（外文电子版资料）Robert Sheckley - City of the Dead.pdf

Gilford Graphics International presents Copyright 2000 Robert Sheckley. All rights reserved. Published by special arrangement with the author this copy is made available to you at no charge. Mr. Sheckley joins Mr. Stephen King in his attempt to revolutionize the publishing industry. City Of The Dead 1 We fly through the streets of the city of the dead, a ghost among ghosts, and we turn the corners and respect the masses of the buildings, even though we could fly right through them. This is a documentary about hell, not a commentary. The city of the dead, the city of hell is abstract enough without us worsening the situation by flying through walls that are supposed to be solid. It is quite wonderful to be able to fly through the streets. Most of this city is built of a soft white marble, and it is a very classical sort of place. Plenty of pillars so that you could almost think you were in Athens in about 400 b.c. But the streets are empty, theres no traffic of any sort, the city of the dead is a dead sort of place, although people have tried to start some entertainment. It stands to reason, what else do the dead have to do but entertain themselves? What to do has been a problem in hell for a long time. What is death for? Whats it all about? This sort of thing begins to bother people once they find themselves dead. The first thing they do is check out their situation. OK, Im dead, Ive got that. So is this supposed to be punishment? If so, what for? Is it for my sins? Which sins, specifically? Is atonement permitted? What do I have to do to atone? Or is it a question of serving a specific sentence? Or is this one forever, and should we just relax it and take it one day at a time? 2 City Of The Dead The main question of course is, how long does this go on? Most pe