Chapter 1: Compatibility Test

A story from the nottoodistant future...

I love Michael. We’ve been friends since junior school. Our fathers are business partners. Michael and I have been officially dating for the last ten months, and living together for the last three. But I must be insane to agree to his request. Well, it isn’t exactly a request. More a perfectly logical demand that we test our compatibility for marriage using the Personality Compatibility Test. According to Michael, it’s proven technology, and the many hundreds of couples who have taken the test swear by it. Marriages among tested couples ending in divorce are an insignificant number compared to those who were married without taking the test before the big day. The logic is simple. Better to know if your intended life partner is, or isn’t, compatible with you before taking the plunge into marriage. No nasty surprises after the big day. Fewer children living in broken homes following bitter divorces. You use technology to discover whether your intended spouse really is the man or woman of your dreams.

At least, that’s what they say. There’s plenty of glossy brochures and video advertisements promoting PCT. Even medical and social support agencies encourage couples to take the test prior to committing to marriage. It isn’t compulsory, but at least completing the PCT means Michael and I will be fasttracked for a birth permit, if and when we decide to start a family. In these days of strict population control, every couple needs whatever stateapproved advantage we can get.

Supposedly the test teaches us as much about ourselves as our partner. Are we ready for marriage? Are we compatible marriage partners? How do we relate to the other? Would we be good parents? What are our real likes and dislikes? Apparently all will be revealed ... yeah, right! I’m a sceptic about the validity of the PCT despite what all the government agencies decide. But Michael is sold on the idea.

I successfully navigated the short preliminary test on my own yesterday. A fifteen minute fantasy loosely based on some pirate movie I vaguely recall watching when I was younger. I admit that it was fun ... creepy, but fun. If nothing else, it removed several reservations I had about doing the test with Michael. The extent to which the PCT shares your thoughts and emotions with anyone doing the test with you requires a huge amount of trust. I guess that’s one of the reasons the test is reported to be so successful. If you don’t trust your partner, then the likelihood of a successful marriage is notsogood.

Our appointment is set for nine o’clock in the morning. The checkin and preparation process takes about ten minutes. The technician seats us in the padded modules we will occupy for the three hour test. He hooks up the sensors to our bodies and lowers the metal hoods over our heads. Finally he reminds us that will experience an AI generated scenario that will seem to last for weeks, whereas only a few hours will elapse in real time.

I have last minute jitters at entering into an unknown scenario with Michael. We were warned that we won’t recognise each other inside the scenario, other than by identifying each other’s personality and behaviour. Names, physical appearance, and even our voice will be disguised by the avatar representing us inside the fantasy world. Towards the end of the scenario, we will be prompted to identify the character with whom we feel the strongest emotional connection. If our chosen characters are the avatars of each other, then we pass the test. If we fail to find an emotional connection with anyone, or if either of us chooses a different character, then it reveals that Michael and I aren’t compatible in the real world. To my mind that seems too simple a solution to a very complex issue, but the experts insist that PCT has a 99% accuracy rate. Tough luck on the 1% who get the wrong answer.

The AI powering the test will implant a backstory for my avatar into my mind (more creepiness!). In my case, a backstory influenced by Michael’s impression of my personality gained from his preliminary test scenario. Equally, my preliminary test will have influenced Michael’s avatar’s backstory. Quite how or why is one of those questions that invariably receive a vague answer. However, once the scenario begins, every action and emotion my avatar takes or feels will be of my own making. The AI will simply ... or not so simply ... adapt the scenario to respond to Michael’s and my actions. It’s too late to back out now. For better or worse the room goes dark and we begin.