...there is a room. In the room a child is sitting. Perhaps it was born defective or perhaps
it has become imbecile through fear, malnutrition, and neglect.
They all know it is there, all the people of Omelas. They all know it has to be there. Their
happiness, the beauty of their city, the tenderness of their friendships, the health of their
children...depend wholly on this child's abominable misery.
Now do you believe them? Are they not more credible? But there is one more thing to tell, and
this is quite incredible.
At times some of the visitors who go to see the child do not go home. They walk straight out
of the city of Omelas. Each one goes alone. It is possible that where they are going does not
exist.