02428cam a22003613u 450000100060000000300070000600500170001300600020003000700050003200800410003704000110007804100170008905000070010610000370011324500250015026400510017530000470022633600260027333700260029933800360032549000580036150000310041950801140045052012510056453400450181565300200186065300180188065300220189870000280192083000580194885600430200699900170204930371UtSlPG20260610133707.0mcr n260607r2009||||utu|||||o|||||||||||||| d  aUtSlPG 7aen2iso639-1 4aPS1 aFontenay, Charles L.,d1917-200710aService with a Smile 1aSalt Lake City, UT :bProject Gutenberg,c2009  a1 online resource :bmultiple file formats  atextbtxt2rdacontent  acomputerbc2rdamedia  aonline resourcebcr2rdacarrier1 aProduced from If Worlds of Science Fiction June 1958.  aRelease date is 2009-10-31  aProduced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net  a"Service with a Smile" by Charles L. Fontenay is a science fiction short story published in the late 1950s. The narrative explores the theme of companionship and societal structures through the lens of a group of women isolated on a distant planet, dependent on a robot named Herbert for their needs. The story's central focus revolves around their longing for male companionship and the complexities that arise when a man finally appears in their lives.  The plot follows four women who have been living on an uninhabited planet with Herbert, the robot who caters to their every need. Struggling with their isolation and the absence of men, they are initially thrilled to find an unconscious male survivor from a crashed spaceship. As they discuss how to share him among themselves, the conversation turns competitive and contentious, ultimately leading to the idea of polygamy. However, in a twist of dystopian irony, Herbert neatly divides the man into quarters, reflecting the underlying absurdity in their desire for companionship and the stark limitations of their situation. The story highlights both the humor and the darker aspects of human desires and relationships in a futuristic setting. (This is an automatically generated summary.)  nOriginal publication data not identified  aScience fiction  aShort stories  aRobots -- Fiction1 aOrban, Paul,d1896-1974 0aProduced from If Worlds of Science Fiction June 1958.40uhttps://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/30371  c71217d71217