Project Gutenberg 2016-01-20 Public domain in the USA. 71 Zacks, Robert Zack, Robert Ashman, William Ashman The Freelancer Reading ease score: 75.5 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "The Freelancer" by Robert Zacks is a science fiction novella written in the mid-20th century. The narrative is set in a dystopian future where copyright laws have extended to everyday speech, leading to a society consumed by the enforcement of verbal property rights. The story centers around the struggles of Jeb, a freelance Monitor who makes a living identifying and reporting these violations, often at the expense of genuine human interaction and connection. The plot follows Jeb as he navigates a day filled with both personal and professional challenges. His strained relationship with his wife, Laurie, looms large as she threatens to have him certified for non-support if he fails to bring home enough credits. As he embarks on his daily rounds, Jeb encounters various citizens, revealing a world marked by desperation and the harsh realities of a system that penalizes common expressions. A turning point occurs when he discovers a significant opportunity tied to political speeches, leading him into a dangerous situation with powerful figures. Ultimately, the story serves as a commentary on individuality and expression in a society constrained by increasingly absurd regulations, leaving readers to ponder the implications of such a reality. (This is an automatically generated summary.) en Science fiction Short stories PS Text Science Fiction Browsing: Literature Browsing: Science-Fiction & Fantasy Browsing: Fiction 54615 54618 2024-10-21T10:21:39.863204 2023-09-22T07:33:29.138258 text/html text/html 50999 2016-01-20T10:20:26 text/html; charset=us-ascii 169212 2016-01-20T10:20:26 text/html; charset=us-ascii application/zip 190070 2024-10-21T10:21:41.838215 application/epub+zip 189002 2024-10-21T10:21:40.314204 application/epub+zip 84405 2024-10-21T10:21:40.099204 application/epub+zip 224983 2024-10-21T10:21:43.124192 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 218298 2024-10-21T10:21:41.586199 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 113997 2022-09-23T07:47:13.569171 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 47961 47866 2024-10-21T10:21:39.659220 2023-09-22T07:33:28.903263 text/plain; charset=us-ascii text/plain 47855 2016-01-20T10:20:26 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 18966 2016-01-20T10:20:26 text/plain; charset=us-ascii application/zip 19907 2024-10-21T10:21:43.259198 application/rdf+xml 23724 2024-10-21T10:21:40.164217 image/jpeg 4367 2024-10-21T10:21:40.131217 image/jpeg 170185 2024-10-21T10:21:39.873222 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog