|| -------- -- -----  A E R I E   O B L I V I A N A . singular book of text wandertainment by Frank Edward Nora ------------------- ----------- WINTER STADIUM THEM--CUP 8--"MARRIAGE TOWN" <-------  ||  Severe Repair  ||  Winter Stadium Them  ||  -------> (Cup SRws008, Created v2 (6/7/99), Copyright 1999) = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Snoppy soon got to the main concourse of Winter Stadium and walked purposefully to a stairway leading down. There, he descended to a door with a wild maze of string suspended on it. He applied pressure to several of the strings, and the door clicked open. Inside, there was a chair facing a square opening in the wall, about the size of an average window. The opening, like the wall, was composed of rough blocks of stone. He leaned his pipe against the wall and sat in the chair. There were levers coming out of the ground at either side of the chair, and he grabbed one with each hand. Then he pushed the left one forward and the right one back. The blackness beyond the opening was replaced with the sight of a hallway swinging into view. It was an ornamental hallway, red velvet, black lace, curtains, that sort of thing. Neither Snoppy nor the room he was in were moving--just that which was beyond the opening. He guided the chonk forward along the hallway, then stopped, turned left, and headed down another corridor. This one was made of a translucent light yellow material, with sunlight visible through it. Also, there were a few urns and columns of the same material. He continued chonking down this corridor, till he finally turned again, and went down yet another corridor. He traversed many ways until he finally turned to see a sign reading WELCOME ALL TO MARRIAGE TOWN. He entered the corridor, an ornate, festive affair. Then he turned to the right and faced another opening similar to his. He moved forward ever so gently to dock up with the other chonk. Beyond the opening he could see Marriage Town--a marvelous place, made of churches and banquet halls, jewelers and hotels. And all around, there were these huge spheres, each having its own color and texture. Many of them had people on top them, talking. They were Marrier Balls, expert on all matters relating to marriage. It was they who were the expert matchmakers that made Marriage Town work so well. A few of the Marrier Balls had big glass boxes of blue-gray water on top of them. And right next to the opening, there was also a glass box full of blue-gray water. Snoppy put his hand on the glass box. "A celebrity!" a harsh kind of electric voice said, coursing through him like a shock. "Huh?" Snoppy said. "A celebrity. You are not one of the Winter Stadium Them by chance?... but I know you are." "I am." "Couldn't decide between Enc Larabeth and Evelyn Fangdoor, hey my friend?" "I... it wasn't a matter to be chosen. They're my teammates, and I have a responsibility to them. I've as much lust as the next guy, but... I'd be an awful bore to burden my friends with such. Part of being a friend means not making sexual advances on a person." "Is that so?" "Sure. Cuz if the other also wants it, you're more than friends. If they don't it usually destroys the relationship." "So you don't consider married people to be friends?" "I know your game. It's semantics. Y'hear endless discussions about love, but folks are using the same word 'love' to describe totally different emotions. I can love my father, I can love my comrade, I can love a child, I can love an animal--but these are entirely different emotions than the love I can feel for a woman." "Are you sure they're that different?" "Yes. I can love a dog without wanting to make love to it." "Do you love Enc and Evelyn?" "I do--but in a much different sense." "Would you like to make love to them?" "I--guess you kind of got me there. Gotta be honest. At an animal level, sure I'd want to be with them." "So you love them and want to make love to them, but still you say that this is not the same sort of love you'd have for a wife?" "No! It is the love of comrades, and the fires of lust. True love is something more." "I can attest to that. But again, I ask you--can married people be friends?" "Well there are different sorts of friendship! The sort of friendship married people share is different than the friendship of comrades." "How so?" "Friendship in marriage is based on a mutual responsibility." "Do you not have responsibilities to Enc and Evelyn? And they to you?" "Ah, what about it? Don't know why I'm letting myself argue philosophy with a ball..." "Why is it that you came here today?" "To take a wife." "Why?" "Because living with those two beauties is driving me insane." "You need an outlet for your sexual energy?" "What do you think?" "Is it just sex that you're looking for?" "No! Now come on. I may seem like a heartless bastard on the outside, but I'm pretty soft inside. I had... a very good relationship with a woman once." -------> ------------------- ----------- -------- -- -----