Грань будущего

           "I’mdeadserious."

           "Butyou’reRitaVrataski.Youalwaysknowwhattodo."

           "Itwillbefunbeingtheoneoutsidetheloopforachange."

           "Notmuchfunforme,"Isaid.Iwonderedwhatshemeantbysaying"will";Ithoughtshe’dbeenfreedfromtheloopalready,after211timesthroughthirtyhoursinFlorida.Iopenedmymouthtoask,butsheinterrupted.

           "IthinkI’veearnedtherighttositbackandwatch,"shesaid."I’vehadtohandleenoughshitasitis.It’syourturn.Thesooneryouacceptthat,thebetter."

           Isighed."Iknow."

           "Hey,don’tblameme."

           "Wellthen,it’sstillalittleearly,butmynextstopisthecafeteria.Ihopeyou’reinthemoodforJapanesefood."

           Thecafeteriawasnoisy.Inonecorner,agroupofsoldierswasseeingwhocoulddothemostpush-upsinthreeminutes.Anothergroupwewalkedpastwasplayinggastronomicchickenwithamysteryliquidthatlookedlikeacombinationofketchup,mustard,andorangejuice.Atthefarendoftheroomsomeguywassingingafolksong-ormaybeitwasanoldanimethemesong-thathadbeenpopularatleastseventyyearsago,completewithbanjoaccompaniment.Oneofthefeedreligionshadoriginallyuseditasananti-warsong,butthatwasn’tthesortofdetailthatbotheredguyswhosignedupwiththeUDF.Thetunewaseasytoremember,andthat’sallittooktobeahitwithacrowdofJacketjockeys.