Chapter 7

           Theyoungrecruitissilly—‘e

           thinkso’suicide.

           ‘E’slost‘isgutter-devil;‘e‘asin’t

           got‘ispride;

           Butdaybydaytheykicks‘im,

           which‘elps‘imonabit,

           Till‘efinds‘isselfonemornin’

           withafullan’properkit.

           Gettin’clearo’dirtiness,gettin’

           donewithmess,

           Gettin’shuto’doin’things

           rather-more-or-less.

           RudyardKipling

           I’mnotgoingtotalkmuchmoreaboutmyboottraining.Mostlyitwassimplywork,butIwassquaredaway—enoughsaid.

           ButIdowanttomentionalittleaboutpoweredsuits,partlybecauseIwasfascinatedbythemandalsobecausethatwaswhatledmeintotrouble.Nocomplaints—IratedwhatIgot.

           AnM.I.livesbyhissuitthewayaK-9manlivesbyandwithandonhisdoggiepartner.Poweredarmorisone-halfthereasonwecallourselves"mobileinfantry"insteadofjust"infantry."(Theotherhalfarethespaceshipsthatdropusandthecapsuleswedropin.)Oursuitsgiveusbettereyes,betterears,strongerbacks(tocarryheavierweaponsandmoreammo),betterlegs,moreintelligence("intelligence"inthemilitarymeaning;amaninasuitcanbejustasstupidasanybodyelseonlyhehadbetternotbe),morefirepower,greaterendurance,lessvulnerability.

           Asuitisn’taspacesuit—althoughitcanserveasone.Itisnotprimarilyarmor—althoughtheKnightsoftheRoundTablewerenotarmoredaswellasweare.