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167
The Status Civilization
·
Robert Sheckley
155
"I'm
an
unusual
man,"
Dravivian
said,
with
a
mocking
smile.
"And
the
Secret
Police
is
an
unusual
institution."
"It
must
be
very
efficient.
How
did
you
find
out
about
me?"
"That
was
really
quite
simple.
Most
of
the
people
of
Earth
are
security-conditioned
from
childhood.
It's
part
of
our
heritage,
you
know.
Nearly
all
the
people
you
met
were
able
to
tell
that
there
was
something
very
wrong
about
you.
You
were
as
obviously
out
of
place
as
a
wolf
among
sheep.
People
noticed,
and
reported
directly
to
me."
"All
right,"
Barrent
said.
"Now
what?"
"First
I
would
like
you
to
tell
me
about
Omega."
Barrent
told
the
Police
Chief
about
his
life
on
the
prison
planet.
Dravivian
nodded,
a
faint
smile
on
his
lips.
"Yes,
it's
very
much
as
I
expected,"
he
said.
"The
same
sort
of
thing
has
happened
on
Omega
as
happened
in
early
America
and
Australia.
There
are
differences,
of
course;
you
have
been
shut
off
more
completely
from
the
mother
country.
But
the
same
fierce
energy
and
drive
is
there,
and
the
same
ruthlessness."
"What
are
you
going
to
do?"
Barrent
asked.
Dravivian
shrugged
his
shoulders.
"It
really
doesn't
matter.
I
suppose
I
could
kill
you.
But
that
wouldn't
stop
your
group
on
Omega
from
sending
out
other
spies,
or
from
seizing
one
of
the
prison
ships.
As
soon
as
the
Omegans
begin
to
move
in
force,
they'll
discover
the
truth
anyhow."
"What
truth?"
"By
now
it
must
be
obvious
to
you,"
Dravivian
said.
"Earth
hasn't
fought
a
war
for
nearly
eight
hundred
years.
We
wouldn't
know
how.
The
organization
of
guardships
around
Omega
is
pure
façade.
The
ships
are
completely
automatized,
built
to
meet
conditions
of
several
hundreds
years
ago.
A
determined
attack
will
capture
a
ship;
and
when
you
have
one,
the
rest
will
fall.
After
that,
there's
nothing
to
stop
the
Omegans
from
coming
back
to
Earth;
and
there's
nothing
on
Earth
to
fight
them
with.
This,
you
must
realize,
is
the
reason
why
all
prisoners
leaving
Earth
are
divorced
from
their
memories.
If
they
remembered,
Earth's
vulnerability
would
be
painfully
apparent."
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