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167
The Status Civilization
·
Robert Sheckley
27
It
was
quite
obvious
that
poisoning
played
a
large
part
in
the
daily
life
of
Omega.
Here
was
a
store--and
presumably
there
were
others--whose
sole
purpose
was
to
dispense
antidotes.
Barrent
thought
about
this
and
decided
that
he
had
inherited
a
strange
but
honorable
business.
He
would
study
the
books
and
find
out
how
an
antidote
shop
was
run.
The
store
had
a
back
apartment
with
a
living
room,
bedroom,
and
kitchen.
In
one
of
the
closets,
Barrent
found
a
badly
made
suit
of
Citizen
black,
into
which
he
changed.
He
took
the
girl's
weapon
from
the
pocket
of
his
prison
ship
uniform,
weighed
it
in
his
hand
for
a
moment,
then
put
it
into
a
pocket
of
his
new
suit.
He
left
the
store
and
found
his
way
back
to
the
Victim's
Protective
Society.
The
door
was
still
open,
and
the
three
ragged
men
were
still
sitting
on
the
bench.
They
weren't
laughing
now.
Their
long
wait
seemed
to
have
tired
them.
At
the
other
end
of
the
room,
Mr.
Frendlyer
was
seated
behind
his
desk,
reading
through
a
thick
pile
of
papers.
There
was
no
sign
of
the
girl.
Barrent
walked
to
the
desk,
and
Frendlyer
stood
up
to
greet
him.
"My
congratulations!"
Frendlyer
said.
"Dear
fellow,
my
very
warmest
congratulations.
That
was
a
splendid
bit
of
shooting.
And
in
motion,
too!"
"Thank
you,"
Barrent
said.
"The
reason
I
came
back
here--"
"I
know
why,"
Frendlyer
said.
"You
wished
to
be
advised
of
your
rights
and
obligations
as
a
Free
Citizen.
What
could
be
more
natural?
If
you
take
a
seat
on
that
bench,
I'll
be
with
you
in--"
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