Marionettes, Inc.

"Marionettes, Inc." is a short story by Ray Bradbury from his collection of short stories The Illustrated Man. It was originally published in Startling Stories (March, 1949). In the story, Bradbury conjures a conflict between man and machine and depicts the human dependence on technology, a common theme for Bradbury's stories.

The characters are Braling and Smith and their wives. Braling's wife was quite mean to him and forced him to marry her, while Smith's wife acte Smith learns about "marionettes", exact robotic duplicates produced by Marionettes, Inc. The manufacturer, whose motto is in the markets of the marionettes as temporary replacements for the customer. Braling reveals to Smith that he has been using a marionette to fulfill his obligations as a husband while he pursues his personal interests. His wife is completely unaware of the duplication, and he plans to visit Rio de Janeiro while his marionette is replacing him at home. Braling shows off his marionette to Smith. Smith, fascinated by this solution, decides to buy his own marionette to escape his domestic prison.

Conflict is introduced when Braling's duplicate expresses emotions towards Braling's wife, and resists Braling's attempts to remove the marionette from his home life. Smith then finds out that he himself has been tricked by his wife's own marionette, and that she took $10,000 of the $15,000 they had in their joint bank account.

Braling tries to call Marionettes, Inc. for support, but is physically restrained by the duplicate. The marionette reveals his plans of traveling to Rio with Braling's wife and locking his master in a box, and then says goodbye to his owner.

The story ends in the bedroom with "Braling" kissing Mrs. Braling, but Bradbury skillfully uses pronouns to make it unclear whether "Braling" is really Braling or his marionette duplicate. The reader's interpretation could indicate either that the duplicate has disposed of his former master, or that Braling has won out and subsequently found new appreciation for his wife.

As many of Bradbury's stories, "Marionettes, Inc." can be interpreted as a warning to society. Bradbury comments on the rise of technology as a way to solve marital conflicts. He points at the probable dangers of dehumanized, machine-driven world where artificial intelligence, AL, slowly substitutes for man and eliminates its makers.

The company Marionettes, Inc. later appears in the story "Punishment Without Crime", part of the collection Long After Midnight (1976). Marionette use has become increasingly frequent in this world, and the story concerns a man who murders a marionette replica of his unfaithful wife. He does this to get over his failed marriage and move on with his life. However, he is subsequently arrested and sentenced to death; he is to be made an example to society that murder of marionettes will no longer be tolerated.

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