The One

“‘I read something online that said Match Your DNA is going to break up around 3 million marriages. But within a generation, divorce will barely be a thing anymore,’ Sumaira said.”

Match Your DNA presages a degree of societal upheaval in the short term, but ultimately, it promises increased stability. The appeal for the individual—as opposed to for society as a whole—is to eliminate fear of rejection (i.e., divorce). This passage presents another of the novel’s themes: “For the Greater Good.” Historically, attempts to facilitate utopia have involved some measure of violence—with The One, there is privacy invasion, inequitable social stratification, and disrupted marriages—which is usually justified by saying the sacrifice is “for the greater good.” Ellie herself wields the phrase when she later justifies her duplicity.

“To the certainty of chance.”

This is the toast Deepak makes at the dinner party where the reader first meets Nick. In a sense, Match Your DNA represents the tension between chance and certainty—the question of whether it is better to turn your fate over to an omniscient higher power or to hope you happen to bump into “the one” and make a go of it. Throughout the story, the meaning of “chance” and “certainty” are ambiguous and can vary from individual to individual.

“Ellie also didn’t want to publicly address the level of criticism her business received—she trusted her PR team to deal with any negativity on her behalf.”

This foreshadows the fact that Match Your DNA is not an unmixed blessing. Ellie dismisses the harm sometimes associated with Match Your DNA as inevitable and takes no personal responsibility for it. At this point in the story, there would seem to be some justice in that position.

“Or you’ll end up like us,” giggled Lucy, although Jade could sense something in her tone that resembled a warning. “Seriously, Jade, pet, we’ve got slim pickings to choose from here. Every day, another fit lad gets snapped up by his Match. Me and Shawna are like vultures left picking at the bones of what’s been left behind.”

Many of the characters regard dating as time wasted in search of, if not “the one,” then someone “good enough.” Lucy is telling Jade how lucky she is to have found her Match, but the subtext conveys something about the social status of the unMatched. She and Shawna see themselves as vultures, fit only for the carrion left behind by more fortunate women. It’s not just society at large that sees the unMatched as inferior. The unMatched themselves feel a sense of inferiority and perhaps unlovability.

“A lot of public-sector workers like me take [the test] because we don’t have time to enter the dating scene. It sounds quite mercenary, but it’s the best way of cutting out the middleman. You know, finding that person who’s meant for you without having to go through all the nutters to get there.”

Amy describes the pragmatism of allowing science to assign her the perfect Match. On top of a lack of time for dating, there is the discomfort of “wasting time” with unsuitable or incompatible people. She has, ironically, been Matched to Christopher who is as unsuitable as possible.

“‘I joined to find the other half who would make me whole,’ he began, and held her gaze as the books instructed. ‘I wanted to meet the one who accepts me for who I am, who loves me for all my fault and my quirks.’”

Christopher replies to Amy’s statement by reciting the romantic motivation for registering with Match Your DNA—finding the other half who would make him whole. Setting aside the fact that he is attempting to manipulate her by repeating what pulp book material, the “other half” philosophy is based on fantasy. Amy and Christopher’s narrative illustrates the reality that Match Your DNA can’t actually fulfill the promise.

“While my discovery has Matched millions and millions of people […] sometimes corners had to be cut and people felt they were hurt, but it was all for the greater good.”

This is the first intimation of something genuinely amiss with the company; the reader understands that “cutting corners” is unethical precisely because it may result in harm. Ellie still dismisses or minimizes her own culpability: People “felt” they were hurt, while the company legal department aggressively suppresses complaints.

“It’s that feeling you don’t get when you’re around anyone else, like nobody in the world matters when you’re in their company. Like you and them are this one, solitary…thing…”

Nick’s description of being with your Match reflects Aristophanes’s description of primal humans as a single being split apart and doomed to search the world for its missing half. Whereas in Chapter 17, Christopher quotes what he read about women’s desires in a relationship, Nick is spontaneously describing his own experience. The word “thing” has different subtle connotations. On a basic level, it shows that Nick grasps toward a quality he ultimately finds ineffable—some cosmic reality beyond his comprehension.

“Because when you don’t marry your Match, people sit back and wait for it to go wrong. They don’t mean to, they just do, it’s human nature.”

Mandy’s sister Karen explains why she lied about being Matched with her husband, Gary. This illustrates the shifting societal prejudices. While racism and anti-gay bias decline, unMatched singles and couples are seen as unstable and inferior. They have more difficulty finding jobs and getting credit because they are seen as less stable than people in a Matched couple.

“But I don’t want that. It will always be second best! He will never mean everything to you, you’ll never have children with the one. You’ll always be settling.”

Here, Mandy demonstrates exactly the reason Karen lied. She, too, sees her unMatched sister’s marriage and children as second-rate. Mandy believes that she could never love a child with someone else as much as she loves the child she is having with Richard.

“But in marrying Kevin, [Jade] had followed her head—or, more specifically, her conscience. She had put someone else’s needs above her own.”

Throughout the story, the author intimates that selfless love for another person is a greater virtue than staying with your one perfect love. The former is difficult, the latter easy. In Jade’s case, the difficulty of the act may be mitigated by the knowledge that Kevin has only weeks to live. Were the situation otherwise, the more virtuous choice would be to refuse Kevin’s offer of marriage and take the time to resolve her conflicted feelings.

“‘How could you do this to me?’ Sally cried […] ‘You know I grew up in a family where all my parents did was lie to each other about fidelity, and you know what honesty means to me. Then you do this—’”

This is the earliest concrete evidence of Sally’s hypocrisy. She pressured Nick into meeting Alex, and now blames him for his “betrayal.” If Nick has a weakness, it is in not recognizing Sally’s fundamental dishonesty. He assumes at least part of the guilt for the breakup. He knows he has been concealing his relationship with Alex, but he hasn’t realized this was Sally’s intent in the first place.

“[Richard] said something like it’d take all the thrill out of the chase and that life without risks wasn’t life at all. So there was no way in hell he’d be told who he was supposed to fall in love with.”

Michelle, repeating Richard’s feelings about Match Your DNA, puts her finger on another of the drawbacks: Match Your DNA eliminates some of the discomfort of dating, but it also takes away the excitement of courtship. There is a mechanical, impersonal element to being assigned to another person. Richard prefers the route of risk and choice. This consists with Richard’s personality. He seeks out novelty, challenge, and excitement.

“Kevin had wanted so desperately to embrace life but had been robbed of the opportunity, and the best way that she could pay tribute to him was to begin the next chapter of her life by immersing herself in what the world had to offer.”Chapter 73

Even though Kevin is not her Match, knowing him has transformed Jade’s perspective and encouraged her to pursue her own dreams by exploring the world. By dedicating herself to caring for him, she has matured enough to take responsibility for her own life. Once again, the author reinforces the idea that it is personal choice and sacrifice, not true love, that provides meaning. Only when people look beyond their own immediate gratification do they become able to love.

“It’s my job to be suspicious […] but with you it’s […] like whatever you are not telling me doesn’t really matter […] I trust you to have your secrets and that they won’t hurt me.”

Amy shows how meeting your Match can distort perception. Christopher’s secrets most certainly can hurt her. If those secrets ever came to light, they would destroy Amy’s career and imperil her life. Her attachment to her Match has suppressed what should be a detective’s natural instinct.

“But a worrying thought began to creep into [Nick’s] mind, and it frightened him. What if he resented the child for coming between him and [Alex]?”

The question of attachment to children arises in both Mandy’s and Nick’s storylines. They both wonder if the presence of a Match will affect their relationship with their children. Nick, here, demonstrates his selflessness. His fear is that his pain at losing Alex will harm his child, whereas Mandy’s more selfish concern is for whether she will benefit from her child.

“Discovering your little gene, telling people who they should be spending the rest of their lives with… it certainly appears that you have a God complex.”

Tim—or Matthew, as the reader now knows him—challenges Ellie’s right to manipulate other people’s lives. In one sense, the accusation is unfair. She is merely providing people with the information they have asked for. However, Ellie also isolates herself and has no empathy or remorse for the people her discovery has harmed. Her insistence on her own righteousness could, in fact, be described as a “God complex.”

“Ellie looked away, refusing to feel shame […] ‘The end justified the means,’ she replied. ‘My discovery changed the world, so what harm did it do?’”

This is disingenuous at best. It is axiomatic that even a laudable end can never justify despicable means, but, granting for the sake of argument that it might, changing the world is not a good in and of itself. Throughout the book, the author explores the question of whether Match Your DNA is a net good or a net harm to society. While his ultimate conclusion is ambiguous, the Match technology is certainly not an unmitigated benefit.

“My actions have put homophobia, racism and religious hatred on the edge of extinction—a Match doesn’t recognize sexuality, color or whatever God you choose to celebrate. It has united people of all faiths and persuasions in a way we never thought possible.”

Ellie’s actions, as she describes them, are all clearly in the good column. Racism, sexual prejudice, and religious prejudice are among the most virulent sources of social conflict. However, Ellie taking personal credit (“my actions have…”) reinforces Tim’s accusation of her “God complex.”

“‘[Suicide, divorce, and depression] actually fell last year […] Domestic violence against both men and women has also dropped.’

‘Only because people are too scared to report those kinds of crimes against their physically and mentally abusive Match.’”

Tim makes a significant point. Your Match doesn’t become Prince (or Princess) Charming the moment you meet. An abuser is still an abuser. Even someone like Christopher—who appears to be developing at least rudimentary empathy—will never be entirely safe to be around, maybe not even for Amy.

“You fell in love with me through your own free will […] You so desperately wanted it that you talked yourself into it.”

Tim is only half right. Some of the characters do illustrate the principle that love and commitment are a conscious choice, and Ellie made a conscious effort to open herself up to connection with another person. She might not have been willing to do so if she hadn’t believed him to be her Match, but Tim played his part well. He was charming, funny, and vulnerable. Once Ellie was willing to let down her guard, it was perfectly reasonable that she would fall in love with him.

“But since being part of a couple, he’d learned relationships didn’t need truth to make them work, they just needed one of them to possess a heart large enough to beat for both of them.”

This is the most profound irony of Christopher’s storyline. He has made up his mind to finish his project without revealing himself to Amy, and he has come up with a meaningless aphorism to justify it to himself. The unanswered question is whether the unfeeling Christopher sees himself as having the heart big enough to hold his secret and protect Amy from it, or if he believes Amy’s empathy is sufficient to keep his own psychopathic tendencies in check.

“[C]hoosing to love a man who turned out to be a serial killer was just bad judgment, and far better than having her DNA Matched to him.”

Here is another example of choice versus chance. A less control-oriented character than Amy might have taken comfort in the idea that it wasn’t her fault that she happened to be Matched with someone like Christopher. They were swept away by forces outside their control. To Amy, however, lack of control is anathema. A bad choice is better than believing that she might be like Christopher. However, her killing him, especially using his own weapon, strongly suggests that she is fooling herself. She does, in fact, share some of Christopher’s psychopathy.