
A weary corporate secretary in a bustling interplanetary office is interrupted by a nervous, Martian‑serviced emissary bearing a tiny vial of a strange blue fluid. The liquid, harvested from the shattered remains of a distant planetoid, promises an effect that bypasses ordinary drinking—infusing the body through the skin and delivering a heady, almost intoxicating rush. As the secretary tests the mysterious substance, a wave of euphoria spreads from fingertips to mind, making ordinary concerns melt away in a dazzling sense of bliss.
The encounter spirals into a moral dilemma: the powerful Universal Liquors conglomerate has strict policies against potent intoxicants, yet the vial’s potential could reshape consumption across the colonies. The emissary, eager to demonstrate his find, hints at a lucrative, if risky, future for the company. Listeners are drawn into a tense negotiation where curiosity, corporate ambition, and the lure of an unprecedented experience collide, setting the stage for choices that could reverberate far beyond the office desk.
Language
en
Duration
~24 minutes (23K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
Release date
2020-11-14
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Subjects

1908–1999
Best remembered as a longtime literary agent in Milwaukee, he also wrote brisk, imaginative pulp fiction, including science fiction stories that still find readers today. Born in Austria and later settled in the United States, he moved between the worlds of writing and publishing with ease.
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