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167
The Status Civilization
·
Robert Sheckley
35
Barrent
said,
"I
was
just
closing
up,
sir.
But
if
there's
anything
you
wish
to
buy--"
"I
did
not
come
here
to
buy,"
the
caller
said.
He
permitted
himself
a
faint
smile.
"I
came
here
to
sell."
"Sell?"
"I
am
a
priest,"
the
man
said.
"You
are
a
newcomer
to
my
district.
I
haven't
noticed
you
at
services."
"I
hadn't
known
anything
about--"
The
priest
held
up
his
hand.
"Under
both
the
sacred
and
the
profane
law,
ignorance
is
no
excuse
for
nonperformance
of
one's
duties.
Indeed,
ignorance
can
be
punished
as
an
act
of
willful
neglect,
based
upon
the
Total
Personal
Responsibility
Act
of
'23,
to
say
nothing
of
the
Lesser
Codicil."
He
smiled
again.
"However,
there
is
no
question
of
chastisement
for
you
as
yet."
"I'm
glad
to
hear
that,
sir,"
Barrent
said.
"'Uncle'
is
the
proper
form
of
address,"
the
priest
said.
"I
am
Uncle
Ingemar,
and
I
have
come
to
tell
you
about
the
orthodox
religion
of
Omega,
which
is
the
worship
of
that
pure
and
transcendent
spirit
of
Evil
which
is
our
inspiration
and
our
comfort."
Barrent
said,
"I'll
be
very
happy
to
hear
about
the
religion
of
Evil,
Uncle.
Shall
we
go
into
the
living
room?"
"By
all
means,
Nephew,"
the
priest
said,
and
followed
Barrent
to
the
apartment
in
back
of
the
store.
Chapter
Six
"Evil,"
the
priest
said,
after
he
had
settled
comfortably
into
Barrent's
best
chair,
"is
that
force
within
us
which
inspires
men
to
acts
of
strength
and
endurance.
The
worship
of
Evil
is
essentially
the
worship
of
oneself,
and
therefore
the
only
true
worship.
The
self
which
one
worships
is
the
ideal
social
being;
the
man
content
in
his
niche
in
society,
yet
ready
to
grasp
any
opportunity
for
advancement;
the
man
who
meets
death
with
dignity,
who
kills
without
the
demeaning
vice
of
pity.
Evil
is
cruel,
since
it
is
a
true
reflection
of
the
uncaring
and
insensate
universe.
Evil
is
eternal
and
unchanging,
although
it
comes
to
us
in
the
many
forms
of
protean
life."
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