The girl clawed at Brecken's face as he raised the metal bar ...
Social living requires the elimination, or at very best, the modification of many elementsnecessary to survival in "nature". And when an emergency arises, very often it isthe person who would be considered a "criminal", in other situations, who alone isable to cope with the necessities. If we manage to eliminate "violence" from humanaffairs, what will we find when a need for "violence" arises—a need outside of man'sartificial control of his environment?
 THIS WORLD
MUST DIE!
Feature Novelet of Dread Necessity
"You have been chosen for this mission of murderbecause you are the only people in our culturewho are capable of this type of violence. You havebroken our laws, and this is your punishment!"
By H. B. Fyfe
Lou Phillips sat on the coldmetal deck of the control room,seething with a growing dislikefor the old man.
"What you are here for," the otherhad told him when the guards hadbrought Phillips in, "is a simple crimeof violence. You'll do, I'm sure."
The old man paced the deck impatiently,while a pair of armed guardsmaintained a watchful silence by thedoor. Two more men in plain grayshirts and trousers sat beside Phillips,leaning back sullenly against thebulkhead. He guessed that they werewaiting for a fourth, remembering thatthree other figures had been hustledaboard with him at the Lunar spaceport.
The door slid open, allowing anotheryouth in gray uniform to stumbleinside. One of the guards in the corridorbeyond shoved the newcomerforward, and Phillips' eyebrowstwitched as he had a closer look. Thislast prisoner was a girl.
He thought she might have beenpretty, with a touch of lipstick and akinder arrangement of her short, ash-blondehair; but he lowered his eyesas her hard, wary stare flickered pasthim. She walked over to the bulkheadand took a seat at the other end ofthe little group.
The old man turned, scanning theirfaces critically. "I am in charge of apeculiar project," he announcedabruptly. "The director of the LunarDetention Colony claims that you fourare the best he has—for our purposes!"
Long habit kept the seated onesguardedly silent. Seeing, apparently,that they would not relax, he continued.
"You were chosen because each ofyou has received a sentence of detentionfor life because of tendencies towardviolence in one form or another.In our twenty-second century civilizationsuch homicidal inclinations arequite rare, due to the law-abidinghabits of generations under the InterplanetaryCouncil."
He had been pacing the crampedspace left free by the equipment, theguards, and the four seated prisoners.Now he paused, as if mildly astonishedat what he was about to say.
"In fact, now that we are faced bya situation demanding illegal violence,it appears that no normal citizen iscapable of committing such an act.Using you may eliminate costlyscreening processes ... and save time.Incidentally, I am Anthony Varret,Undersecretary for Security in theCouncil."
None of the four showed any overtsign of being impressed. Phillipsknew that the others, like himself,were scrutinizing the old man withcold, secretive stares. They hadlearned through harsh experience tokeep their own counsels. Varretshrugged. "Well, then," he said dryly,"I might as well call the roll. I havebeen supplied with accurate records."
...
                        
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