Звездный десант
Chapter 2
Takealookatme—thisiswhatyoumaybuy...ifyoudon’tbuythewholefarmandcauseyourfolkstoreceivea‘deeplyregret’telegram.Whichismorelikely,becausethesedays,intrainingorincombat,therearen’tmanywounded.Ifyoubuyitatall,theylikelythrowinacoffin—I’mtherareexception;Iwaslucky...thoughmaybeyouwouldn’tcallitluck."
Hepaused,thenadded,"Sowhydon’tyouboysgohome,gotocollege,andthengobechemistsorinsurancebrokersorwhatever?Atermofserviceisn’takiddiecamp;it’seitherrealmilitaryservice,roughanddangerouseveninpeacetime...oramostunreasonablefacsimilethereof.Notavacation.Notaromanticadventure.Well?"
Carlsaid,"I’mheretojoinup."
"Me,too."
"Yourealizethatyouaren’tallowedtopickyourservice?"
Carlsaid,"Ithoughtwecouldstateourpreferences?"
"Certainly.Andthat’sthelastchoiceyou’llmakeuntiltheendofyourterm.Theplacementofficerpaysattentiontoyourchoice,too.Firstthinghedoesistocheckwhetherthere’sanydemandforleft-handedglassblowersthisweek—thatbeingwhatyouthinkwouldmakeyouhappy.Havingreluctantlyconcededthatthereisaneedforyourchoice—probablyatthebottomofthePacific—hethentestsyouforinnateabilityandpreparation.Aboutonceintwentytimesheisforcedtoadmitthateverythingmatchesandyougetthejob...untilsomepracticaljokergivesyoudispatchorderstodosomethingverydifferent.
