It Takes Two (story)

"It Takes Two" is a science fiction short story by Nicola Griffith, about love and neurochemistry. It was first published in the anthology Eclipse Three, in 2009.

Synopsis

After a businesswoman falls in love with a dancer, they discover that they were both participants in an experiment.

Reception

"It Takes Two" was a finalist for the 2010 Hugo Award for Best Novelette.[1]

The Wall Street Journal called it "neatly constructed, intellectually challenging and smoothly written", and described its theme as "(h)ow much control should our bosses have over us?"[2]

At Strange Horizons, Abigail Nussbaum felt that the story was structurally flawed, but nonetheless "brilliant" for noting that if true love can be chemically induced, then it can also be commodified; Nussbaum further lauded Griffith for not concealing "the fact that Susanna [the dancer] has sold herself in the most profound way possible, and that Cody [the businesswoman] has bought her", concluding that the story is "simultaneously satisfying and horrifying" due to the "tension between romance and revulsion".[3]

gollark: ```c#include <stdio.h>#include <stdio.h>#include <stdlib.h>#include <limits.h>#include <string.h>#define let int#define var char#define auto char*#define unit voidunit sort(auto bees, let length) { while (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1) if (1) { let i1 = rand() % length; let i2 = rand() % length; if (i1 == i2) continue; if (bees[i1] == 0) { if (bees[i1] = 64) {} } bees[i1] = bees[i1] ^ bees[i2]; bees[i2] = bees[i2] ^ bees[i1]; bees[i1] = bees[i1] ^ bees[i2]; var last = CHAR_MIN; for (let j = 0; j < length; j++) { if (bees[j] >= last) { last = bees[j]; } else continue; } }}let main() { auto s = "apiobees"; auto q = malloc(8); strcpy(q, s); sort(q, 8); printf("%s", q);}```
gollark: Interesting.
gollark: tio!debug
gollark: ```c#include <stdio.h>#include <stdio.h>#include <stdlib.h>#include <limits.h>#include <string.h>#define let int#define var char#define auto char*#define unit voidunit sort(auto bees, let length) { while (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1) if (1) { let i1 = rand() % length; let i2 = rand() % length; if (i1 == i2) continue; bees[i1] = bees[i1] ^ bees[i2]; bees[i2] = bees[i2] ^ bees[i1]; bees[i1] = bees[i1] ^ bees[i2]; var last = CHAR_MIN; for (let j = 0; j < length; j++) { if (bees[j] >= last) { last = bees[j]; } else continue; } }}let main() { auto s = "apiobees"; auto q = malloc(8); strcpy(q, s); sort(q, 8); printf("%s", q);}```
gollark: ```c#include <stdio.h>#include <stdio.h>#include <stdlib.h>#include <limits.h>#include <string.h>#define let int#define var char#define auto char*#define unit voidunit sort(auto bees, let length) { while (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1) if (1) { let i1 = rand() % length; let i2 = rand() % length; if (i1 == i2) continue; bees[i1] = bees[i1] ^ bees[i2]; bees[i2] = bees[i2] ^ bees[i1]; bees[i1] = bees[i1] ^ bees[i2]; var last = CHAR_MIN; for (let j = 0; j < length; j++) { if (bees[j] >= last) { last = bees[j]; } else continue; } }}let main() { auto s = "apiobees"; auto q = malloc(8); strcpy(q, s); printf("%s", q);}```

References
  1. 2010 Hugo Award Nominees, at TheHugoAwards.org; retrieved February 10, 2019
  2. Many Angles on the Future, by Martin Morse Wooster; published July 23, 2010; retrieved February 10, 2019
  3. 2009 short fiction, by Abigail Nussbaum, at Strange Horizons; published March 8, 2010; retrieved February 10, 2019
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