"Foster, Alan Dean - Damned 2 - The False Mirror" - читать интересную книгу автора (Foster Alan Dean)

be regained.
'Then a thousand or so years ago the alliance of monsters had been encountered,
and everything had changed.
Many were unpleasant to contemplate physically as well as intellectually, while
others differed little in appearance from Ranji's own kind. The worst were
utterly unpredictable, savage and cunning beyond belief, possessed of a feral
intelligence that made them awful to encounter on the battlefield.
With such as these in the vanguard, the alliance of monнsters had wreaked
considerable havoc. But their recent advances had been halted, the situation
stabilized. Soon the civilized peoples would begin pushing them back, rescuing
as they advanced those poor, benighted populations who had suffered for
centuries under the monsters' dominнion.
Ranji and his friends knew this to be inevitable. Their own training both as
soldiers and civilized citizens proved it so. No matter how strong, the forces
of chaos could never overcome and defeat those of civilization. Not as long as
determined fighters like Ranji-aar and his companнions continued to rise through
the ranks to take their place at the forefront of civilization's defense.
While there was no place in true society for jealousy, room was allowed for
pardonable pride. In the fifteen-toнseventeen-year-old cluster, he and his
trainee squad reнpeatedly graded out at or near the top of their class. In fact,
on all of Cossuut only one other squad regularly posted scores matching those of
Ranji's. That was a group from Kizzmat Township, which lay just on the other
side of the Massmari mountains, near the junction of the rivers Nerse and
Joutoula. Near enough for a friendly rivalry of reputations to have been
invented by the media. As gradнuation exercises progressed, both squads
qualified easily for the planetary finals in their age group.
His mother and father took quiet pride in the effortless qualification of their
son and his friends, as they had in all his achievements. Their delight was
perhaps magnified somewhat by the fact that neither of them had been a solнdier.
Ranji's father worked in a factory which produced nanotronic components, while
his mother was a teacher. Certainly her tutoring abilities contributed to
Ranji's success. as well as to that of his younger brother, Saguio, and his baby
sister, Cynsa.
Though jealousy was unknown among the trainees, it was still a good thing that
Ranji was not the best at every thing. His friend Birachii-uun was stronger,
Cossinza-iiv much faster. But in Ranji was found the best combination of warrior
attributes, a fact which was reflected in his inнdividual scores. Certainly he
was the smartest of his comнpanions.
Though only sixteen, he was often nominated to serve as leader during important
exercises. This was almost unheard of. Strategy leaders were inevitably chosen
from the ranks of seniors: seventeen- and eighteen-year-olds. Fully conscious of
such honors, he carried them well. Coupled with exceptional organizational
skills, his drive and deterнmination rarely disappointed those who placed their
faith in him. His ability was a fact his peers recognized and applauded.
He took pleasure in his accomplishments because he saw how much they pleased his
parents. To him, approнbation meant little. He was interested only in the job at
hand, and in doing it well. For that reason he looked forнward eagerly to the
coming graduation finals.
Until those were passed there was always the chance of failing, of not being
awarded full soldier status. Even accomplished students like Ranji had been