Звездный десант
Chapter 5
An"explosive"bomborgrenade,againstmaterielorpersonnel,wouldexplodejustenoughtoputoutalotofblacksmoke;anothersortofgaveoffagasthatwouldmakeyousneezeandweepthattoldyouthatyouweredeadorparalyzed...andwasnastyenoughtomakeyoucarefulaboutanti-gasprecautions,tosaynothingofthechewingoutyougotifyouwerecaughtbyit.
Wegotstilllesssleep;morethanhalftheexerciseswereheldatnight,withsnoopersandradarandaudiogearandsuch.
Theriflesusedtosimulateaimedweaponswereloadedwithblanksexceptoneinfivehundredroundsatrandom,whichwasarealbullet.Dangerous?Yesandno.It’sdangerousjusttobealive...andanonexplosivebulletprobablywon’tkillyouunlessithitsyouintheheadortheheartandmaybenotthen.Whatthatone-in-five-hundred"forreal"didwastogiveusadeepinterestintakingcover,especiallyasweknewthatsomeoftherifleswerebeingfiredbyinstructorswhowerecrackshotsandactuallytryingtheirbesttohityou—iftheroundhappenednottobeablank.Theyassuredusthattheywouldnotintentionallyshootamaninthehead...butaccidentsdohappen.
Thisfriendlyassurancewasn’tveryreassuring.That500thbulletturnedtediousexercisesintolarge-scaleRussianroulette;youstopbeingboredtheveryfirsttimeyouhearasluggowheet!pastyourearbeforeyouhearthecrackoftherifle.
