the house. The State had agreed to pay twenty-seven hundred. Sitting down in the one stable armchair remaining in the living room, the State man--a Mr. Feckwith--opened his document case. "All that remains," he explained to Mrs. Leeson, "is for you to sign these papers." He passed them over to her.

As she read, a look of consternation spread on her careworn face. "What does this mean? Don't I get the twenty-seven hundred?"

Mr. Feckwith coughed politely. "Well, you see, Mrs. Leeson, before you can become a State ward and qualify for a prefab, plus furnishings and food, you have to turn all assets over to the State. Otherwise you are not considered, ah, dependent."

She hesitated. "But I--I won't have a penny!"

Mr. Feckwith smiled reassuringly. His chubby face beamed. "You won't _require_ a penny, Mrs. Leeson! All needs are taken care of. Shelter, food, clothes, medicine. And you'll have all the extras--an entertaintime screen, the news tape delivered every day, the monthly excursion. Think of it!"

She thought of it. She thought of it while black soot drifted past the windows, while the sea gulls squealed and the dump fires flared. She thought of it and she signed.

Three days later the State sent a tronicar to pick her up. She was glad that Ralph was away. It made things easier.

As the car sped off, she turned for a last sight of the dump. A huge pall of thick smoke hung over the area. Tireless sea gulls flapped above the refuse heaps, screeching raucously. Sighing with relief, she looked away, concentrating on the tronicar's gleaming interior. Within seconds the dump was far behind her.

Her new life was like a dream. She had two private rooms in a plastic prefab, complete with entertaintime screen, newstape projector and remote music disc. Food, mostly in capsule form, was delivered daily. The trugrass lawn, freshly sprayed, boasted a simulated maple tree over eight feet high.

If she felt ill, all she needed to do was press the button marked "Dispensary." A State doctor would arrive in three minutes.

Sitting in her foamease chair, in front of the entertaintime screen, she reveled in her new luxury. No dump smoke seeped into these rooms. No soot drifted past the windows. When she looked out, instead of dingy cattails she saw the bright green simulated maple tree and the 

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