Utopia had been completely separated from the rest of the galaxy for 300 years. It had taken six decades to finalise the agreement and conditions that would permit a visitor from the Other Worlds to come there. Hardy Cronyn from Washington IV was the first arrival. The sensuous, young beauty who was to be his guide greeted him with a kiss. But it only took moments for Cronyn to learn the no marriage. It was illegal. The two million inhabitants of Utopia were immortal. If there were marriage, there would be the desire for children, and that was seldom allowed. The only deaths were accidental; petty crime was non-existent. Cronyn believed Utopia was paradise - until he discovered one paralyzing fear that consumed them all - PAIN! For if life was eternal pain would last a long, long, time...
Author
J. T. McIntosh is a pseudonym used by Scottish writer and journalist James Murdoch MacGregor. Living largely in Aberdeen, Scotland, MacGregor used the McIntosh pseudonym (along with its variants J. T. MacIntosh, and J. T. M'Intosh) as well as "H. J. Murdoch", "Gregory Francis" (with Frank H. Parnell), and "Stuart Winsor" (with Jeff Mason) for all his science fiction work, which was the majority of his output, though he did publish books under his own name. His first story, "The Curfew Tolls", appeared in Astounding Science Fiction during 1950, and his first novel, World Out of Mind, was published during 1953. He did not publish any work after 1980. In 2010, following his death in 2008, the National Library of Scotland purchased his literary papers and correspondence. Along with John Mather and Edith Dell, he is credited for the screenplay for the colour feature film Satellite in the Sky (1956).
