"Not at all!" Jay said. "On Omega, the symbol and the thing symbolized are usually one and the same. When we say a Hunt, we mean a true hunt. Otherwise the thing would be mere pageantry." Barrent stopped a moment to consider the situation. It was not a pleasing prospect. In a man-to-man duel he had an excellent chance of survival. But the yearly Hunt, in which the entire population of Tetrahyde took part, gave him no chance at all. He should have been ready for a possibility like this. "How was I picked?" he asked. "By random selection," said Norins Jay. "No other method would be fair to the Hunteds, who give up their lives for Omega's greater glory." "I can't believe I was picked purely by chance." "The selection was random," Jay said. "It was made, of course, from a list of suitable victims. Not everyone can be a Quarry in a Hunt. A man must have demonstrated a considerable degree of tenacity and skill before the Games Committee would think of considering him for selection. Being Hunted is an honor; it is not one which we confer lightly." "I don't believe it," Barrent said. "You people in the government were out to get me. Now, it seems, you've succeeded. It's as simple as that." "Not at all. I can assure you that none of us in the government bear you the slightest ill will. You may have heard foolish stories about vindictive officials, but they simply aren't true. You have broken the law, but that is no longer the government's concern. Now it is entirely a matter between you and the law." Jay's frosty blue eyes flashed when he spoke of the law. His back stiffened, and his mouth grew firm. "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." "And that," Barrent said, "is why I was chosen for the Hunt?" "Of course," Jay said. "If you had not been chosen in that way, the zealous and never-sleeping law would have selected another means, using whatever instruments were at its disposal." "Thanks for telling me," Barrent said. "How long do I have before the Hunt begins?" "Until dawn. The Hunt begins then, and ends at dawn of the following day." "What happens if I'm not killed?" Norins Jay smiled faintly. "That doesn't happen often, Citizen Barrent. I'm sure it need not worry you." "It happens, doesn't it?" "Yes. Those who survive the Hunt are automatically enrolled in the Games." "And if I survive the Games?"