The Primal Urge

In this satirical science fiction classic, a new technology promises to help British subjects find love—and threatens to destroy the empire.

In the years following World War II, a new day has risen in Great Britain. A mechanical marvel has arrived to free society from the shackles of prudish Victorian morality and neo-Freudianism. The Emotion Register, a coin-shaped device, attaches to the forehead and emits a soft pink glow when the wearer experiences sexual attraction. Now the British can no longer deny that sex exists—and the government is insisting everyone undergo the procedure to get the device.

Much of the population, including young Jimmy Solent, embraces the Emotion Registers. The gadget gives them a new lease on life. Meanwhile others refuse, seeing the marvel as an invasion of privacy. And so, another conflict begins on British soil. Fortunately, the stakes are far lower and much more hilarious . . .

A satire on sexual reserve set in an alternate world, The Primal Urge was first published in 1961. Although the novel was initially banned in Ireland, Brian W. Aldiss still went on to become a Grand Master of Science Fiction.