Грань будущего

           Ididn’tknowifthey’dsendcarsorchoppersafterme,butbydusk,Iplannedtobejustanotherfaceinthecrowd.Irememberedthetrainingwe’ddoneatthefootofMountFuji.Sixty-kilometermarchesinfullgear.CrossingtheBosoPeninsulainhalfadaywouldn’tbeaproblem.Bythetimetomorrow’sbattlestarted,I’dbefarawayfromdaysthatrepeatthemselvesandthebrutaldeathstheyendedin.

           Thesunhunghighinthesky,washingmeinblindinglight.Fifty-sevenmillimeterautomaticgunssatcoveredinwhitetarpsathundred-meterintervalsalongtheseawall.Red-brownstreaksofrustmarredtheantiquesteelplatesattheirbase.ThegunshadbeeninstalledalongtheentirecoastlinewhentheMimicsreachedthemainland.

           Asakid,whenI’dfirstlaideyesonthoseguns,IthoughttheywerethecoolestthingsI’deverseen.Theblacklacquerfinishoftheirsteelinstilledanunreasonablesenseofconfidenceinme.NowthatI’dseenrealbattle,IknewwithcoolcertaintythatweaponslikethesecouldneverrepelaMimicattack.Thesegunsmovedlikethedinosaurstheywere.Theycouldn’thopetolandahitonaMimic.Whatajoke.

           Theystillhadservicecrewsassignedtothesethatcameoutandinspectedthemonceaweek.Bureaucracyloveswaste.

           Maybehumanitywouldlose.

           Thethoughtcametomeoutoftheblue,butIcouldn’tshakeit.

           WhenItoldmyparentsI’denlisted,they’dwantedmetojointheCoastGuard.TheysaidI’dstillgetachancetofightwithoutgoingintobattle.