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167
The Status Civilization
·
Robert Sheckley
70
"Not
a
chance."
Moera
sighed
and
leaned
back.
"Are
you
really
interested
in
me?"
"Much
more
than
interested,"
Barrent
said.
"Well,"
Moera
said,
"if
you
won't
change
your
mind,
I
suppose
I'll
just
have
to
put
up
with
you."
She
turned
away;
but
before
she
did,
Barrent
caught
the
faintest
suggestion
of
a
smile.
Chapter
Twelve
The
Lake
of
Clouds
was
Omega's
finest
vacation
resort.
Upon
entering
the
district,
all
weapons
had
to
be
checked
at
the
main
gate.
No
duels
were
allowed
under
any
circumstances.
Quarrels
were
arbitrarily
decided
by
the
nearest
barman,
and
murder
was
punished
by
immediate
loss
of
all
status.
Every
amusement
was
available
at
the
Lake
of
Clouds.
There
were
the
exhibitions
such
as
fencing
bouts,
bull
fighting,
and
bear
baiting.
There
were
sports
like
swimming,
mountain
climbing,
and
skiing.
In
the
evenings
there
was
dancing
in
the
main
ballroom,
behind
glass
walls
which
separated
residents
from
citizens
and
citizens
from
the
elite.
There
was
a
well-stocked
drug
bar
containing
anything
the
fashionable
addict
could
desire,
as
well
as
a
few
novelties
he
might
wish
to
sample.
For
the
gregarious,
there
was
an
orgy
every
Wednesday
and
Saturday
night
in
the
Satyr's
Grotto.
For
the
shy,
the
management
arranged
masked
trysts
in
the
dim
passageways
beneath
the
hotel.
But
most
important
of
all,
there
were
gently
rolling
hills
and
shadowy
woods
to
walk
in,
free
from
the
tensions
of
the
daily
struggle
for
existence
in
Tetrahyde.
Barrent
and
Moera
had
adjoining
rooms,
and
the
door
between
them
was
unlocked.
But
on
the
first
night,
Barrent
did
not
go
through
the
door.
Moera
had
given
no
sign
of
wanting
him
to
do
so;
and
on
a
planet
where
women
have
easy
and
continual
access
to
poisons,
a
man
had
to
think
twice
before
inflicting
his
company
where
it
was
not
wanted.
Even
the
owner
of
an
antidote
shop
had
to
consider
the
possibility
of
not
being
able
to
recognize
his
own
symptoms
in
time.
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