"Harlan Ellison - Troublemakers" - читать интересную книгу автора (Ellison Harlan)

The Adjutant felt his career frustration, his deep anger, his distaste for this pompous piss-ant of a General
growing rapidly. He had worked as the GeneralтАЩs aide for three years now, and been quite happy with
the assignment. The General was an important man, and it was therefore surprising how few actual
top-rung decisions had to be made by him, without first being checked and double-checked by
underlings.

The Captain knew his General thought of him as his pride-and-joy. Certainly he did; the Adjutant made
most of the decisions, and all the General had to do was hand out the orders. Without ever letting the
General know his work was being done for him by an aide, the Adjutant had become indispensable. тАЬA
good man, that Alberts,тАЭ the General said, at the OfficersтАЩ Club.

But this crisis with the saucers was something else. It had been dumped in the GeneralтАЩs lap, both from
above, and from below, and he was sweating. He had to solve this problem, and for the first time in his
life his rough-hewn good looks and military bearing and good name could not bluff him through.

He actually had to make a meaningful decision, and he was almost incapable of doing it. That made him
edgy, and snappish, and dissatisfied, and it made the AdjutantтАЩs job not quite so cushy.

тАЬConfound it, Alberts! This isnтАЩt some base maneuver you can stammer through! This is a nationwide
emergency, and everyone is on my neck! God knows IтАЩm doing all I can, but I need a little help! IтАЩve
tried to impress upon you the тАФ the тАФseriousness of the matter; this thing has got to be ended. ItтАЩs got
the world in an uproar. YouтАЩre getting up my nose with this attitude, boy! ItтАЩs starting to stink like
subordination, Alberts . . .тАЭ

The Adjutant watched, his mouth a fine line. This was the first time the General had spoken to him in such
demeaning manner. He didnтАЩt like it; a lot. But it was just another sign of the cracking facade of the old
man.
The General had come from wealthy Army parents, been sent through West Point and graduated with
top honors. He had joined the Air Force when the Army and Air Corps were one and the same, and
stayed on after the separation. He had served in the air, and risen in the ranks almost faster than the eye
could see. Mostly through his fatherтАЩs connections. The honors, the service duty, the medals . . . all
through pull.

The man was a wealthy, sheltered, and vacillating individual, and the Adjutant had been making his
decisions for three years. Alberts wondered what would happen when the rotation plan moved him to
another job, next year. Would the new Adjutant catch on as fast as he had from the last one? Or would
the General pull strings so he could stay on?

But that was all in the future, and this saucer decision was one the General had to make for himself. It
wasnтАЩt minor.

And the General was cracking. Badly.

тАЬNow get up there anddo something!тАЭ the General cried, slamming the empty desktop with a flattened
hand.

His face was blotched with frustration and annoyance, and тАФ naturally тАФ Alberts saluted, swiveled, and
left.