“PePr, Inc.” by Ann Christy is another story in the collection The Future Chronicles – Special Edition. It was first published in The Robot Chronicles.
It tells the story of a woman who has one of the latest robot companions, custom designed for perfect compatibility. But it is going wrong. She goes to the supplier to complain, but then we get the good old switcheroo, which kind of feels like a cheat. Without reading it again, which I don’t want to do, I can’t be sure, but I don’t think there were any precursors of the change.
This seemed so reminiscent of the Humans TV series, and felt like a cheat of a story. Of course, that is not fair. The story actually goes in a completely different direction. It is an intriguing idea, a perfectly compatible robot, custom designed to be a perfect companion for each customer. There have been plenty of stories written about androids taking the place of humans in society and even becoming partners to human because they are so lifelike and indistinguishable from humans.