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167
The Status Civilization
·
Robert Sheckley
126
Chapter
Twenty-Four
The
starship
landed
at
noon
on
a
brilliant
sunlit
day,
somewhere
on
Earth's
North
American
continent.
Barrent
had
planned
on
waiting
for
darkness
before
leaving;
but
the
control
room
screens
flashed
an
ancient
and
ironic
warning:
All
passengers
and
crew
must
disembark
at
once.
Ship
rigged
for
full
decontamination
procedure.
Twenty
minutes.
He
didn't
know
what
was
meant
by
full
decontamination
procedure.
But
since
the
crew
was
emphatically
ordered
to
leave,
a
respirator
might
not
provide
much
safety.
Of
the
two
dangers,
leaving
the
ship
seemed
the
lesser.
The
members
of
Group
Two
had
given
a
good
deal
of
thought
to
the
clothing
Barrent
would
wear
upon
debarkation.
Those
first
minutes
on
Earth
might
be
crucial.
No
cunning
could
help
him
if
his
clothing
was
obviously
strange,
outlandish,
alien.
Typical
Earth
clothing
was
the
answer;
but
the
Group
wasn't
sure
what
the
citizens
of
Earth
wore.
One
part
of
the
Group
had
wanted
Barrent
to
dress
in
their
reconstructed
approximation
of
civilian
dress.
Another
part
felt
that
the
guard's
uniform
he
had
worn
on
board
would
see
him
through
his
arrival
on
Earth
as
well.
Barrent
himself
had
agreed
with
a
third
opinion,
which
felt
that
a
mechanic's
one-piece
coverall
would
be
least
noticeable
around
a
spacefield,
and
suffer
the
least
change
of
style
over
the
years.
In
the
towns
and
cities,
this
disguise
might
put
him
at
a
disadvantage;
but
he
had
to
meet
one
problem
at
a
time.
He
quickly
stripped
off
his
guard's
uniform.
Underneath
he
wore
the
lightweight
coveralls.
His
needlebeam
concealed,
a
collapsible
lunchbox
in
his
hand,
Barrent
walked
down
the
corridor
to
the
landing
stage.
He
hesitated
for
a
moment,
wondering
if
he
should
leave
the
weapon
on
the
ship.
He
decided
not
to
part
with
it.
An
inspection
would
reveal
him
anyhow;
with
the
needlebeam
he
would
have
a
chance
of
breaking
away
from
police.
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