
In a sleek, sky‑bound metropolis where aerial taxis thread the clouds and the state sanctions multiple marriages, the Marriage Building towers like a pastel‑blue sanctuary. Simon Grover, a wiry, quick‑witted man with a reputation as the nation’s champion philanderer, darts through the bustling rooftop traffic, desperate to slip past the law and secure a “quickie” marriage. With a handful of counterfeit papers and a nervous cigarette, he risks a daring jump from his coptercab, barely making it inside the building’s marble corridors.
Inside, Simon joins a long line of hopeful men and women, each awaiting the counsel of official marriage advisors. As he sits before a smiling counselor, he grapples with the paradox of his life—whether he truly seeks the comfort of a conventional partnership or the thrill of another fleeting liaison. The story offers a witty glimpse into a future where love, law, and liberty intersect in unexpected, often humorous ways.
Language
en
Duration
~27 minutes (26K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
Release date
2019-01-19
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1928–2008
Best known for fast-moving crime and science fiction, this versatile American writer published under several names and built a career that ranged from pulp magazines to acclaimed historical novels. His work includes the detective Chet Drum series and the prizewinning novel The Memoirs of Christopher Columbus.
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