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167
The Status Civilization
·
Robert Sheckley
80
Illiardi
looked
at
him
carefully,
then
shook
his
head.
"No,
I
don't
think
I
saw
you.
But
I
can't
be
sure.
Right
after
I
killed
Therkaler,
everything
goes
sort
of
blank."
"Thank
you,"
Barrent
said.
He
left
the
Euphoriatorium.
Chapter
Fourteen
Barrent
had
much
to
think
about,
but
the
more
he
thought,
the
more
he
became
confused.
If
Illiardi
had
killed
Therkaler,
why
had
Barrent
been
deported
to
Omega?
If
an
honest
mistake
had
been
made,
why
hadn't
he
been
released
when
the
true
murderer
was
discovered?
Why
had
someone
on
Earth
accused
him
of
a
crime
he
hadn't
committed?
And
why
had
a
false
memory
of
that
crime
been
superimposed
on
his
mind
just
beneath
the
conscious
level?
Barrent
had
no
answers
for
his
questions.
But
he
knew
that
he
had
never
felt
like
a
murderer.
Now
he
had
proof,
of
sorts,
that
he
wasn't
a
murderer.
The
sensation
of
innocence
changed
everything
for
him.
He
had
less
tolerance
for
Omegan
ways,
and
no
interest
at
all
in
conforming
to
a
criminal
mode
of
life.
The
only
thing
he
wanted
was
to
escape
from
Omega
and
return
to
his
rightful
heritage
on
Earth.
But
that
was
impossible.
Day
and
night,
the
guardships
circled
overhead.
Even
if
there
had
been
some
way
of
evading
them,
escape
would
still
have
been
impossible.
Omegan
technology
had
progressed
only
as
far
as
the
internal
combustion
engine;
the
only
starships
were
commanded
by
Earth
forces.
Barrent
continued
to
work
in
the
Antidote
Shop,
but
his
lack
of
public
spirit
was
growing
apparent.
He
ignored
invitations
from
the
Dream
Shop,
and
never
attended
any
of
the
popular
public
executions.
When
roving
mobs
were
formed
to
have
a
little
fun
in
the
Mutant
Quarter,
Barrent
usually
pleaded
a
headache.
He
never
joined
the
Landing
Day
Hunts,
and
he
was
rude
to
an
accredited
salesman
from
the
Torture
of
the
Month
Club.
Not
even
visits
from
Uncle
Ingemar
could
make
him
change
his
antireligious
ways.
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