Summary

“Datum Centurio” is formatted like a lengthy dictionary definition of the word “date” from an imagined electronic dictionary that is published in the year 2096. As different sections explain different usages of the word “date,” we learn that, in 2096, a male submits their “nucleotide configurations” to a government agency, which then clinically matches the male with an “optimal female neurogenetic complement.” We also learn that, in the alternate timeline of this story, video and other virtual-reality pornography was released in the early 2000’s, with the intention of being such a desirable alternative that it drove what we would call “conventional” dating into extinction.

Analysis

Intended to be comedic, “Datum Centurio” imagines a future where the custom of dating has been replaced by a variety of different virtual-reality pornography options. Furthermore, when a citizen of 2096 wants to reproduce, they are matched by the government with...