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167
The Status Civilization
·
Robert Sheckley
124
He
slipped
a
respirator
over
his
head
and
moved
into
the
corridor.
Chapter
Twenty-Three
Half
an
hour
later,
Barrent
still
hadn't
figured
out
a
way
of
getting
past
the
check
squad.
They
had
finished
inspecting
the
lower
levels
and
were
moving
up
to
the
control
room
deck.
Barrent
could
hear
them
marching
down
the
hallways.
He
kept
on
walking,
a
hundred
yards
in
front,
trying
to
find
some
way
of
hiding.
There
should
be
a
staircase
at
the
end
of
this
passageway.
He
could
take
it
down
to
a
different
level,
a
part
of
the
ship
which
had
already
been
searched.
He
hurried
on,
wondering
if
he
were
wrong
about
the
location
of
the
staircase.
He
still
had
only
the
haziest
idea
of
the
layout
of
the
ship.
If
he
were
wrong,
he
would
be
trapped.
He
came
to
the
end
of
the
corridor,
and
the
staircase
was
there.
The
footsteps
behind
him
sounded
closer.
He
started
down,
peering
backwards
over
his
shoulder.
And
ran
headfirst
into
a
man's
huge
chest.
Barrent
flung
himself
back,
bringing
his
plastic
gun
to
bear
on
the
enormous
figure.
But
he
stopped
himself
from
firing.
The
thing
that
stood
in
front
of
him
was
not
human.
It
stood
nearly
seven
feet
high,
dressed
in
a
black
uniform
with
INSPECTION
TEAM--ANDROID
B212
stenciled
on
its
front.
Its
face
was
a
stylization
of
a
human's,
cleverly
sculptured
out
of
putty-colored
plastic.
Its
eyes
glowed
a
deep,
impossible
red.
It
swayed
on
two
legs,
balancing
carefully,
looking
at
Barrent,
moving
slowly
toward
him.
Barrent
backed
away,
wondering
if
a
needlebeam
could
stop
it.
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