The Status Civilization

The Status Civilization is a science fiction novel by Robert Sheckley, first published in 1960.

The Status Civilization concerns Will Barrent, a man who finds himself, without memory of any crime or, indeed, of his previous life, being shipped across space to the planet Omega.

Omega, used to imprison extreme offenders, has a hierarchical society of extreme brutality, where the only way to advance (and avoid dying) is to commit an endless series of crimes. The average life expectancy from time of arrival on Omega is three years. The story concerns Barrent's attempt to survive, escape, and return to Earth to clear himself of the accusations against him. 

OMEGA

RELIGION:
THE WORSHIP OF EVIL

PLEASURES:
THE THRILL OF THE HUNT, WITH HUMAN PREY

STATUS:
ATTAINED ONE CORPSE AT A TIME

LIFE EXPECTANCY:
THREE EARTH YEARS

"ALL OF YOU ARE CRIMINALS THEREFORE MANKIND HAS REJECTED YOU, AND YOU HAVE BEEN SENT TO A WORLD WHERE YOUR OWN SORT IS KING. HERE YOU CAN MAKE YOUR OWN RULES, AND DIE BY THEM ..." 

The Status Civilization first appeared under the title Omega in Amazing Science Fiction Stories.

Robert Sheckley (1928-2005) was a Hugo- and Nebula-nominated American author. First published in the science fiction magazines of the 1950s, his numerous quick-witted stories and novels were famously unpredictable, absurdist and broadly comical.

Sheckley was nominated for Hugo and Nebula awards and was named Author Emeritus by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 2001.