The Status Civilization

"Come out of it, Barrent. You're overdoing it. Come out of the dream." Barrent had no time to listen. The window turned into a chute, and he slid down its polished sides into an amphitheatre. There, across gray sand, the corpse crept toward him on the stubs of arms and legs. The enormous grandstand was empty except for the judge and the informer, who sat side by side, watching. "He's stuck." "Well, I warned him...." "Come out of the dream, Barrent. This is Doctor Wayn. You're on Omega, in the Dream Shop. Come out of the dream. There's still time if you pull yourself out immediately." Omega? Dream? There was no time to think about it. Barrent was swimming across a dark, evil-smelling lake. The judge and the informer were swimming just behind him, flanking the corpse, whose skin was slowly peeling away. "Barrent!" And now the lake was turning into a thick jelly which clung to his arms and legs and filled his mouth, while the judge and the informer-- "Barrent!" Barrent opened his eyes and found himself on the adjustable bed in the Dream Shop. Doctor Wayn, looking somewhat shaken, was standing over him. A nurse was near by with a tray of hypodermics and an oxygen mask. Behind her was Arkdragen, wiping perspiration from his forehead. "I didn't think you were going to make it," Doctor Wayn said. "I really didn't." "He pulled out just in time," the nurse said. "I warned him," Arkdragen said, and left the room.