"The Ersatz" and "The Talisman"

In a world where universal peace, population control, and boredom drove people to the edge of violence, the ersatzes were the ideal solution to social rage. Nagged by your wife? Whack your ersatz instead of her! Have a husband who is cheating on you? Blow off your ersatz's head! That's what they were made for. And published for the first time..."The Talisman."