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

"Dodson!"

"Coming." He hurried out and shortly found himself thrust into a room with an older man in civilian clothes.

"Sit down. I'm Joseph Kelly." He took Mart's instruction sheet. "Matthew Dodson . .. nice to know you, Matt."

"How do you do, Mr. Kelly."

"Not too badly. Why do you want to join the Patrol, Matt?"

"Why, uh, because-" Matt hesitated. "Well, to tell the

truth, sir, I'm so confused right now that I'm darned if I know!"

Kelly chuckled. "That's the best answer I've heard today. Do you have any brothers or sisters, Matt?" The talk wandered along, with Kelly encouraging Matt to talk. The questions were quite personal, but Matt was sophisticated enough to realize that "Mr. Kelly" was probably a psychiatrist; he stammered once or twice but he tried to answer honestly.

"Can you tell me now why you want to be in the Patrol?"

Matt thought about it "I've wanted, to go out into space ever since I can remember."

"Travel around, see strange planets and strange people- that's understandable, Matt. But why not the merchant service? The Academy is a long, hard grind, and it's three to one you won't finish, even if you are sworn in as a cadet- and not more than a quarter of the candidates will pass muster. But you could enter the merchant school-I could have you transferred today-and with your qualifications you'd be a cinch to win your pilot's ticket before you are twenty. How about it?"

Matt looked stubborn.

"Why not, Matt? Why insist on trying to be an officer of the Patrol? They'll turn you inside out and break your heart and no one will thank you for your greatest efforts. They'll make you over into a man your own mother wouldn't recognize-and you won't be any happier for it. Believe me, fellow-I know."

Matt did not say anything.

"You still want to try it, knowing chances are against you?"

"Yes. Yes, Ithink I do."

"Why, Matt?"

Matt still hesitated. Finally he answered in a low voice. "Well, people look up to an officer in the Patrol."

Mr. Kelly looked at him. "That's enough reason for now, Matt. You'll find others-or quit." A clock on the wall suddenly spoke up:

"Thirteen o'clock! Thirteen o'clock!" Then it added thoughtfully, "I'm hungry."

"Mercy me!" said Kelly. "So am I. Let's go to lunch, Matt."

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II ELIMINATION PROCESS
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MATTE╒S INSTRUCTIONS told him to mess at table 147, East Refectory. A map on the back of the sheet showed where East Refectory was; unfortunately he did not know where Matt was-he had gotten turned around in the course of the morning's rat race. He ran into no one at first but august personages in the midnight black of officers of the Patrol and he could not bring himself to stop one of them.

Eventually he got oriented by working back to the rotunda and starting over, but it made him about ten minutes late. He walked down an endless line of tables, searching for number 147 and feeling very conspicuous. He was quite pink by the time he located it.