Criminals -- Fiction; DiGriz, James Bolivar (Fictitious character) -- Fiction; Police -- Fiction; Science fiction; Short stories
A cab took me about ten blocks away. I waited until it was out of sight
then took another one. It wasn't until I was in the third cab that I
felt safe enough to go to the space terminal. The sounds of sirens were
growing fainter and fainter behind me and only an occasional police car
tore by in the opposite direction.
They were sure making a big fuss over a little larceny, but that's the
way it goes on these overcivilized worlds. Crime is such a rarity now
that the police really get carried away when they run across some. In
a way I can't blame them, giving out traffic tickets must be an awful
dull job. I really believe they ought to thank me for putting a little
excitement in their otherwise dull lives.
* * * * *
It was a nice ride to the spaceport being located, of course, far out
of town. I had time to lean back and watch the scenery and gather my
thoughts. Even time to be a little philosophical. For one thing I
could enjoy a good cigar again, I smoked only cigarettes in my other
personality and never violated that personality, even in strictest
privacy. The cigars were still fresh in the pocket humidor where I had
put them six months ago. I sucked a long mouthful and blew the smoke
out at the flashing scenery. It was good to be off the job, just about
as good as being on it. I could never make my mind up which period I
enjoyed more--I guess they are both right at the time.
My life is so different from that of the overwhelming majority of
people in our society that I doubt if I could even explain it to them.
They exist in a fat, rich union of worlds that have almost forgotten
the meaning of the word crime. There are few malcontents and even fewer
that are socially maladjusted. The few that are still born in spite
of centuries of genetic control are caught early and the aberration
quickly adjusted. Some don't show their weakness until they are
adults, they are the ones who try their hand at petty crime--burglary,
shop-lifting or such. They get away with it for a week or two or a
month or two, depending on the degree of their native intelligence. But
sure as atomic decay--and just as predestined--the police reach out and
pull them in.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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