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167
The Status Civilization
·
Robert Sheckley
90
When
the
corridors
seemed
to
be
deserted,
he
entered
quickly,
read
the
directory,
and
climbed
the
stairs
to
the
third
floor.
He
passed
a
dozen
office
doors,
and
finally
stopped
at
the
one
marked
NORINS
JAY,
SUB-MINISTER
OF
GAMES.
He
listened
for
a
moment,
then
opened
the
door
and
stepped
in.
There
was
nothing
wrong
with
old
Jay's
reflexes.
Before
Barrent
was
through
the
doorway,
the
old
man
had
spotted
the
crimson
hunt-marks
on
his
face.
Jay
opened
a
drawer
and
reached
into
it.
Barrent
had
no
desire
to
kill
the
old
man.
He
flung
the
government-issue
needlebeam
at
Jay,
and
caught
him
full
on
the
forehead.
Jay
staggered
back
against
the
wall,
then
collapsed
to
the
floor.
Bending
over
him,
Barrent
found
that
his
pulse
was
strong.
He
bound
and
gagged
the
sub-minister,
and
pushed
him
out
of
sight
under
his
desk.
Hunting
through
the
drawers,
he
found
a
CONFERENCE:
DO
NOT
DISTURB
sign.
He
hung
this
outside
the
door,
and
locked
it.
With
his
own
needlebeam
drawn,
he
sat
down
behind
the
desk
and
awaited
events.
Dawn
came,
and
a
watery
sun
rose
over
Omega.
From
the
window,
Barrent
could
see
the
streets
filled
with
people.
There
was
a
hectic
carnival
atmosphere
in
the
city,
and
the
noise
of
the
holiday
celebration
was
punctuated
by
the
occasional
hiss
of
a
beamer
or
the
flat
explosion
of
a
projectile
weapon.
By
noon,
Barrent
was
still
undetected.
He
looked
through
windows,
and
found
that
he
had
access
to
the
roof.
He
was
glad
to
have
an
exit,
just
as
Jay
had
suggested.
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