"And the perfect government and the perfect religion! All one race! One religion! One nation! One language! One nationality! One God!" Ilaria added exuberantly. "That reminds me. How come I never see any coloreds?" "Haven't you? By the way, no murderous car insurance or alimony laws, either. And no need for them. All marriages are ideal." Jay was readily detoured to this new novelty. "Now, don't let's go too far. Identical religion and race and customs and ideals and opinions may lower the divorce rate a lot, but there's still ye olde sex angle. A couple can go together twenty years and break up on the wedding night. Some are hot and some are cold and some are slow and some are fast. The only thing you could have improved on, is sex education. It's astounding how many people of my time know nothing about the sexual part of marriage. The most important part! "Of course it's doing what comes naturally; but what if two people have been taught from different viewpoints? Or if one hasn't been taught at all? Some people are actually ashamed or embarrassed. There are intelligent people who don't even know the biological facts! Few--especially women, know about the pleasure and the habit-forming angle. That's the one thing than can break up something beautiful in ten minutes. "Education, maybe. Human nature, no." "Whew!" "Excuse me, Kevin, for launching into a Phillipic, but that's long been my pet peeve. Atrocious, deplorable, and all that." "We don't _usually_ tamper with human nature, Jay. As a rule, that is. This is going to come as a shock to you, with your silly, 'atrocious and deplorable' 1954 ideas and morals. "A trial period. A pre-marital period of living together for a couple of weeks. If the couple isn't sexually suited, they either attempt to have it remedied by a physician or break off." "A shock, yes," Jay murmured, slowly shaking his head. "How did it ever start? Anyone who'd propound an idea like that in my time would be accused of being some sort of perverted sex-fiend! "A foolproof, flawless plan to insure happy marriages!" * * * * * Half across the world a door swung open and a tall dark man with piercing black eyes and a twin-tufted beard came in. His dark-green garment, faintly resembling a trench-coat, was double-breasted and belted and military cut. His feet were encased in plastileather boots which clicked as he came to attention before the desk. The plate on the desk read "Praefectus Praetoriani." "Major del Ponta, Sir." The man behind the desk looked up. "At ease, Major." Major Ali ben del Ponta relaxed and waited. The man behind the desk finished scanning the sheet of micro-paper, marked something on it with a stylo, stuck it in the pneumatube on the corner of his desk, and pushed the button to close his desk drawer. He looked up at Major Ali ben del Ponta. "Well?" He put his hands together, fingers touching.