This was the best of all possible worlds—was it not All men were free for BigSister was in charge and she was— ABOVE THIS RACE OF MEN ROBERT F. YOUNG Illustrated by RICHARD OLSEN Signs of the Times ALL ALONG the Avenue of Procesions Big Sister slogans were in evidence. Some wereembroidered on bright-colored banners suspended from the copings of the tall and stately buildings forwhich the Avenue was famous some were written in neon tubing above marquees others were part ofthe decor of the buildings themselves. BIG SISTER LOVES YOU. BIC SISTER THINKS OF YOU NIGHT AND DAY. BIG SISTER WATCHES OVER YOU WHEN YOU ARE YOUNG AND TAKES CARE OFYOU WHEN YOU GROW OLD. Walter Cranston who had quit work early so he could visit the Avenue before catching the 5:59 tubetrain loved Big Sister signs. So did everybody. Sometimes on the Party TV programs they showed you tapes of the old days when she was still inher childhood and hadnt as yet acquired her present authority. It must have been terrible living in thosedays. Nobody had given a damn about you and Big Sister had been too young and too little to doanything about it. As soon as she began to grow up though she plunged right in and started helping people and seeingto it that they got everything that was coming to them. Everybody owed everything to Big Sister. Cranston worshipped the ground she walked on. The Avenue was all in readiness for the procession that was scheduled to take place the next morningin her honor—the Big Sister Day Parade. Vehicular traffic had been rerouted and the two invisibleelectronic fences that would confine the crowd to the sidewalks were already activated. The Avenueproper had been scrubbed so vigorously it fairly shone in the slanted rays of the afternoon sun. Big SisterDay came on the 6th of August and next to Xmas it was the most be loved holiday of the year. Thisyear it had excited even more interest than usual because there was a rumor being bruited that theParade was going to include an innovation so startling it would knock your eyes out. Directly across the street from where Cranston was standing there was an electronic Big Sisterposter. Like all such posters it depicted her from the waist up stood four stories high and when you lookedat it for any length of time caused her to ask you a question. What struck you about her first were hereyes. They were as blue and benign as a summer sky and merely to gaze into them was to feel reassured.Her yellow hair reminded you of fields of golden grain and her round full face managed to convey both afeeling of affection and an impression of authority. There were some people who thought her breastswere too big. Cranston wasnt one of them. In his opinion it was good for a goddess to have big breastsand anyway in Big Sisters case they were discreetly hidden by the bodice of her gay gingham dress. quotHave you taken your anti-hate pill todayquot she asked Cranston in a gentle if