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The Status Civilization
·
Robert Sheckley
3
CONTENTS
THE
STATUS
CIVILIZATION
1
TO
ANYA
THE
STATUS
CIVILIZATION
Chapter
One
His
return
to
consciousness
was
a
slow
and
painful
process.
It
was
a
journey
in
which
he
traversed
all
time.
He
dreamed.
He
rose
through
thick
layers
of
sleep,
out
of
the
imaginary
beginnings
of
all
things.
He
lifted
a
pseudopod
from
primordial
ooze,
and
the
pseudopod
was
him.
He
became
an
amoeba
which
contained
his
essence;
then
a
fish
marked
with
his
own
peculiar
individuality;
then
an
ape
unlike
all
other
apes.
And
finally,
he
became
a
man.
What
kind
of
man?
Dimly
he
saw
himself,
faceless,
a
beamer
gripped
tight
on
one
hand,
a
corpse
at
his
feet.
That
kind
of
man.
He
awoke,
rubbed
his
eyes,
and
waited
for
further
memories
to
come.
No
memories
came.
Not
even
his
name.
He
sat
up
hastily
and
willed
memory
to
return.
When
it
didn't,
he
looked
around,
seeking
in
his
surroundings
some
clue
to
his
identity.
He
was
sitting
on
a
bed
in
a
small
gray
room.
There
was
a
closed
door
on
one
side.
On
the
other,
through
a
curtained
alcove,
he
could
see
a
tiny
lavatory.
Light
came
into
the
room
from
some
hidden
source,
perhaps
from
the
ceiling
itself.
The
room
had
a
bed
and
a
single
chair,
and
nothing
else.
He
held
his
chin
in
his
hand
and
closed
his
eyes.
He
tried
to
catalogue
all
his
knowledge,
and
the
implications
of
that
knowledge.
He
knew
that
he
was
a
man,
species
Homo
sapiens,
an
inhabitant
of
the
planet
Earth.
He
spoke
a
language
which
he
knew
was
English.
(Did
that
mean
that
there
were
other
languages?)
He
knew
the
commonplace
names
for
things:
room,
light,
chair.
He
possessed
in
addition
a
limited
amount
of
general
knowledge.
He
knew
that
there
were
many
important
things
which
he
did
not
know,
which
he
once
had
known.
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