difficulty with men who refused to believe they had
been poisoned by anything so commonplace as arsenic or strychnine. For
those cases, Barrent prescribed a variety of roots, herbs, twigs,
leaves, and a minute homeopathic dose of poison. But he invariably
preceded these with regurgitation, lavage, and neutralizing agent.

After he was settled, Barrent received a visit from Danis Foeren and
Joe. Foeren had a temporary job on the docks unloading fishing boats.
Joe had organized a nightly pokra game among the government workers of
Tetrahyde. Neither man had moved much in status; with no kills to their
credit, they had progressed only as far as Second Class Resident. They
were nervous about meeting socially with a Free Citizen, but Barrent put
them at ease. They were the only friends he had on Omega, and he had no
intention of losing them over a question of social position.

Barrent was unable to learn very much from them about the laws and
customs of Tetrahyde. Even Joe hadn't been able to find out anything
definite from his friends in government service. 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.

Of course, all social movement upward couldn't be stopped. But it could
be retarded, discouraged, and made exceedingly dangerous. The way one
encountered the laws and customs of Omega was through a risky process of
trial and error.

Although the Antidote Shop took up most of his time, Barrent persisted
in his efforts to locate the girl. He was unable to find a hint that she
even existed.

He became friendly with the shopkeepers on either side of him. One of
them, Demond Harrisbourg, was a jaunty, moustached young man who
operated a food store. It was a mundane and slightly ridiculous line of
work; but, as Harrisbourg explained, even criminals must eat. And this
necessitated farmers, processors, packagers, and food stores.
Harrisbourg contended that his business was in no way inferior to the
more indigenous Omegan industries centered around violent death.
Besides, Harrisbourg's wife's uncle was a Minister of Public Works.
Through him, Harrisbourg expected to receive a murder certificate. With
thi