"Marionettes, Inc." is a

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

by American writer

Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury ( ; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of genres, including fantasy, science fiction, Horror fiction, horr ...

, originally published in ''

Startling Stories ''Startling Stories'' was an American pulp science fiction magazine, published from 1939 to 1955 by publisher Ned Pines' Standard Magazines. It was initially edited by Mort Weisinger, who was also the editor of '' Thrilling Wonder Stories ...

'' (March 1949) and later reprinted in his collection of short stories '' The Illustrated Man''. 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. He generally creates darkly themed stories and this short read is no different.

Plot summary

In 1990, friends Braling and Smith take a walk one evening, much to the surprise of the latter, as Braling's wife generally tries to keep him from doing things he enjoys. Braling reveals to Smith that he has been using a robot duplicate of himself, Braling Two, to fulfill his obligations as a husband while he pursues his personal interests. His wife is completely unaware of the duplication. He plans to visit

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

for a month while his robot covers for him at home. Smith, fascinated by this new (and technically illegal) technology, considers buying a duplicate to deal with his own wife, Nettie, who in the last month has been overly affectionate. Braling gives him a contact card for Marionettes, Inc. Smith goes home and finds his wife sleeping. He briefly wrestles with the ethics of deceiving his wife before getting out his bankbook to set aside the $8,000 he would need to purchase the duplicate. To his surprise, Smith finds that $10,000 is missing from their account. He checks the sleeping Nettie and realizes that she is a robot duplicate of his wife. When Braling tries to return home and hide Braling Two, the robot resists him, expressing a love for his wife. Realizing that the duplicate is trying to replace him, Braling panics, only to be locked in a box by Braling Two. The story ends ambiguously in the Bralings' bedroom with "someone", presumably Braling Two, kissing Mrs. Braling affectionately.

Adaptations

The short story was adapted for the radio programs '' Dimension X'' on August 30, 1951, and ''

X Minus One ''X Minus One'' is an American half-hour science fiction radio drama series that was broadcast from April 24, 1955, to January 9, 1958, in various timeslots on NBC. Known for high production values in adapting stories from the leading American ...

'' on December 21, 1955, and for television as a fourth-season episode of ''

Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, airing on CBS and NBC, alternately, between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. Between 1962 ...

'' (titled "Design for Loving") and a first-season episode of ''

The Ray Bradbury Theater ''The Ray Bradbury Theatre'' is an anthology series that ran for three seasons on Crave (TV network), First Choice Movie Central, Superchannel in Canada and HBO in the United States from 1985 to 1986, and then on USA Network, running for four ad ...

'' (under the original title). In the 1966 Televisión Española's anthology , Chicho Ibáñez Serrador adapted the short story in the Season 1 episode (''The double''). This version makes clear that the robot duplicates dispose of their human "originals" in order to replace them.

Rodrigo Sorogoyen Rodrigo Sorogoyen del Amo (born 16 September 1981) is a Spanish film director and screenwriter. After co-helming the sketch comedy film '' 8 Dates'' with Peris Romano in 2008, Sorogoyen has directed the features ''Stockholm'' (2013), '' May God ...

worked on a modern version for

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...

and

Televisión Española (acronym TVE, branded tve, "Spanish Television") is Spain's national state-owned public television broadcaster and the oldest regular television service in the country. It was also the first regular television service in Equatorial Guinea. T ...

for the 2021 reboot of the series. Who survives is left unclear in this version. The story has most recently been adapted on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

as part of '' The Illustrated Man'' production on the ''Dangerous Visions'' series, broadcast on June 14, 2014, and starring

Iain Glen Iain Alan Sutherland Glen (born 24 June 1961) is a Scottish actor. He has appeared as Dr. Alexander Isaacs/Tyrant in three films of the Resident Evil (film series), ''Resident Evil'' film series (2004–2016) and as Ser Jorah Mormont, Jorah Morm ...

as "The Illustrated Man". The story’s plot and concepts were loosely adapted into Happy Holo-Ween, the sixth episode of season 21 of

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 31, 1999, following Super Bowl XXXIII, with the rest of the first season airing from April 11, 1999. Th ...

. It is also referenced in The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Presents: Simpsons Wicked This Way Comes" scheduled to air on November 24, 2024. It is the seventh episode of season 36.

References

External links

* Science fiction short stories Short stories by Ray Bradbury 1949 short stories Works originally published in Startling Stories {{1940s-sf-story-stub