ut 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.

Barrent sat up. "What happened?" he asked.

Doctor Wayn shrugged his shoulders. "It's hard to tell. Perhaps you were
prone to circular reaction; and sometimes the drugs aren't absolutely
pure. But these things usually don't happen more than once. Believe me,
Citizen Barrent, the drug experience is very pleasant. I'm sure you'll
enjoy it the second time."

Still shaken by his experience, Barrent was certain there would be no
second time for him. Whatever the cost, he was not going to risk a
repetition of that nightmare.

"Am I addicted now?" he asked.

"Oh, no," Doctor Wayn said. "Addiction occurs with the third or fourth
visit."

Barrent thanked him and left. He passed Arkdragen's desk and asked how
much he owed.

"Nothing," Arkdragen said. "The first visit is always on the house." He
gave Barrent a knowing smile.

Barrent left the Dream Shop and hurried home to his apartment. He had a
lot to think about. Now, for the first time, he had proof that he was a
willful and premeditat