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diff --git a/old/60837.txt b/old/60837.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 44975f4..0000000 --- a/old/60837.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1609 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Matchmaker, by Charles L. Fontenay - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll -have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using -this ebook. - - - -Title: Matchmaker - -Author: Charles L. Fontenay - -Release Date: December 3, 2019 [EBook #60837] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MATCHMAKER *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - MATCHMAKER - - By CHARLES L. FONTENAY - - _Ask a sensible question and you're sure - to get a sensible answer--remembering that - one man's sense may be a machine's poison!_ - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Worlds of If Science Fiction, May 1960. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -Jasso laid the bulky report on his superior's desk. - -"No one living can solve the problem," he said. - -Tern stared at him quizzically and leaned back in the cushioned chair -behind his desk. - -"That's encouraging," Tern said with a wry smile. "The second -generation?" - -"The probabilities are high. The most likely father is a man named Lao -Protik, a psycho-artist living in Nuyork." - -"The mother?" - -Jasso grinned, a flashing grin in a dark face. He sank into a chair, -pulled out a cigarette pack and offered one to Tern. The older man -shook his head, fishing in his pocket for an old-fashioned pipe. Jasso -clicked out a cigarette and drew deeply on it. - -"That's one of the fascinating angles about dealing with the -Calculator," he said. "We combined the fifty most probable fathers, -including Lao, with the fifty most probable mothers. Believe it or not, -we drew an absolute blank. They just don't jibe at all." - -"Not too surprising," said Tern. "It's happened before. But I gather -you've already decided to work with this psycho-artist. Why?" - -"Lao's so far ahead of the rest, both men and women, it's the only -thing to do. And, since life is full of little surprises, we found -the probability highest if Lao marries a woman whose own separate -probability rating is close to zero." Jasso consulted his notes -and added: "She's a language teacher named Grida Mattin, living in -Southgate, Tennessee." - -"You're pretty sure these results are right?" asked Tern. - -"I've checked every angle I could think of," replied Jasso carefully. -"Of course, there's always the possibility that two near-zero -probabilities would add up better, when combined. But the probability -rating for marriage between these two is very high--you can see for -yourself when you check the figures. I think it's the best we'll find." - -"It would be so much simpler if we had a high probability among people -in this generation," said Tern thoughtfully. "Arranging a marriage -between two strangers is a ticklish business." - -"It's been done before," said Jasso. "I'll put a team of agents to work -on it right away." - - * * * * * - -There were millions of cards--if you could call things the size of a -bedsheet "cards." Each punched with holes like a swiss cheese, they -filled one of the Calculator's most strategic banks. They represented -every man, woman and child in the civilized world. - -Through them, the course of history could be guided, the advancement -of civilization accelerated. By racing through the backgrounds and -capabilities of every person in the United Nations, the Calculator -could find the best one to do any job, to solve any problem. - -Lao Protik, as he strolled into his swank Nuyork apartment building -that July evening, was completely unaware that the Calculator had -pointed a finger at him. Life flowed smoothly for him. Not a worry -darkened the horizon. His annual salary from Consolidated Ads was five -hundred thousand dols--a comfortable thirty thousand after taxes--and -he maintained three mistresses in separate apartments. - -In the lobby, he paused to open his mailbox. Two letters fell out into -his hands; he tore the envelopes neatly across the end. - -The first was an advertisement for the 2125 model of the Sky Swallow -convertible helicar. He crumpled it and tossed it into a potted palm. - -He grunted in surprise as he read the second one. - -"Vr. Lao Protik," he read. "Our firm has been impressed with your -accomplishments and growing reputation as a psycho-artist. We are in a -position to offer you employment at a salary of one hundred thousand -dols annually. Our representative, Vr. Casto Roche, will call on you in -a few days to discuss this offer with you." - -The letter bore the illegible scrawl of someone who signed himself as -president of Colorvue Publicity, Inc. Lao had never heard of the firm. - -Lao's lips curled and this missive followed the first one into the -potted palm. He felt a momentary irritation at the audacity of anyone -offering him a mere hundred thousand dols, then let the entire matter -slip from his mind. - -Softly whistling the refrain of the latest hit tune, "The Clouds of -Venus Can't Come Between Us," he caught the elevator and ascended to -his last untroubled night for a long time to come. - - * * * * * - -A terse memorandum was waiting for Lao at his office the next morning. -It was not the sort of thing any employee of Consolidated Ads could -ignore--not even a Class A psycho-artist who was an officer in his -union. A worried frown creasing his normally smooth forehead, Lao -hurried down the corridor to the plush office of Mavo Caprin, president -of the firm. - -Caprin was in no amiable mood. He grunted at Lao's somewhat querulous -greeting. He kept his nose buried in papers, puffing ominously on a fat -cigar for several minutes before looking up and waving Lao to a seat. - -"Perhaps you can explain these, Protik," said Caprin sharply, waving -a thick fistful of letters. Lao leaned over to take them, and glanced -through several of them. - -The phrases that met his eyes astounded and outraged him. - -They were such words as "this insolent effrontery," "the unwarranted -audacity of the man," "a deliberate scheme to further rip away the -fabric of our tottering moral code"--all applied to his own work! - -"I can't explain them because I don't know what they are talking -about, Voter Caprin," said Lao. - -"They're talking about these," replied Caprin. With the flourish of a -magician taking a rabbit out of a hat, he produced a sheaf of Lao's -original paintings from his desk drawer. - -Lao riffled through them. At first glance, he saw nothing wrong. -Then he looked more closely, and began to compare them with specific -complaints in the letters. - -His face flushed bright red with anger. - -Only one in a hundred readers of the advertisements that carried Lao -Protik's artwork would have noticed, but the complaints were justified! -The melange which was a competent psycho-artist's painting was -carefully confused to achieve a specific psychological objective--in -Lao Protik's work, to make people want to buy the products sponsored by -Consolidated Ads. But in these paintings the psychological impact had -been distorted cleverly. The psycho-art had been turned into effective -propaganda for polygamy! - -"Somebody has altered my work," said Lao firmly. "I demand a thorough -check of every artist on the staff." - -Caprin shook his head. "That won't be necessary. I've had these -paintings checked by experts, and they all agree this is your original -work." - - * * * * * - -"That's outrageous!" exclaimed Lao. "What 'experts' told you such lies?" - -"It doesn't matter," said Caprin, a bit wearily now. "I don't like to -do it after such a long association, Lao, but Consolidated Ads has a -reputation to maintain. We can't take sides in politics. We have to let -you go." - -Lao stared at him. Then he hurled paintings and letters in Caprin's -face and stalked to the door. Halfway out of the office, he turned and -shouted furiously: - -"The Psycho-Artists Guild will have something to say about this, -Caprin!" - -"I don't think so," Caprin retorted mildly, rubbing a bruised cheek. - -It wasn't long before Lao realized the significance of that parting -remark. His few personal belongings jammed into his briefcase, he -emerged on the roof of the huge Consolidated Ads building and looked -around for a helicab. The cabstands were empty at the moment. Waiting -under an awning, he dropped a dime into a newspaper vending machine. It -clucked and ejected the noon edition of the _Star_ into his hands. - -A good-sized headline on Page One proclaimed: "Art Union Ejects -Protik." His eyes bulging slightly, Lao read swiftly: - - In a specially called meeting of its executive committee, the - Psycho-Artists Guild this morning revoked the membership of its - second vice-president, Lao Protik, chief psycho-artist for - Consolidated Ads. - - Officers of the union refused to make public the reason for - Protik's ejection, but there were reports that some connection - with the notorious Polygamy League was involved. Protik could - not be reached for comment immediately, and the switchboard - operator at Consolidated Ads said she had instructions not - to ring his office. - - * * * * * - -Unshaven and bleary-eyed, Lao argued plaintively over the telephone -with his old friend, Majo Hobel, personnel chief at Autovance -Advertising. Hobel had tried several times in the past to woo Lao from -Consolidated Ads. - -"It's no good, Lao," said Hobel. "You've been blackballed." - -"But it's all a pack of lies, Majo!" cried Lao. "You know the inside of -the field. How about the foreign firms?" Anything outside of Nuyork was -"foreign." - -"It's the same in Kahgo and all over. Sorry, Lao." - -Cursing, Lao slammed down the receiver and dialed the number of Tinna, -his favorite mistress. A voice he recognized as Tinna's answered. - -"Tinna," he began, "this is Lao...." - -"She isn't here," said Tinna frigidly. The telephone clicked in his ear. - -Lao's shoulders drooped. He put the phone in its cradle and, without -much hope, prepared to dial Phreda, another mistress. It buzzed at him -before he could begin. - -He answered it. - -"Voter Protik, there's a gentleman in the lobby to see you," said the -apartment house operator. - -"I don't want to see any more reporters!" shouted Lao angrily. - -"This isn't a reporter, sir. He says he's a representative of Colorvue -Publicity." - -"Never heard of it," growled Lao. "But send him up." - -He had no time to shave, but he washed his face and tried to make -himself a little more presentable before the apartment buzzer sounded. -He admitted an elderly man with a gray mustache, who had the well-fed -air of a corporation executive. - -"Voter Protik, I am Roche of Colorvue Publicity," his visitor -introduced himself. "You received our letter several days ago?" - -Lao searched his memory. Vaguely he recalled such a letter and his -hopes began to rise. Wasn't it something about offering him a job? - -He asked Roche. - -"That's correct, sir," replied Roche. "A hundred thousand dols a year, -one-quarter payable in advance." - -"You may not want me now," said Lao gloomily. He had no scruples about -putting over a sharp business deal, but any contract he might draw -would be invalid if he withheld information. - -"We are aware of your recent difficulties," said Roche sympathetically. -"I wish to assure you we do not believe the charges that you are -associated with the Polygamy League. Also you may wish to know that my -firm, while a small one, is a reputable one. A check of the Business -Practices Agency will prove that to you." - -"I'm not a member of the Psycho-Artists Guild any more," Lao reminded -him bitterly, "to say nothing of having been blackballed by all major -firms and abandoned by my three mistresses." - -"We have no union contract, and your personal life is your own," -answered Roche with a slight smile. "Your known ability is sufficient -for us. There is one thing, however. Your work will not be in Nuyork, -but in Southgate, a small town in Tennessee. If you see fit to accept -our offer, we will arrange in advance for your quarters there. There -will be no cost to you." - -"I hate to leave Nuyork," said Lao slowly. "And I'm frank to say that I -hate to come down from half a million dols to a hundred thousand. But -your offer comes as a life-saver to me, Voter Roche. I'm inclined to -accept it." - -"Good," said Roche. "Think on it, if you like. I'll put a signed -contract in the next mail for you. When you return it with your -signature, your ticket and instructions will be waiting for you at -Lagwad Airport." - -They shook hands on it, and Roche walked out of Lao's life--for a while. - - * * * * * - -His hands in his pockets, Lao strolled into the kitchen, where his -landlady, Grida Mattin, was melodiously preparing lunch. Grida wore an -apron over her old-fashioned opaque clothing and her head, beginning to -show a few gray streaks, was bent over the gleaming stove. - -"Grida, do you mind if I use the telephone for a long-distance call to -Nuyork?" he asked. - -"Certainly not, Lao," she answered, turning to smile at him. Her face -was not exceptionally attractive, but she had beautiful teeth. "Nothing -wrong, I hope." - -"I don't know," he said. "My salary check is three weeks overdue." - -He placed the call to Colorvue Publicity on the kitchen extension, and -stood by the stove, watching Grida stir and season. - -"Cooking is almost a lost art, Grida, and you're a good cook," he -said. "I'm surprised you've never married." - -Grida flushed at the compliment. - -"It may sound boastful, but I've never courted a man, Lao," she said. -"As you may have noticed, I have conservative habits. I'm afraid I'm -a little out of place in the modern world. I don't approve of the -frivolous attitude people have toward marriage now." - -Lao looked at her, not without some affection. Of course he had made -advances, as most men did to all unmarried women with whom they -associated. - -But Grida was a history teacher, and she lived by the outmoded morals -of the distant past. She had made it known at once that marriage was -her price for intimacy, and she gave no hint she was interested in -marriage. - -"There's nothing frivolous about it from the man's view-point, when -only a woman can apply for a divorce," replied Lao. "That's why it's -hard for women to catch husbands. With ten women to every man, most men -have no trouble finding mistresses." - -"I don't approve of that, either," said Grida, compressing her lips -firmly. - -The telephone interrupted, and Lao went into the library to talk. - -"On your call, sir," came the thin voice of the Nuyork operator, -"there is no Colorvue Publicity listed." - -"What!" he exclaimed. "There must be! Check again." - -He waited a long, anxious moment. - -"I'm sorry, sir," came the operator's voice again. "I have checked our -directory, and there is no Colorvue Publicity listed." - -Lao swore fervently. - -"Wait a minute," he cried. "Nuyork? Hold it just a minute, will you?" - -He raced up the ramp to his second floor bedroom, fumbled through his -dresser drawer until he found his contract and ran back downstairs with -it. He had the operator check the name of every Colorvue Publicity -official who had signed the contract. None was listed. - -"I know there's a Colorvue Publicity!" he shouted desperately. "Get me -the Business Practices Agency." - -"Just a moment, sir." - -A man's voice answered at the Business Practices Agency. It took him -several minutes to check the files in compliance with Lao's request for -information. - -"We have no such firm listed in our records," he said at last. - - * * * * * - -"Dammit, I know you do!" exclaimed Lao. "You told me Colorvue Publicity -had a Double-A2 rating when I checked with you, not four months ago." - -"Was the request for a rating by letter or by telephone, sir?" - -"By telephone. It didn't take the girl three minutes to find it." - -"There'd be no record of your request if it was made by telephone. -There must have been some mistake, sir. If there were a firm named -Colorvue Publicity in any city in the world having a population of more -than 100,000, it would be in our records." - -Lao cursed him and hung up. Grida came out of the kitchen, wiping her -hands on her apron. - -"I couldn't help overhearing, Lao," she said. "There must be something -wrong. That company sent me a check for your first three months' room -and board. It cleared the bank all right." - -"So did my salary check for the first quarter," he said. "But the -Business Practices Agency is supposed to keep records of a firm for -a year after its dissolution. I can't understand anybody paying out -twenty-five thousand dols and then just disappearing!" - -"If you need any help to tide you over, Lao ..." she said hesitantly. -"My salary isn't much--fifteen thousand dols a year. But I have -something saved." - -"Thanks, Grida, but I'll be all right," he said, turning away. - -Lao left the house and strode down the quiet streets of Southgate, -fuming. This had all the earmarks of a conspiracy. First the sabotage -at Consolidated Ads, now the utter disappearance of Colorvue Publicity. -But he could think of no enemies who would have reason to conspire -against him. The field of psycho-art was a highly specialized one, -without bitter competition. - -Back in his room at Grida Mattin's house were half a dozen canvases -that reflected all his co-ordinated skill. Done on the instructions he -found at Lagwad Airport the night he left Nuyork, they depicted all -the advantages of marriage in a small Southern town. His now-vanished -employers had never sent him instructions for their disposal. Now the -work was wasted, unless he could sell them free-lance. - -The brown autumn leaves were drifting down on the crumbling sidewalks -of Southgate, stripping the trees that lined the streets. Blue smoke -drifted from chimneys of a few of the old houses, dissipating into the -gray sky. It was an atmosphere that fitted his mood of despair. - -The most pressing problem that faced him was financial. Lao was a -lavish man with his money. His balance at the bank now wouldn't cover -his income tax for the year. It was something he'd never had to worry -about before, because good psycho-artists were well-paid and always in -demand. Now, marooned in the Tennessee hills, blackballed by every big -firm in the nation, his prospects looked bleak. - -Something Grida had said stuck in his mind. Fifteen thousand a -year--plus savings. It wasn't a great deal, after taxes, but it was a -living. And he could pay his own taxes next March. - -He shook his head and turned his steps back toward the house. Marriage -was the very last resort for Lao. He'd try free-lancing the Colorvue -paintings first. - - * * * * * - -Roche looked unhappy. "While he was working on the paintings he didn't -have time to get around town, such as it is," he said. "He and Grida -were together a lot. They seemed to get along. Now he's sold the -paintings and he's spending the money on a mistress." - -"Well, Jasso, this is your baby," said Tern. "What now?" - -"A mistress can be scared off pretty easily," said Jasso. "We've got -agents pulling strings all over the place right now to stave off a -worse problem than that. Grida's sister, Alina, visits her every year -and our secondary checks with the Calculator show such a visit would -be fatal to any chances of a Lao-Grida marriage. Alina's a doctor in -Frisco. We've managed to get the hospital authorities to postpone her -vacation, but we've got to get Lao and Grida married pretty quick. They -can't stall Alina off forever." - -"It strikes me that you're just as far away from the marriage as you -were at the beginning," commented Tern. - -"How do you make two people want to marry each other?" countered Jasso. -"It's not enough the Calculator has to pick out a woman 20 years older -than he is. Checking them against each other, they are basically -incompatible." - -"Can you tell them? Maybe if they knew how important their marriage is -to the world...." - -"I've checked that," said Jasso. "We can't. The probability would drop -to almost nothing." - -"Excuse me, sir," interposed Roche. "All the pertinent information on -the basic personalities of Lao and Grida is filed in their Calculator -cards. It seems to me that all you'd have to do would be to ask the -Calculator how to make them want to marry each other." - -"Dealing with the Calculator isn't quite that simple, Roche," replied -Jasso with a smile. "It's a machine. It has no language that would -permit it to tell us _how_ things are done, even though we might say it -knows, because it has all the necessary information. - -"If we ask for information recorded in the Calculator, it can refer -us to the place in the file to find it--if we phrase the question -properly. If we ask a true-or-false question, it will answer 'yes' or -'no,' if it has the answer. If we ask for correlation of information, -the Calculator can give us the probability of attaining an objective. - -"That's why it takes such long training to become a Calculator -operator. The Calculator can correlate the emotional factors of Lao and -Grida for us, but we have to draw our own conclusions for action from -them--and then ask the Calculator for probabilities. That's all." - -Tern had listened gravely, without interrupting, his hands folded -across the bulge of his stomach. - -"You evidently haven't been asking the right questions, Jasso," he -remarked sardonically. "It's hard for me to realize that this is the -Jasso who stopped the Brazilo-Panamanian War and solved the economic -crisis that threatened Pakistan." - -"I've still got a few tricks up my sleeve, Chief," retorted Jasso. "The -only way to make a pair want to marry is to throw them together and -then exploit their psychological weakness. Make them _need_ each other. -I've got a psychology team checking Lao and Grida with a fine-tooth -comb, and we'll check their recommendations with the Calculator." - -"From what you've told me, I'd say Lao's biggest weakness is a love of -luxurious living," suggested Tern. "That takes money, you know." - -"Economic pressure alone doesn't go deep enough to drive him to -marriage. Not with so many available women around. Don't worry; we're -using economic pressure to keep him off balance. But the psychologists -tell us the final motivation must be an emotional frustration. It -doesn't have to be a big one, but it must be basic." - - * * * * * - -Lao had had the letter for two days, and still didn't know what to do -about it. It had cost him two sleepless nights. - -In the old days in Nuyork he would have aired his troubles to friends -at the Psycho-Artists Club and probably acted on a dozen varying bits -of advice at the same time. Here there was no one to whom he could turn. - -He glared morosely at the unfinished painting. The canvas gleamed with -iridescent whorls and lines, from which the face and form of Grida -Mattin were beginning to emerge. In the maze of waxing and waning -colors could be distinguished, if one looked closely enough, faint -countenances of women and babies with expressions of anxiety, of fear, -of hunger for love ... with occasionally a man. - -It would have sold well, he thought. Free-lancing had been a promising -idea. - -He dragged himself downstairs to breakfast. He usually reacted to -Grida's singing. It pleased him mildly when he was in an expansive -mood, irritated him when his mind was on something else. - -This morning he hardly heard it. - -"Alina will be here in three weeks," Grida imparted over the toast and -coffee. - -"Alina?" he asked, without much interest. - -"My sister. Haven't I mentioned her to you before?" - -"No, I don't think so. Where is she?" - -"She's a doctor in Frisco. She visits me every year, but she's already -more than a month late this year." - -A doctor. Jasso raised a mental image of Alina as sort of a duplicate -of Grida, a plain, elderly woman with graying hair swept back into a -bun at the nape of her neck. Right now, however, he had more important -matters on his mind. - -"Grida, do you know a good lawyer?" he blurted. - -"Why, yes. Tello Distane is the best in town," she said. "Is there -anything the matter, Lao?" - -Silently, he pulled the crumpled letter from his pocket and handed it -to her. It was from a prominent Nuyork legal firm. It said: - - On behalf of our clients, Colorvue Publicity, Inc., we are - instituting suit against you for one million dols in damages, - for having disposed of psycho-paintings you contracted to - accomplish for them. - -"But isn't that the company you couldn't find any report of?" gasped -Grida. - -"It disappeared right off the map," said Lao grimly. "Now it's appeared -again. I can't understand this at all!" - -"I'd take it to Tello," said Grida firmly. "He can tell you what you -should do." - - * * * * * - -He took his letter to Distane that afternoon. Small towns change -little, and the attorney's office was upstairs over a department store, -as his great-grandfather's probably had been. - -Distane, a white-haired man with a leonine cast to his jaw, listened -with fingertips together for a few moments, until the details of Lao's -troubles began to unfold. - -"Just a moment, Voter," he said. "What did you say your name is?" - -"Lao Protik," answered Lao, somewhat nettled. - -Moistening his index finger, Distane shuffled through some papers on -his desk, peering at them with intense concentration. At last his face -lit. - -"Ah, Voter Protik," he said, settling back in his chair. "We have a new -partner in our firm ... an experienced attorney, you understand, but -new to our firm. I think Voter Attok is the man who should handle your -case." - -Getting to his feet with a grunt, Distane led Lao into an adjoining -room which gave evidence of having been newly furnished not long -before. An urbane-looking man of middle age sat behind the desk, -twiddling a letter opener idly. - -"This," said Distane heavily, "is Lao Protik, Voter Attok." - -Distane left, shutting the door behind him. Lao stared at Attok. Attok -raised his eyebrows quizzically. - -"Excuse me," apologized Lao hurriedly. "I was just trying to remember -if we had met before, Voter Attok. Your face seems very familiar to me." - -"I don't believe so," said Attok in a well-modulated voice. "I gather -from Voter Distane that you have a legal problem on your mind, Voter -Protik. Won't you sit down?" - -Settling himself in a chair, Lao handed the letter to Attok. Prompted -occasionally by questions from the attorney, he outlined the events -leading to its receipt. - -"Well, I don't think you have anything to worry about, Voter Protik," -said Attok when he had finished. "If they were delinquent in payment -of your salary before you sold the psycho-paintings and you tried -unsuccessfully to contact them through the Business Practices Agency, -they have no lawsuit. Just leave this letter with me for a few days -and I'll get in touch with you when I've completed the investigation -necessary to document our case." - -Lao left, feeling better but racking his brain for an elusive memory. -He was sure he had seen Attok before. - - * * * * * - -Three days later, Attok called Lao back to his office. The atmosphere -was not nearly as hospitable. - -"I thought you understood, Voter Protik, that a man must be absolutely -honest with his attorney," said Attok severely. "I can't handle your -case properly when you withhold facts from me." - -"I haven't withheld any facts," said Lao, surprised. - -"You did tell me that the Business Practices Agency had told you there -was no such firm as Colorvue Publicity, didn't you? The BPA tells -me they have no record of your getting in touch with them about the -matter. They say Colorvue Publicity has been recorded in their files -for several years. It is a small but reputable firm." - -"It was a telephone check," said Lao desperately. "I don't know who -the man was I talked to, but I'll swear he said there was no Colorvue -Publicity!" - -"Mmm." Attok stared keenly at him. "As I recall, you told me also that -you had not received your salary from Colorvue?" - -"That's right, and how they expect me to hold onto the paintings when -they don't pay me...." - -"How about these?" - -Attok laid the photostats of three checks on the desk. Each was for -twenty-five thousand dols, and made out to Lao Protik from Colorvue -Publicity, Inc. - -Lao recognized one of them as the check he had received as his first -quarter salary advance. The other two were exact duplicates, but -dated at three-month intervals. The photostats of the backs of the -checks--all of them--bore what appeared to be his endorsement. - -"It's forgery!" howled Lao. "I only signed one of those checks! It's a -conspiracy to ruin me!" - -"Conspiracy or not, Voter Protik, we can't win your case if experts say -that's your handwriting. The expert I took it to says it is." - -Lao collapsed. - -"Who's doing this to me, Voter Attok?" he whimpered. "Why are they -doing it?" - -"On the face of it, I'd say to get your money," replied Attok -sympathetically. "You were a very successful psycho-artist before -your ... ah ... misfortune." - -"I don't have any money. I have saved nothing." - -"You are familiar with the law, aren't you? If they win the suit, -they're entitled to half of everything you make above a minimum five -thousand dols annually, until the judgment is paid." - -"I don't make five thousand dols a year. I don't have a job. What can I -do, Voter Attok?" - -"Why, as long as you make less than five thousand dols a year, they -can't touch you," replied Attok. "But to safeguard your finances in -the event you do regain your former financial status, I'd suggest you -incorporate yourself, with your wife as the controlling stockholder. -Then you can limit your personal salary to five thousand dols a year, -and the remainder of the income will be under her control. The law -can't touch it." - -"But ... but I'm not married," said Lao. - -Attok raised his eyebrows slightly. - -"Oh, well, it doesn't matter," he said at last. "As long as you make -less than five thousand." - -The wheels in Lao's brain were clicking as he left Attok's office. -He thought he saw through the whole scheme against him. Whoever was -behind Colorvue Publicity had engineered the frauds that got him -blackballed and discharged from Consolidated. They had maneuvered him -into a position where he would be vulnerable to a million-dol legal -judgment. Now, undoubtedly, the next move was to clear him and restore -his reputation, so he'd be financially able to pay off. - -It was devilish--and he saw no way out. - - * * * * * - -Lao moped around the house, his nerves near the breaking point. -Daily he dreaded notification that the damage suit had been formally -instituted, a move which would cut off his only chance to see his -income and his position in the psycho-art field restored. - -Marriage? It was on his mind constantly. The idea disturbed him almost -as much as the thought of Colorvue taking a big slice of his income for -the next decade or so. He might have been inclined to marry one of his -three mistresses in Nuyork--before they showed themselves for what they -were--but he knew better than to trust his former Southgate mistress -with control of his finances. She had abandoned him as soon as the -money from the sale of his paintings had run out. - -A mailman's visit was an unusual enough phenomenon to create interest, -for it meant the delivery of a package. Letter mail was delivered from -the post office to each home through a vacuum tube system. Since it was -a letter Lao feared, he watched with considerable interest when the -mailman approached the front door, and curiosity was upper-most in his -mind when Grida called from downstairs to say the package was for him. - -He knew no one who would be sending him a package. - -Grida, her own curiosity apparent, made no move to leave the room when -he took the large, oblong package from her and prepared to open it. -A premonition smote him as he noted the return address: "The Nuyork -Gallery of Traditional Art." - -With trembling fingers he tore away the wrappings. His paintings--all -three of them--tumbled to the floor. - -He dropped into a chair, limp. The most important thing in his life was -lying, broken, before him. - -"What _is_ this?" exclaimed Grida. She picked up one of the paintings -and examined it. "This isn't psycho-art," she said. "This is real! I -like this, Lao." - -"It's what I've always wanted to do," he said in a tired voice. "Those -three paintings have hung in the Gallery of Traditional Art for nearly -ten years." - -"There's a letter attached," she said, holding it out to him. - -"Go ahead--open it, Grida," he said. "I think I know what it says." - - * * * * * - -Grida tore open the envelope and unfolded the letter. - - In accordance with instructions from our board of directors, in - special meeting, all the paintings hanging in our gallery have - been re-evaluated. We regret to inform you that your paintings - were judged to be no longer representative of traditional art. - They are being returned to you herewith. We wish to express our - appreciation.... - -She stopped reading. - -"That's right," said Lao morosely. "They threw my paintings out." - -"But, Lao, I didn't know you did this sort of thing," she said, -bewildered. - -"It's what I've always wanted to do," he repeated. "I never really -liked psycho-art. I never believed it's real art. It isn't something -the artist feels and thinks, it's something he tries to make other -people feel and think. - -"But psycho-art is the only kind of art I could make money at. I didn't -have the courage to starve in an attic or make a living in some prosaic -way and paint as a hobby. I turned my talent into cash and I always -spent the cash as fast as I made it--maybe because I was ashamed that -I was a coward." - -"But these three?" asked Grida. - -"Sometimes," said Lao dreamily, "I've had time to do what I wanted to -do. These are the best I've ever done. When I gave them to the gallery, -they told me these were among the highest examples of traditional art -they had ever seen. I thought they meant it, but I know now it was just -because I was a famous, wealthy psycho-artist." - -Grida studied the paintings. One was a seascape, the other two mountain -scenes. The titles gave some key to Lao's inner feelings: "Peace in the -Valley," "The Moving Waters," "The Lonely Peak." - -"Your trouble is that you grew up a little boy in a big city," said -Grida quietly. "You ought to try to forget the sort of things you knew -in Nuyork and settle down to a life among simple folk, like the people -around here. I think you could find work here, Lao, that would be a -living for you. And you'd have plenty of time to relax and paint the -way you want to." - -Lao looked at her and saw that her eyes were full of sympathy for him. -It was the last little push his overwrought emotions needed. - -He did not do it at once; but that night, after supper, he proposed -marriage to Grida Mattin and she accepted. - - * * * * * - -Tern was furious. He did not raise his voice, but Jasso could detect -his anger in his eyes and the tone of his voice. - -"I put this matter entirely in your hands, Jasso, and I expected you to -do a thorough job on it," Tern said coldly. "It's inconceivable to me -that you should be so negligent in your investigation." - -"It was my fault, I'll admit," said the crestfallen Jasso. "But you -can't blame the clerk. He was told to check the personal files on the -question 'marriage,' not 'ability to reproduce.' You'll have to agree -there's a difference." - -"I would think the lowest clerk involved in this operation would be -instructed that _progeny_ from the marriage is the key factor!" said -Tern. "The whole purpose of this marriage from the first has been to -produce a child that the Calculator said would have a high probability -rating for solving the problem. - -"Can you tell me how the devil you bright minds on the project expect a -marriage to produce a child--when the wife is sterile?" - -"That's one thing that makes me wonder if there isn't some -maladjustment in the Calculator," said Jasso. "Sterility has been -marked on Grida Mattin's card for the last eight years. I don't think -you can criticize the clerk, or me, too harshly for not thinking about -sterility when the Calculator approved the marriage. After all, her -card was in the Calculator and...." - -"Don't repeat yourself," interrupted Tern brusquely. "Of course, -those circuits must be checked, but I'll give 100 to one odds right -now there's nothing wrong with the Calculator. Sterility must have -registered as a correctible factor." - -"I don't know why it would," objected Jasso very thoughtfully. "The -only evidence the Calculator has is that the sterility is a normal -result of her age, and that can't be reversed as far as I know. But the -only thing we can do is treat it as correctible." - -"Try it," said Tern. "But, Jasso, I want you to realize you're not -dealing now with the movement of traffic in downtown Nuyork or even -the selection of a president. The solution of this problem is vital to -mankind. I don't want any more slip-ups." - - * * * * * - -Alina Mattin's fresh beauty seemed to light the interior of the antique -Twenty-First Century house. She resembled Grida, but more as Grida's -daughter might have looked than as her younger sister. - -Lao sighed. Had he met Alina Mattin first, he did not believe any -conceivable emergency could have persuaded him to marry her sister. - -"There's some misunderstanding somewhere, but they won't admit it," -said Alina, a puzzled frown wrinkling the bridge of her nose. She and -Lao were having supper in the breakfast nook; Lao found her quite as -competent a cook as Grida. - -After more than a year at Southgate and many months of marriage to -Grida, his lean features were filling out. - -"I don't think there's been a mistake," he said complacently. "The -board of education ordered Grida to enter the hospital." - -"For a routine physical check-up, eh?" replied Alina. "That isn't what -she's getting." - -"What are they doing, then?" asked Lao, startled. - -"They're examining her to see if anything can be done to restore her -fertility," answered Alina flatly. "Lao, did you authorize the hospital -to do that?" - -"Certainly not! I never thought about her fertility, one way or -another. You're sure you're not mistaken?" - -"I'm a doctor. I know what they're doing. But the hospital -administrator won't tell me a thing. He just says that's on the record -of her admission to the hospital." - -"They must have gotten her records mixed up with someone else," -theorized Lao. - -"Maybe. I don't know whether you knew it or not, but Grida is too old -to have a child." - -Supper finished, they piled the plastic dishes in the dishwasher and -went into the parlor together. Lao turned the lights low. They sat down -together on the sofa. They sat very close together, and after a moment -Lao put his arm around Alina's shoulders. She laid her head contentedly -on his chest. - -"Why couldn't you have stayed out of my life?" he asked, half -seriously, half teasingly. - -"Would you want me to?" she asked softly. - -"No," he admitted, running his fingers through her hair. "But this -isn't the way I want things. I suppose we should be thankful for these -few days while she's in the hospital, but I'm ashamed to be." - -"So am I," confessed Alina, "but, darling, I've been so happy here -alone with you. Tell me, why did you marry Grida?" - -"I'm not sure I know," he answered slowly. "I'd hate to have to try to -analyze my motives right now. I like Grida and respect her, but I don't -love her. I couldn't. I love you, Alina." - -"Let's end this sneaking about behind Grida's back, Lao," she urged -earnestly, looking up into his face. "It isn't fair to her. Get a -divorce and let's marry each other." - -"You know the law doesn't permit a man to seek a divorce, Alina. And -Grida wouldn't release me now. She loves me." - -"Grida will divorce you," said Alina positively. "It will hurt her, but -she will. Grida is a history teacher, and her moral code is strict--and -out of date. It scarcely gets lip service any more from most people." - -"You're suggesting I tell her about us? I couldn't, Alina! I can't let -her ever find out." - -"But she will," said Alina, her eyes shining. "Lao, I'm going to have a -baby." - - * * * * * - -The man's face looked familiar. - -Then he approached Lao and Alina, standing in the corridor outside the -chancery courtroom, and Lao recognized him with certainty. - -"You're the man from Colorvue!" Lao flashed at him angrily. - -"That's right, Voter Protik. I'm Casto Roche." The man held out his -hand. Lao ignored it. - -"I ought to beat you all the way from here to Nuyork!" he growled--with -audacity, since Roche was a good deal bigger. "I trusted you, once." - -"You trusted me twice," replied Roche amiably. "I think you'd recognize -me as someone else with a little different make-up." - -He held his hand to his face and puffed out his cheeks slightly. - -"Attok! My lawyer!" yelped Lao. People in the corridor turned to stare -at him. "I wondered why you disappeared after I paid you that fee! I -see it all now! You were part of this whole dirty--" - -"Before you get too excited, Voter Protik ..." Roche did not complete -the sentence, but turned under his coat lapel to exhibit the badge -which identified him as a United Nations agent. - -Lao gulped and choked off his tirade. - -"I'm here to try to stop these divorce proceedings between you and your -wife," said Roche. - -"Don't you think you've come to the wrong people?" suggested Alina, -apparently not nearly as impressed by Roche's badge as Lao was. "My -sister is the only one who can stop the divorce." - -"Besides, it's too late," said Lao, regaining his voice. "The hearing -is finished. The judge will give his decision in a moment." - -Roche said, "That can be stopped at a word from you. As a matter of -fact, the judge is waiting for me to confer with you before calling -the court back into session. I've told your wife why the government -is interested in preserving your marriage. She is willing to drop the -divorce proceedings if you are." - -"Perhaps you'd better tell _us_ why," said Alina coolly. - - * * * * * - -Roche sighed. "All right. But it's rather involved. We haven't let -it be publicized widely, but the world is faced with a very serious -sociological problem. I suppose both of you are aware that there are a -great many more women than men." - -"Of course," said Lao, his face brightening with reminiscence. - -"Of course," concurred Alina, giving Lao a thoughtful glance. - -"If you've read the Sunday supplements, you know why," said Roche. -"Always, more boy babies have been born than girl babies, but the high -mortality rate among boy babies has balanced the discrepancy. Now the -mortality rate has climbed tremendously higher for boy babies. We do -not know why. We do know that the ratio of women to men is increasing. -At the last census taken by the Calculator, it was 9.78 women to each -man. - -"Under our present social system of monogamous marriage, this means the -actual birth rate is decreasing. Even the large number of illegitimate -children doesn't make up for the lack of men in the world. That, of -course, is the reason the Polygamy League has gained so much strength." - -"Well, don't they have a point?" asked Lao. He added hastily: "I don't -hold with the ideas of the Polygamy League, you understand, in spite of -the propaganda that I was connected with it." - -Roche smiled. - -"That propaganda was manufactured by UN agents," he confessed. "So were -all your troubles, including the dummy corporation. Colorvue Publicity -had no other purpose but to maneuver you into marriage with Grida -Mattin. A little unethical, I'll admit, but sometimes we have to work -that way. You'll be happy to know that the damage suit against you has -been withdrawn. You can get your old job back with Consolidated Ads -and be restored to the Psycho-Artists Guild any time you wish. And -we've even arranged for the Gallery of Traditional Art to re-hang your -paintings. - -"As a matter of fact," he continued, "the government has given serious -consideration to the ideas of the Polygamy League, but the Calculator -rejected them; it discovered that they would have an unfortunate impact -on our social structure. So polygamy is not the answer. - -"The Calculator tells us it is very improbable that anyone now living -will find the answer. - -"But the child of Lao Protik and Grida Mattin can--and probably -will--solve the problem." - - * * * * * - -"I'm afraid your Calculator is wrong," said Alina. "Go back and tell -your government Grida Mattin is unable to bear a child." - -"The government has that information," replied Roche, frowning -slightly. "We must consider it a soluble problem, because the -Calculator has the information on file and it still gave us a high -probability on the marriage. The Calculator is a machine. It doesn't -make mistakes." - -"It's made a mistake this time," said Alina positively. "Lao and I -are going to be married. I don't think he will give up our chance for -happiness for any such shaky scheme." - -"We have no way of forcing him," admitted Roche, "but I believe Voter -Protik should speak for himself, knowing how important this is." - -"She's right!" said Lao, anger in his tone. "I think the government -has interfered with my life enough as it is! I've done my part, and -the government didn't even do me the courtesy of letting me know I was -doing it. I love Alina. I don't intend to be tied to Grida for the rest -of my life just on the outside chance you'll come up with a cure for -her sterility." - -He turned his back on Roche. - -Roche looked at Alina. She looked back, coldly. With a shrug, Roche -left them and went through the door to the courtroom. - -A few moments later the bailiff threw open the courtroom doors. - -Lao, Alina and Grida filed in with the spectators and attorneys. They -stood as the judge entered from his chambers, adjusted his black robes -and took his seat. The spectators sat down then, but the attorneys and -principals remained standing at the bar. - -The judge put on his spectacles, looked over some papers, and raised -his head to survey the courtroom. Solemnly he announced: - -"It is the decision of this court that Grida Mattin Protik be granted a -divorce, as requested, from the defendant, Lao Protik. - -"It is the further decision of this court that the co-respondent in -this suit, Alina Mattin, being unmarried and having proved herself by -her admitted actions to be an unfit mother, her unborn child by the -defendant shall be delivered as soon as feasible after birth into the -custody of the complainant, Grida Mattin Protik." - - * * * * * - -"Well, that blows it up," said Jasso despondently, laying the newspaper -clipping on Tern's desk. "Lao and Alina didn't even contest Grida's -custody of their child, even though their marriage before its birth -legitimatized it. Now Grida has the baby and Lao and Alina have gone -off to parts unknown." - -"I suppose we could find them, if we tried," said Tern. "But I don't -see the point in following this case any farther, Jasso. They made it -pretty plain to your agent that the Lao-Grida marriage is through." - -"Shall I write it off as closed, then?" - -"I'm afraid you might as well," consented Tern reluctantly. "How have -your alternate combinations turned out?" - -"We've succeeded in arranging several marriages in the highest -probability group. But frankly, Chief, all the probability ratings for -their offspring are pretty low. We had our only real chance in the -Lao-Grida combination." - -"I don't want to go to the third generation if I can help it," said -Tern. "There's always the chance that combinations of low probability -individuals might result in high probability offspring. Let's run -another test on direct probability, on just those individuals who have -been filed for the first time since we began the Lao-Grida case." - -"I'll get started on it right away," said Jasso. - - * * * * * - -Two days later, Jasso burst into Tern's office highly excited, a -section of tape from the Calculator trailing from his grasp. - -"Chief, this is unbelievable!" he cried. "We have an individual -here whose probability tests 82.371 per cent to solve the problem, -projecting a life expectancy of 50 years!" - -Tern whistled and rolled his eyes. - -"Pretty high probability!" he said delightedly. "Pretty doggoned high! -Baby, I suppose?" - -"Yes," said Jasso. He paused, and added slowly and with emphasis: "The -child's name is Nina Mattin." - -"Mattin?" - -"The daughter of Lao Protik and Alina Mattin! Now the adopted daughter -of Grida Mattin." - -"What!" - -"The strange thing about it, Chief, is that Alina Mattin was one of -the higher probability mothers we found first. But we checked her -against Lao, and the probability for an offspring of their marriage -was extremely low. Do you suppose the Calculator has gone completely -haywire?" - -Tern did not answer at once. He sat, lost in deep thought, for several -minutes. Then he began laughing. - -He laughed until tears came into his eyes, slapping his knee -delightedly. Jasso stood there, looking blank. - -"No, the Calculator's not haywire, Jasso," said Tern, when he could -get his breath. "It just has all the facts, and it correlates facts -we don't even think about. The reason we get funny ideas about it -sometimes is because the Calculator can't talk. As you explained, -it can just answer questions, and sometimes we don't ask the right -questions. - -"From what's happened, I'd say the question you asked the Calculator -when you were looking for second-generation probabilities was not 'the -offspring of two people.' It was 'offspring resulting from the marriage -of two people.' Isn't that right?" - -"It seemed the proper way to put the question," answered Jasso a little -stiffly. - - * * * * * - -Tern began laughing again. "It was the right question to put," he -choked, "but illegitimacy was the key to the whole thing! - -"Look: the Calculator had all the facts. It knew all about the -emotional make-up of Lao, Grida and Alina. It knew that Alina was -Grida's sister. - -"The probability course is obvious! Given a marriage between Lao -and Grida, the probability was high that he would meet her sister, -Alina, under convenient circumstances. The probability was high, too, -considering the emotional make-up of the three, that Lao and Alina -would fall in love. Under our present social scheme, an illegitimate -child was likely. So there you are." - -"Chief, I know you've been in this business a lot longer than I -have," said Jasso slowly. "I've got to confess now that I can't see -the slightest reason why the probability for a child of Lao and Alina -should be so much higher under these circumstances than if the two of -them just met and got married." - -"Environment, my boy! It's just as important as heredity. Lao's -marriage to Grida was the key to the whole thing. Grida is a motherly, -fiercely conscientious type of woman who would insist on rearing her -husband's child--no matter who the mother was. And of course the courts -would uphold her." - -Tern was laughing again. "Anyway, we've got it licked. We have our -high-probability individual.... But I'm glad of one thing. Suppose -you'd asked the Calculator to check itself--asked it, for instance, if -we knew what we were doing. It would have given us a straight answer, -and we would have abandoned the whole project--it would have told us we -didn't know at all!" - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Matchmaker, by Charles L. 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