Small already-the entire nation was about the size of
California, and populated with roughly half the people of the United
States-their country was further crowded by the fact that little of the land
was arable, and since arable land also tended to be land on which people
could more easily live, the major part of the population was further concen-
trated into a handful of large, dense cities, where real-estate prices became
more precious still. He kept looking right into my eyes and I looked right back at him, and I knew all he had to do was make one quick slash to end my days?