Getting to Know You (short story)
Encyclopedia
"Getting to Know You" is a science fiction
short story
by David Marusek
, that was published in the March 1998 issue of Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine. This story has also been included in Marusek's 2007 short story collection
Getting To Know You.
who visits her elderly sister Nancy, who is the only other surviving member of her family. Unlicensed procreation has been outlawed to prevent overpopulation
; biotechnology
has advanced to the point where immortality
is possible, but only granted to people who have the means and are considered useful to society. Nancy is one of the people who are considered obsolete, as she was forced out of her teaching career after the Procreation Ban; she now works as a hospice caretaker from her apartment
, where she tends to holograph
ic projections of dying patients.
A subplot of the story involves Zoranna's "belt valet", an artificially intelligent
accessory that can mentally communicate with its wearer and perform a wide variety of tasks. A representative of the company that gave her the belt valet (which she names "Bug") to field test urges that she return it, due to an unspecified defect; she refuses in spite of her annoyance with it, as she needs it for progressively more tasks.
When she finally visits Nancy, Zoranna finds out that she is living with a man who is using her as a fall guy
for a fraud
. She forces the man to leave under threat of turning him in, a loss which causes Nancy's condition to deteriorate. Zoranna's attempts to get Nancy to go to a rejuvenation
clinic on her dime are rebuffed, until Bug - having unexpectedly changed into a suave, powerful entity named Nicholas that knows every aspect of her life and personality - tricks Nancy into taking Zoranna to the clinic by making it appear as if she were gravely ill. Angered at first, Zoranna at last comes to terms with the machine.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
by David Marusek
David Marusek
David Marusek is an author who was born in Buffalo, New York but lived various places in youth. He is currently divorced and has a grown daughter. He has lived in Alaska since 1973 and that is the state he is most associated with....
, that was published in the March 1998 issue of Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine. This story has also been included in Marusek's 2007 short story collection
Short story collection
A short story collection is a book of short stories by a single author, as distinguished by an anthology of fiction by more than one author. The stories in a collection can share a theme, setting, or characters and sometimes can also include work of poetry. Notable collections include Nine Stories...
Getting To Know You.
Plot
Set the same future (the "Boutique Economy") as Marusek's We Were Out of Our Minds with Joy, the story is about Zoranna - an affluent, attractive journalistJournalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
who visits her elderly sister Nancy, who is the only other surviving member of her family. Unlicensed procreation has been outlawed to prevent overpopulation
Overpopulation
Overpopulation is a condition where an organism's numbers exceed the carrying capacity of its habitat. The term often refers to the relationship between the human population and its environment, the Earth...
; biotechnology
Biotechnology
Biotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
has advanced to the point where immortality
Immortality
Immortality is the ability to live forever. It is unknown whether human physical immortality is an achievable condition. Biological forms have inherent limitations which may or may not be able to be overcome through medical interventions or engineering...
is possible, but only granted to people who have the means and are considered useful to society. Nancy is one of the people who are considered obsolete, as she was forced out of her teaching career after the Procreation Ban; she now works as a hospice caretaker from her apartment
Apartment
An apartment or flat is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building...
, where she tends to holograph
Holograph
A holograph is a document written entirely in the handwriting of the person whose signature it bears. Some countries or local jurisdictions within certain countries give legal standing to specific types of holographic documents, generally waiving requirements that they be witnessed...
ic projections of dying patients.
A subplot of the story involves Zoranna's "belt valet", an artificially intelligent
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
accessory that can mentally communicate with its wearer and perform a wide variety of tasks. A representative of the company that gave her the belt valet (which she names "Bug") to field test urges that she return it, due to an unspecified defect; she refuses in spite of her annoyance with it, as she needs it for progressively more tasks.
When she finally visits Nancy, Zoranna finds out that she is living with a man who is using her as a fall guy
Fall guy
A fall guy is a person used as a scapegoat to take the blame for someone else's actions, or someone at the butt of jokes. One placed in the position of fall guy is often referred to as "taking the fall". In the film industry, a fall guy is a form of stock character.-Origin:The origin of "fall guy"...
for a fraud
Fraud
In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...
. She forces the man to leave under threat of turning him in, a loss which causes Nancy's condition to deteriorate. Zoranna's attempts to get Nancy to go to a rejuvenation
Rejuvenation
Rejuvenation may refer to:*Rejuvenation , reversing the aging process*Rejuvenation , when the base level that a river is flowing down to is lowered*Rejuvenation , 1974*Rejuvenation , 2009...
clinic on her dime are rebuffed, until Bug - having unexpectedly changed into a suave, powerful entity named Nicholas that knows every aspect of her life and personality - tricks Nancy into taking Zoranna to the clinic by making it appear as if she were gravely ill. Angered at first, Zoranna at last comes to terms with the machine.
Trivia
- Zoranna and Nicholas are also minor characters in Marusek's first novel, Counting HeadsCounting HeadsCounting Heads is a science fiction novel by David Marusek, published in 2005 by Tor Books.Counting Heads is an expansion of Marusek's 1995 short story "We Were Out of Our Minds with Joy", which serves as the first chapter of Counting Heads .Mind Over Ship, a sequel to Counting Heads, was released on...
, while Zoranna herself is mentioned in obliquely in "We Were Out of Our Minds With Joy".
Release details
- Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, March 1998
- 'Getting to Know You' (2007)