"Robert A. Heinlein - Space Cadet" - читать интересную книгу автора (Heinlein Robert A)

"Uh, Schultz, sir."
"Mister Schultz, there is nothing funny about an honest answer. Have you
never been lost?"
"Why- Well, uh, once or twice, maybe."
"Hm ... I shall be interested in seeing your work in astrogation, if you get
that far." The cadet turned back to Matt. "Aren't you hungry? What's your
name?"
"Yes, sir. Matthew Dodson, sir." Matt looked hurriedly at
the controls in front of him, decided against soup, and punched the
"entree," "dessert," and "milk" buttons. The cadet was still watching him as
the table served him.
"I am Cadet Sabbatello. Don't you like soup, Mr. Dodson?"
"Yes, sir, but I was in a hurry."
"There's no hurry. Soup is good for you." Cadet Sabbatello stretched an
arm and punched Mart's "soup" button. "Besides, it gives the chef a chance
to clean up the galley." The cadet turned away, to Mart's relief. He ate
heartily. The soup was excellent, but the rest of the meal seemed dull
compared with what he had been used to at home.
He kept his ears open. One remark of the cadet stuck in his memory. "Mr.
van Zook, in the Patrol we never ask a man where he is from. It is all right for
Mr. Romolus to volunteer that he comes from Manila; it is incorrect for you to
ask him."

8
 The afternoon was jammed with tests; intelligence, muscular control,
reflex, reaction time, sensory response. Others required him to do two or
more things at once. Some seemed downright silly. Matt did the best he
could.
He found himself at one point entering a room containing nothing but a
large, fixed chair. A loudspeaker addressed him: "Strap yourself into the
chair. The grips on the arms of the chair control a spot of light on the wall.
When the lights go out, you will see a lighted circle. Center your spot of light
in the circle and keep it centered."
Matt strapped himself down. A bright spot of light appeared on the wall in
front of him. He found that the control in his right hand moved the spot up and
down, while the one in his left hand moved it from side to side. "Easy!" Matt
told himself. "I wish they would start."
The lights in the room went out; the lighted target circle bobbed slowly up
and down. He found it not too difficult to bring his spot of light into the circle
and match the bobbing motion.
Then his chair turned upside down.
When he recovered from his surprise at finding himself hanging head
down in the dark, he saw that the spot of light
had drifted away from the circle. Frantically he brought them together,
swung past and had to correct.
The chair swung one way, the circle another, and a loud explosion took
place at his left ear. The chair bucked and teetered; a jolt of electricity
convulsed his hands and he lost j the circle entirely.
Matt began to get sore. He forced his spot back to the circle and nailed it.
"Gotcha!" ;