"Davis, Jerry - Justification" - читать интересную книгу автора (Davis Jerry)

Notice to Mr. Dale Bently of 7892634 Vericruz
Lane, Apt. 982e7, Tuleburg California
95205-1252-08, S.S. #578-23-8493-X-4398:

IMPORTANT! This is your 5 year census notice!
You must fill out the accompanying form and
essay and return to the Bureau (see enclosed
self-addressed envelope) before your deadline
of November 1st. Failure to complete or return
the census will jeopardize your status of
citizenship.

My God! Dale thought. My God, I forgot all about this! What have I
been thinking!?
He looked over the form and the instructions for the essay.
The form itself only counted for %10 of the evaluation. It was the
essay that carried the weight. In big bold letters the
instructions read:

In your own handwriting, justify your existence in 500 words or
less.

Letter held numbly in his hand, Dale walked to a window and looked
out. The white sunlight made everything glare in his eyes, causing
him to squint. It looked so unreal, much less real than the
television screen. There was no color out there.
Dale looked down at the letter. He looked at the date.
November 1st, it read. He had one week.

#

The trolley rumbled and swayed over the old freeway
foundations, steel wheels singing against steel tracks as it
whizzed out of Old Town and into the vast spread of cityscape that
covered the once vital farmlands. Tuleburg was now bigger than the
L.A. basin, with Money and Business drawn around the big space
ports like iron filings to a magnet. The sprawl of the California
Central College campus was visible miles before the swaying green
trolley reached the station, giving the impression that the
trolley was barely creeping along. This was pure illusion, as they
were traveling in excess of 70 miles per hour. Dale was standing,
holding onto a rail and squinting through the windows, when the
brakes were applied. He was thrown forward and would have gone
tumbling had he not grabbed on with his other hand.
The walk from the station into the campus had him exhausted
before he was anywhere near his destination. He had a headache and
he was dizzy and his legs felt like they were going to collapse
beneath him. The students milling about all looked impossibly
young. He couldn't tell if they were 14 or 24.
One tower stood out from the rest. He entered and rested on