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167
The Status Civilization
·
Robert Sheckley
101
"Joe!"
The
little
credit
thief
grinned
at
him.
"A
sad
place
to
meet,
Will."
"What
happened
to
you?"
"Politics,"
Joe
said.
"It's
a
dangerous
business
on
Omega,
especially
during
the
time
of
the
Games.
I
thought
I
was
safe.
But
..."
He
shrugged
his
shoulders.
"I
was
selected
for
the
Games
this
morning."
"Is
there
any
chance
of
getting
out
of
it?"
"There's
a
chance,"
Joe
said.
"I
told
your
girl
about
you,
so
perhaps
her
friends
can
do
something.
As
for
me,
I'm
expecting
a
reprieve."
"Is
that
possible?"
Barrent
asked.
"Anything
is
possible.
It's
better
not
to
hope
for
it,
though."
"What
are
the
Games
like?"
Barrent
asked.
"They're
the
sort
of
thing
you'd
expect,"
Joe
said.
"Man-to-man
combats,
battles
against
various
types
of
Omegan
flora
and
fauna,
needlebeam
and
heatgun
duels.
It's
all
copied
from
an
old
Earth
festival,
I'm
told."
"And
if
anyone
survives,"
Barrent
said,
"they're
beyond
the
law."
"That's
right."
"But
what
does
it
mean
to
be
beyond
the
law?"
"I
don't
know,"
Joe
said.
"Nobody
seems
to
know
much
about
that.
All
I
could
find
out
is,
survivors
of
the
Games
are
taken
by
The
Black
One.
It's
not
supposed
to
be
pleasant."
"I
can
understand
that.
Very
little
on
Omega
is
pleasant."
"It
isn't
a
bad
place,"
Joe
said.
"You
just
haven't
the
proper
spirit
of--"
He
was
interrupted
by
the
arrival
of
a
detachment
of
guards.
It
was
time
for
the
occupants
of
Barrent's
cell
to
enter
the
Arena.
"No
reprieve,"
Barrent
said.
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