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167
The Status Civilization
·
Robert Sheckley
7
The
guard
pushed
him
gently.
402
walked
down
the
corridor.
He
saw
other
cell
doors
opening,
other
men
coming
into
the
corridor.
It
was
a
thin
stream
at
first;
but
as
he
continued
walking,
more
and
more
men
crowded
into
the
passageway.
Most
of
them
looked
bewildered,
and
none
of
them
talked.
The
only
words
were
from
the
guards:
"Move
along
now,
keep
on
moving,
straight
ahead."
They
were
headed
into
a
large
circular
auditorium.
Looking
around,
402
saw
that
a
balcony
ran
around
the
room,
and
armed
guards
were
stationed
every
few
yards
along
it.
Their
presence
seemed
unnecessary;
these
cowed
and
bewildered
men
weren't
going
to
stage
a
revolt.
Still,
he
supposed
the
grim-faced
guards
had
a
symbolic
value.
They
reminded
the
newly
awakened
men
of
the
most
important
fact
of
their
lives:
that
they
were
prisoners.
After
a
few
minutes,
a
man
in
a
somber
uniform
stepped
out
on
the
balcony.
He
held
up
his
hand
for
attention,
although
the
prisoners
were
already
watching
him
fixedly.
Then,
though
he
had
no
visible
means
of
amplification,
his
voice
boomed
hollowly
through
the
auditorium.
"This
is
an
indoctrination
talk,"
he
said.
"Listen
carefully
and
try
to
absorb
what
I
am
about
to
tell
you.
These
facts
will
be
very
important
for
your
existence."
The
prisoners
watched
him.
The
speaker
said,
"All
of
you
have,
within
the
last
hour,
awakened
in
your
cells.
You
have
discovered
that
you
cannot
remember
your
former
lives--not
even
your
names.
All
you
possess
is
a
meager
store
of
generalized
knowledge;
enough
to
keep
you
in
touch
with
reality.
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