? Believe in life beyond.

Don't tell me US- project returned engineers were this naïve! Specially ones who were so erudite about my kind of stuff. Did not know that there were people who flouted conventions and that there was a seamier side to life. Refreshing.

Such a change from the "no rules to life" corporate slickers I interacted with, Utterly charming.

I opened my "big mouth"(mum was right with her "how much you speak")

"Well I suppose I do" I mean I had friends who maintained what they euphemistically called "relationships bound only by love"

The effect was magical. He gulped down his coffee- which unknown to him had become the brown grave of the obnoxious fly.

And quick as a flash was gone.

Before I could even say: "Live- in"


Only Asimov gave me company, solace and perspective in the last few weeks of the wedding season that year. My family could not afford another “good boy” getting so scandalized.

Because that completely explained what had happened to my “suitable “ match.


“Live-in “ triggered off "loose" "fast" "too modern" "easy" and that bugaboo “Previous relationship” and that was it.

He did not even wait or bother to hear what I would say after it, whether it was something I did, had done, was doing.. or was just pouring forth an opinion on. Rational thought, lets hear the other side, even manners took off. Something died. Crashed.

And the fact that we had barely met, would probably get along quite well with each other- we did have the same interests- no longer mattered.

Thus on one word were my destinies set.

Not Marriage material definitely! Result Computed.



What are my shutdown words I wonder?