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did they venture from Pete s house or Maya s brownstone and when they did it
was almost always to join David and Diana.
Like Pete, Maya had never been married; both were leery of marriage, being set
in their ways. And Pete was tormented by the ethics of his situation. He knew
it was selfish to marry and less forgivable to consider starting a family, but
still he succumbed to instinct, longing for continuity and kinship. To resist
it would have been as difficult as deciding to stop breathing.
I love her. I need her. I ve been alone my entire life and now here she is,
making me realize how lonely I was before. With Maya I ll be happy for the
next four years and after that my life will be over. Then what ll happen to
her?
Pete had proposed exactly three months and one week earlier. Before meeting
him, Maya had expected to wait until she was at least 50 to get married, as
most career women did. Pete had counted on remaining single for the rest of
his short life.
He had added one caveat: Honey, I have a secret I can t discuss. It has to do
with my work, and several things that happened a long time ago, things that
will probably come back to haunt me in a few years. That s all I can tell you.
There are questions you might ask that I can t answer right now.
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Wishing he could tell her everything right then, Pete promised himself he
would explain it all to her at the appropriate time; then they would decide
what to do together.
I understand, Maya said. I won t pressure you to tell me anything before
you re ready.
Several days later, Maya and Pete examined each other s genetic scorecards as
all engaged couples must, and learned that any possible defects
24
Unless she turned him in immediately, learning of his crimes would have
implicated her as an accessory after the fact and disqualified her from
passing certain government scips. Even worse, in the case of the murder,
failing to disclose a capital crime about which one has knowledge is itself a
serious crime.
THE TRUTH MACHINE
239
were curable. Even knowing that four years from now he might be in prison or
dead, Pete realized he was secretly pleased that they might have children
together.
We are gathered here this day, in the midst of all the majestic forces of the
universe, in the presence of God and these witnesses, as you two join together
in marriage, an institution flowing out of the very nature of our being....
The ceremony took place at the Stamford Unitarian Church just five
25
blocks from the house where Maya grew up. From the day it welcomed its first
congregation, it had never been a somber place, but today it was a madhouse.
Maya s parents had invited about 100 of their friends, in addition to hundreds
of friends, relatives, and colleagues of the bride and groom. Since Pete was
the groom and David and Diana were best man and maid of honor, the wedding
inevitably turned into a media event.
Maya s maternal grandmother, Sue Dunlap, 92 and frail, had decided to postpone
her cryonic suspension in order to attend her favorite granddaughter s
wedding. Since the early 2040s, the World Health Department had advised anyone
over 80 years of age to wear a Life-Monitor at all times, and to keep an
Emergency Care Machine in all sleeping quarters. The Dunlaps kept two ECMs,
but Sue Dunlap seldom wore her Life-Monitor to bed. On July 29, she had died
in her sleep. Her death had been discovered six hours later, far beyond the
period for brain reconstructibility.
(Note: Anyone revived or frozen within 300 seconds of pulmonary failure is
unlikely to sustain any brain damage, and most impairment suffered during the
first two hours at room temperature is now repairable through nanotechnology.
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22g CP)
Maya grieved, guilt-ridden that she hadn t offered to reschedule the wedding
in order to accommodate her grandmother.
Her heartbroken grandfather tried to console her, It was nobody s fault,
Maya. I remember when Grandma was your age I could never even get her to wear
a seat belt. She was always reckless.
26
25
Constructed in 2020, when Maya was still a teenager, the church had taken
nearly three months to build. The science of mechanized construction was still
in its early stages, and the architecture was elaborate.
26
Until 2017, automobiles were considered so dangerous that, for safety reasons,
they were required to have seat belts, which were actually harnesses.
JAMES L. HALPERIN
240
At least, Maya reasoned, her grandmother had lived a happy, full life
short though it may have been. She could barely imagine the guilt Pete must
have experienced over the tragic death, long ago, of his three-year-old
brother.
O God of many names, we solemnly petition Your blessing upon this holy union.
Do you, Maya Helene Gale, pledge to love and cherish Randall Petersen
Armstrong, to do all within your power to preserve the integrity of this
marriage for the sake of you and your children, and to remain together
throughout triumph and adversity, until all your offspring attain adult age,
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