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167
The Status Civilization
·
Robert Sheckley
107
"The
situation
will
be
out
of
hand
by
then,"
the
man
said.
"I'm
sorry,
Moera,
we
have
to
use
Barrent
immediately,
or
not
use
him
at
all."
Barrent
said,
"Use
me
for
what?
Where
am
I?
Who
are
you?"
The
man
turned
to
the
bed.
In
the
faint
light,
Barrent
saw
a
very
tall,
thin,
stooped
old
man
with
a
wispy
moustache.
"I'm
glad
you're
awake,"
he
said.
"My
name
is
Swen
Eylan.
I'm
in
command
of
Group
Two."
"What's
Group
Two?"
Barrent
asked.
"How
did
you
get
me
out
of
the
Arena?
Are
you
agents
of
The
Black
One?"
Eylan
grinned.
"Not
exactly
agents.
We'll
explain
everything
to
you
shortly.
First,
I
think
you'd
better
have
something
to
eat
and
drink."
A
nurse
brought
in
a
tray.
While
Barrent
ate,
Eylan
pulled
up
a
chair
and
told
Barrent
about
The
Black
One.
"Our
Group,"
Eylan
said,
"can't
claim
to
have
started
the
religion
of
Evil.
That
appears
to
have
sprung
up
spontaneously
on
Omega.
But
since
it
was
there,
we
have
made
occasional
use
of
it.
The
priests
have
been
remarkably
cooperative.
After
all,
the
worshipers
of
Evil
set
a
high
positive
value
upon
corruption.
Therefore,
in
the
eyes
of
an
Omegan
priest,
the
appearance
of
a
fraudulent
Black
One
is
not
anathema.
Quite
the
contrary,
for
in
the
orthodox
worship
of
Evil,
a
great
deal
of
emphasis
is
put
upon
false
images--especially
if
they
are
big,
fiery,
impressive
images
like
the
one
which
rescued
you
from
the
Arena."
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