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167
The Status Civilization
·
Robert Sheckley
125
He
never
had
a
chance
to
find
out,
for
the
android
walked
past
him
and
continued
up
the
stairs.
Stenciled
on
the
back
of
its
uniform
were
the
words
RODENT
CONTROL
DIVISION.
This
particular
android,
Barrent
realized,
was
programmed
only
to
look
for
rats
and
mice.
The
presence
of
a
stowaway
had
made
no
impression
on
it.
Presumably
the
other
androids
were
similarly
specialized.
He
stayed
in
an
empty
storage
room
on
a
lower
level
until
he
heard
the
sounds
of
the
androids
leaving.
Then
he
hurried
back
to
the
control
room.
No
guards
came
aboard.
Exactly
on
schedule,
the
big
ship
left
the
checkpoint.
Destination:
Earth.
The
rest
of
the
journey
was
uneventful.
Barrent
slept
and
ate
and,
before
the
craft
entered
subspace,
watched
the
endless
spectacle
of
the
stars
through
the
viewport.
He
tried
to
visualize
the
planet
he
was
coming
to,
but
no
pictures
formed
in
his
mind.
What
sort
of
a
people
built
huge
starships
but
failed
to
equip
them
with
a
crew?
Why
did
they
send
out
inspection
teams,
then
give
those
teams
the
narrowest
and
most
specialized
sort
of
vision?
Why
did
they
have
to
deport
a
sizable
portion
of
their
population--and
then
fail
to
control
the
conditions
under
which
the
deportees
lived
and
died?
Why
was
it
necessary
for
them
to
wipe
the
prisoners'
minds
clean
of
all
memory
of
Earth?
Barrent
couldn't
think
of
any
answers.
The
control
room
clocks
moved
steadily
on,
counting
off
the
minutes
and
hours
of
the
trip.
The
ship
entered,
then
emerged
from
subspace
and
went
into
deceleration
orbit
around
a
blue
and
green
world
which
Barrent
observed
with
mixed
emotions.
He
found
it
hard
to
realize
that
he
was
returning
at
last
to
Earth.
Marker
Marker
Fine marker
White-out
Fine white-out
Circle
Paint
Unmarker
Hand
Scalpel
Dice
Sieve
Purify
Undo
Redo
Start over
