I really liked this one, too. It reminded me of Dollhouse, though in this world the "dolls" are everyone involuntarily, which makes it much more creepy and tragic. I love the idea that it can happen to anyone anytime and that the rest of society has just learned to turn a blind eye, pretend it never happened.
I did find that the girl's hesitation at getting into a relationship to little puzzling because, as it was stated, when the people of this society aren't being "ridden", they attempt to go about their lives as usual. I would imagine that would include relationships, marriage, family, etc. I mean, I didn't get the feeling that
no one engages in relationships anymore, that idea seems a bit far-fetched. If there's one thing humans have always done over the centuries, it's pair off. Even as sexual orientation in our society is becoming more broadly defined, homosexuality, bi-sexuality, etc, people still tend to pair off and spend at least a certain amount of time in a monogamous relationship. So I did have a hard time understanding why that would be so difficult in this tale.
However, that said, I
loved the ending that, just as he's about to convince her that they
can make it work, he's suddenly ridden and ripped away. And yet, I was left with a sense that, once he's released, they can pick up where they left off. I love the thought of a couple trying to make it work and maybe even trying to raise a family in a situation like this.
I found it interesting that there are some older cultural ideas and attitudes (that is, from the seventies) portrayed in this story that seemed rather jarring...
The scowl from the bartender at the two gay men is another example of this. Not to say people don't don't scowl at it today, but it's less prevalent.