Robert Sheckley - The Status Civilization (1960)

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Do you have any papers for Will Barrent?
None, the lawyer said. His case is in different hands. I'm afraid it might not be completely processed until after the Games are over.
But I'll probably be dead then, Barrent said.
That, I can assure you, won't stop the papers from being properly served, the fat lawyer said proudly. Dead or alive, you will retain all your rights.

Robert Sheckley
Remember, the inevitable inefficiency of a huge bureaucracy will be working for you.

Robert Sheckley
His friends, who had been waiting for the death announcement, came to congratulate him. They were eager to hear the complete details of the Trial by Ordeal; but Barrent had learned now that secret knowledge was the road to power. He gave them only the sketchiest outline.

Robert Sheckley
On Omega, the law was kept secret. Older residents used their knowledge of the law to enforce their rule over the newcomers. This system was condoned and reinforced by the doctrine of the inequality of all men, which lay at the heart of the Omegan legal system. Through planned inequality and enforced ignorance, power and status remained in the hands of the older residents.

Robert Sheckley
The law, he said, is above the criminal and the judge, and rules them both. The law is inescapable, for an action is either lawful or unlawful. The law, indeed, may be said to have a life of its own, an existence quite apart from the finite lives of the beings who administer it. The law governs every aspect of human behavior; therefore, to the same extent that humans are lawful beings, the law is human. And being human, the law has its idiosyncrasies, just as a man has his. For a citizen who abides by the law, the law is distant and difficult to find. For those who reject and violate it, the law emerges from its musty sepulchers and goes in search of the transgressor.

Robert Sheckley
Evil, the priest said, after he had settled comfortably into Barrent's best chair, is that force within us which inspires men to acts of strength and endurance. The worship of Evil is essentially the worship of oneself, and therefore the only true worship. The self which one worships is the ideal social being; the man content in his niche in society, yet ready to grasp any opportunity for advancement; the man who meets death with dignity, who kills without the demeaning vice of pity. Evil is cruel, since it is a true reflection of the uncaring and insensate universe. Evil is eternal and unchanging, although it comes to us in the many forms of protean life.

Robert Sheckley
Would you define Good for me, Citizen Abbot?
Certainly. Good is that force within us which inspires men to acts of conformity and subservience. The worship of Good is essentially the worship of oneself, and therefore the only true worship. The self which one worships is the ideal social being: the man content in his niche in society, yet ready to creatively advance his status. Good is gentle, since it is a true reflection of the loving and pitying universe. Good is continually changing in its aspects, although it comes to us in the... You have a strange look on your face, young man.
I'm sorry, Citizen Abbot. I believe I heard that sermon, or one very much like it.

Robert Sheckley
They were shunned, and they had reacted to exclusion by exclusiveness.

Robert Sheckley
I'm afraid not. According to the law, you must leave here at once.
But they'll kill me!
That's very true, Frendlyer said. Unfortunately, it can't be helped. A victim, by definition, is one who is to be killed.
I thought this was a protective organization.
It is. But we protect rights, not victims. Your rights are not being violated.

Robert Sheckley
All his studies had been for extraterrestrial exploration. There was no place for him on Earth; and now he was barred from space.

Robert Sheckley
What had he been taught? For the social good, you must be your own policeman and witness. You must assume responsibility for any crime which might conceivably be yours.
The face of the informer stared impassively at him. It was Barrent's own face, reflected back from a mirror on the wall.

Robert Sheckley