Exhibit Piece

Exhibit Piece by Philip K. Dick - As curator of the Twentieth Century Exhibit, George Miller felt that to do a good job he had to live his work. Then, one day, somebody got into his exhibit and he went to investigate...

That's a strange suit you have on,' the robot pubtrans driver observed. It slid back its door and came to rest at the curb. 'What are the little round things?'

'Those are buttons,' George Miller explained. 'They are partly functional, partly ornamental. This is an archaic suit of the twentieth century. I wear it because of the nature of my employment.'

He paid the robot, grabbed up his briefcase, and hurried along the ramp to the History Agency. The main building was already open for the day; robed men and women wandered everywhere. Miller entered a PRIVATE lift, squeezed between two immense controllers from the pre-Christian division, and in a moment was on his way to his own level, the Middle Twentieth Century.

'Gorning,' he murmured, as Controller Fleming met him at the atomic engine exhibit.

'Gorning,' Fleming responded brusquely. 'Look here, Miller. Let's have this out once and for all. What if everybody dressed like you? The Government sets up strict rules for dress. Can't you forget your damn anachronisms once in awhile? What in God's name is that thing in your hand? It looks like a squashed Jurassic lizard.'

'This is an alligator-hide briefcase,' Miller explained. 'I carry my study spools in it. The briefcase was an authority symbol of the managerial class of the latter twentieth century.'