"All right," Barrent said. "I'll watch myself."

He left the university office and walked into the city. It was a
fantastic city of skyscrapers and multi-level streets, a brilliant city
of silver and diamond hues, an ambitious city which administered a
far-flung network of countries and planets. Barrent walked along the
third pedestrian level, still angry, thinking about Andrew Therkaler.

Because of Therkaler and his ridiculous jealousy, Barrent's application
for the Space Exploration Corps had been turned down. There was nothing
his Advisor could do about the matter; Therkaler had too much influence
on the Selection Board. It would be a full three years before Barrent
could apply again. In the meantime he was Earth-bound and unemployable.
All his studies had been for extraterrestrial exploration. There was no
place for him on Earth; and now he was barred from space.

Therkaler!

Barrent left the pedestrian level and took the highspeed ramp into the
Sante district. As the ramp moved, he fingered the small weapon in his
pocket. Handguns were illegal on Earth. He had procured his through
untraceable means.

He was determined to kill Therkaler.

There was a wash of grotesque faces. The dream blurred. When it cleared,
Barrent found himself aiming his handgun at a thin, cross-eyed fellow
whose scream for mercy was abruptly cut short.

The informer, blank-faced and stern, noted the crime and informed the
police.

The police, in uniforms of gray, took him into custody and brought him
before the judge.

The judge, with his vague parchment face, sentenced him to perpetual
servitude upon the planet Omega, and handed down the obligatory decree
that Barrent be cleansed of memory.

Then the dream turned into a kaleidoscope of horror. Barrent was
climbing a slippery pole, a sheer mountainside, a smooth-sided well.
Behind him, gaining on him, was Therkaler's corpse with its chest ripped
open. Supporting the corpse on either side were the blank-faced informer
and the parchment-faced judge.

Barrent ran down a hill, a street, a rooftop. His pursuers were close
behind him. He entered a dim yellow room, closed and locked the door.
When he turned around, he saw that he had locked himself in with
Therkaler's corpse. Fungus was blossoming in the open wound in the
chest, and the scarred head was crowned with red and purple mold. The
corpse advanced, reached for him, and Barrent dived headfirst through
the window.

"_Come o