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167
The Status Civilization
·
Robert Sheckley
76
"What
do
you
wish
us
to
skren
for
you,
Citizen
Barrent?"
the
young
woman
asked.
"How
did
you
know
my
name?"
Barrent
asked.
When
he
got
no
answer,
he
said,
"All
right.
I
want
to
find
out
about
a
murder
I
committed
on
Earth."
"Why
do
you
want
to
find
out
about
it?"
the
young
woman
asked.
"Won't
the
authorities
credit
it
to
your
record?"
"They
credit
it.
But
I
want
to
find
out
why
I
did
it.
Maybe
there
were
extenuating
circumstances.
Maybe
I
did
it
in
self-defense."
"Is
it
really
important?"
the
young
woman
asked.
"I
think
so,"
Barrent
said.
He
hesitated
a
moment,
then
took
the
plunge.
"The
fact
of
the
matter
is,
I
have
a
neurotic
prejudice
against
murder.
I
would
rather
not
kill.
So
I
want
to
find
out
why
I
committed
murder
on
Earth."
The
mutants
looked
at
each
other.
Then
the
old
man
grinned
and
said,
"Citizen,
we'll
help
you
all
we
can.
We
mutants
also
have
a
prejudice
against
killing,
since
it's
always
someone
else
killing
us.
We're
all
in
favor
of
citizens
with
a
neurosis
against
murder."
"Then
you'll
skren
my
past?"
"It's
not
as
easy
as
that,"
the
young
woman
said.
"The
skrenning
ability,
which
is
one
of
a
cluster
of
psi
talents,
is
difficult
to
use.
It
doesn't
always
function.
And
when
it
does
function,
it
often
doesn't
reveal
what
it's
supposed
to."
"I
thought
all
mutants
could
look
into
the
past
whenever
they
wanted
to,"
Barrent
said.
"No,"
the
old
man
told
him,
"that
isn't
true.
For
one
thing,
not
all
of
us
who
are
classified
mutants
are
true
mutants.
Almost
any
deformity
or
abnormality
these
days
is
called
mutantism.
It's
a
handy
term
to
cover
anyone
who
doesn't
conform
to
the
Terran
standard
of
appearance."
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