The Marriage Machine Read Online Free PDF

towel. “You could be sent to the camps for saying that.”
    “Don’t tell me you haven’t thought the very same thing.”
    She met his serious gaze. For a long moment, all she could hear was the whir of the little heating unit and the thud of her heart as she stared up into his clear and—what she was beginning to suspect were—highly-intelligent eyes.
    For a moment she thought of sharing her disdain of the Overseers and their reactionary ways. She wanted to. But blabbing about her rebellious political views was far too dangerous, especially with a Ramsay.
    “Am I not right, Shutterhouse?” he prodded.
    He was obviously fishing for information, probably to use against her in the future. That’s what the privileged few did to keep their distance from the rabble of Londo City. They took what they liked, when they liked, and then turned their backs on their inferiors with no repercussions whatsoever, as long as they didn’t violate the Edicts of Conduct set forth by the Overseers. But not many edicts pertained to the protection of the rabble, so in effect, the tiny plutocracy of Londo had free rein.
    Elspeth was sure the Overseers saw the citizens of Londo as an expendable commodity, much like a herd of cattle. Their low opinion of common man infuriated her. Sure, there were many people who plodded through their lives and had no ambition beyond getting to the next day. But there were plenty of young people like herself who yearned for a better life and a say in how the city was run. There had to be a better way for people and more freedom of choice. She wasn’t a cow. She wasn’t part of a herd, and she wasn’t going to be poked and prodded until she did what the Overseers wanted, especially when it came to her future.
    There had been a time when the Overseers were needed. They had been angels of mercy, a handful of men who possessed great wisdom and resources. They had saved the human race from extinction after a nuclear accident—the Grave Mistake—had sparked a planetary war. Entire countries had been wiped out in the vicious battles that had followed the accident, and it was surmised that most of the people who survived the initial bombings died in the endless nuclear winter that followed.
    But no one really knew how many humans had survived. No one in the Anglo Territories had heard from the rest of the world in over five hundred years.
    After the war and ensuing chaos, a military state was needed and a socialist government required just to survive. As a safeguard against future disasters, the Overseers decreed that anything considered a threat to peace should be demolished. Entire neighborhoods were razed. All manufactured components and technological developments built after the year 1880 were destroyed. The use of electricity was outlawed. Only natural power—steam power—was allowed. Anything else was considered dangerous, with too great a potential for repeating the events that had almost destroyed the earth.
    The lesson learned from the Grave Mistake was that human beings could not master the technology they developed. So the Overseers set the clock back to the machinery and mores of the 1880s, and there the Anglo Territories remained.
    So far, their plan had worked. In fact, in the last ten years, the birth rate had actually begun to climb. Food was not rationed quite so strictly. The weather was beginning to change. And that’s why Elspeth was determined to make a stand. A new day was dawning. It was time someone convinced the Overseers to take a step back.
    The trouble was, the Overseers were unapproachable, and for all intents and purposes, invisible. They lived in a well-guarded compound that had once been known as Buckingham Palace and were never seen coming or going. It was impossible to get an audience with an Overseer as well. There were numerous administrative levels to get through just to lodge a simple complaint or request. No one had ever made it all the way to the top.
    Elspeth