Harlot Masquerade: Part VII: Marc Gafni

Dear Reader,
Hi,
Sometimes, as in today’s first post – the first paragraph will repeat the end of yesterday’s post to allow for continuity for the new reader. Hope that is helpful!
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marc

Disappearing Spouse Syndrome
There is a wonderful biblical myth pre-marriage ceremony called Tenaim. It represents the mystical merging of the two souls that occurs even before the wedding. It is a spiritual pre-nuptial agreement, in which we read a bill of mutual commitment where both sides commit “Not to run away and not to disappear.” Seems redundant, if you do not run away of course you will not disappear! That is, unless you remain physically present and are yet not available. Or worse, you cause your partner to disappear. You do everything you are supposed to do; in the kitchen, in the bedroom and in the salon, but your partner has not long since disappeared from your consciousness. You are physically present but you have disappeared.

There is a fantastic story by Ray Bradbury which captures beautifully the Disappearing Spouse Syndrome. It is set in the year 2500. Robotics has developed into a fine art. A woman wants out of her marriage, but doesn’t want to hurt her spouse. So she contrives the perfect escape plan. She will have a robotic replicate of herself made, substitute it in, and be free. There was just one small difficulty with robot replicas. Humans have a heartbeat, but robots give off a 60-cycle hum. When her husband gets close he will hear the hum and know it’s a fake. The woman has a brilliant idea. She programs the robot’s first action to be to record her husband’s heartbeat and incorporate it into the robot’s own system. Its an ingenious idea, insuring that her husband will never know the difference. All is prepared. The robot goes to the husband and takes the necessary recording of the heartbeat…only to find that the husband himself gives off a 60-cycle hum!

A chillingly comic tale to be sure, and all the more potent in its twisted irony. It is the modern tragedy of the “disappearing spouse,” who, although present in person, has long ago fled in personality. A dearth in perception is bound to turn any healthy heartbeat into a 60-cycle hum.

marc gafni
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