The cadets were all keyed up about graduation, now so near, and most of
them were cramming at every opportunity on the subjects in which they
felt themselves deficient. Such tenseness is natural before any final
examinations, but in their case more so than it would have been in an
ordinary school or university.
For not until the final marks were posted from these last examinations,
plus their marks for the entire five years, would any of them--except
Hanlon, of course--know for a surety that he would be graduated and
become a permanent member of the Inter-Stellar Corps. And how intensely
each of them wanted to belong!
Four days had now passed since George Hanlon's fateful interview with
the Commandant of Cadets, and its unexpected outcome. He could hardly
believe, even yet, that he was now actually a member of the unknown
Secret Service of the Corps.
Only the great inner joy he knew at the recovery of his once-adored dad,
and the complete dismissal of all those black hatreds, gave proof that
it wasn't all a fantastic dream.
Hanlon hadn't experienced anything unusual in the cadet routine, and was
growing more and more nervous as to just what was to happen to him. He
still shivered every time he thought of that coming, dreaded ordeal. And
all this waiting, this worrying, this wondering when--it wasn't making
life any easier. If only they would get it over and done with!
But he strove to compose himself for it as best he could, and it was a
measure of his inherent stability that he never let his comrades, even
his roommate, see how apprehensive he was.
Now the day had come for the first of their finals. Hanlon never worried
about exams, for he had always been near the top of his class. Now,
especially, since he was already graduated and a Senior Lieutenant, he
could have taken things easily. But pride in his scholarship made him
anxious as always to do his best.
Their first examination was History, one of Hanlon's pet subjects, for
he loved this story of Mankind, his ups and downs and gradual growth.
When the examination papers were handed out and he noted the first
question he smiled. If only they were all that easy.
_"Give briefly a resume of the events leading up to the formation
of the Inter-Stellar Corps."_
Hanlon uncapped his writo, and began:
"In the middle of the Twentieth Century the various governments of Earth
were all tending toward either a totalitarian or a welfare-form state.
More and more power became vested in the Executive branch; more and more
citizens were either working directly for government, or were supported
by relief funds. Business was, to an increasingly greater extent,
stifled by over-control. Public debts became a staggering load, and
workers had less and less of their income available for living needs.
"When atomic energy was first released by the United States, in the form
of a bomb during a war, the military took complete control of it.
Neither private nor industrial scientists or technicians were allowed to
experiment with possibilities of getting power directly from atomic
fission.
"In 1958 a young man named Travis Burkett was elected to the United
States Congress from California. During his four terms as member of the
Lower House he became increasingly well-known as possessor of one of the
finest minds in public life. In 1966 he was advanced to the Senate, and
soon became its leading member.
"In 1976 (prophetic year) he ran for President on the simple platform of
'give the country back to the people'. His ideas and views so fired the
minds and hopes of the citizens of America, regimented and ground down
by the cancerous growth of bureaucracy, that even most of the
bureaucrats and reliefers joined to elect him by one of the greatest
pluralities ever polled.
"During his two terms of office, with the help of a Cabinet of men who
believed as he did, he fulfilled his promises. The tremendous power of
the Executive was gradually returned to the Legislative, where it
belonged. Unnecessary, over-lapping, and duplicated bureaus and agencies
were reduced to the minimum. Only persons actually in need were
supported from the public purse. Where almost 80% of the citizenry had
been working for or supported by government when he took office, less
than 15% were doing so when he retired.
"Tax restrictions and governmental meddling in industry and business
were reduced save for a few necessary safe-guards of minimum-wage and
maximum-safety laws. With these restrictions removed, and with control
of so many vital sciences and technologies taken away from the military,
inventions took an accelerated up-swing.
"The peoples of other countries, fired by the realization of what could
be done, staged revolutions, happily largely bloodless, and soon,
working through the United Nations Council, a United World government
became an actuality, and Burkett one of its first presidents.
"An American named John Snyder had, years before, secretly worked out a
simple and inexpensive method of obtaining practically unlimited power
directly from atomic fission. Now he could legally bring this to the
public, and soon homes, public transportation and industry were using
his power method.
"Snyder attracted to him a group of gifted scientists and technicians.
These now turned their attention to space flight and Man, the
Insatiable, began stretching out greedy hands to the Stars.
"They put a robot rocket on the Moon in less than two years. Their third
rocket carried two scientists who did not make the return trip--they
stayed to study and to learn. Five years later the first ship landed on
Mars, and within a decade that planet was largely colonized. So, two
years later, was Venus. Another fifteen years saw colonization of most
of the moons of the outer planets.
"For, using new techniques and inventions learned from many experiments,
the moons and planets were given air, water and warmth as needed.
Android robots, developed by Varney, one of Snyder's scientists, helped
greatly in this work, especially one young female android who was a true
genius.
"Then Man reached the Stars ... and the planets of those distant suns.
It was here that the now-aged Snyder proved himself again one of the
greatest humanitarians ever to have lived. He promulgated the ruling
that is still in force:
_"'Man must never colonize any planet having inhabitants
intelligent enough to show cultural activity and growth'._
"Controlling all means of transportation between planets as he did,
because he held all the basic patents, Snyder was able to enforce that
ruling. To do so, he organized the 'Snyder Patrol', which later was
taken over by the Federated Planets when that organization was formed,
and became today's Inter-Stellar Corps.
"Today there are fifty-seven planets colonized by former inhabitants of
Tellus or their descendants from colonized planets. These each have
their own sovereignty and chosen form of government, but are united in a
loosely-knit Federation which is solely a Court of Arbitration for
Inter-Planetary affairs. The I-S C is the Federation's Investigation and
Enforcement branch, not a governing or military patrol."
Hanlon had finished that question and the second, which asked for the
dates of the war between the colonists of Mars and those of the Jovian
satellites. He was resting his eyes by glancing unseeingly about the
room momentarily before starting the third question, when he heard the
loud, angry voice of the instructor in charge.
"Cadet Hanlon, on your feet, sir! Just how, Mister, do you think you can
get away with cheating at a final examination?"
Hanlon's head jerked up and his face went dead-white as the blood
drained from it. He stumbled to his feet and, conscious of the amazed
expressions of his classmates, looked up at the teacher.
"Bu ... but I don't understand, sir. I wasn't cheating."
"Don't lie to me!" the voice was a whiplash. "I distinctly saw you
looking at Cadet Fox's paper. The idea of any cadet, this close to
graduation, trying such a contemptible thing!"
Hanlon's bewilderment was changing to anger at such an unjust
accusation, when suddenly a thought struck him ...
_This was it!_
Cheating at examinations always meant expulsion and disgrace.
He had all he could do to keep from betraying himself as he probed
quickly toward the mind on the rostrum. Now he perceived the feeling of
commiseration which the stern, hot eyes of the apparently outraged
instructor did not reveal.
Hanlon remembered his father's instructions to "play it up big". He made
himself glare back at the teacher, and his blue eyes took on the
hardness of glacial ice.
"You're making a colossal mistake, sir," his voice was louder and
angrier than it should ever have been. "If our regular instructor was
giving this exam he'd never make such an accusation. I've led this class
in grades all through school. And not by cheating, either."
"Lower your voice, Mister, and don't talk back!" But Hanlon's
mind-probing was receiving approbation now. "I saw you cheating, and I
know what I saw. Do you want to resign, or will you force me to take you
to the commandant?"
"I don't know who you are, but you're a stupid fool!" Hanlon apparently
lost all control of himself, and his voice and red face showed the anger
he was simulating so well. "If you think you're going to frame me out of
this class and out of graduating, you're a confounded idiot! Ask any of
these chaps here--they all know I'm not a cheat."
But the cadets, though puzzled and dismayed, were far too clever to get
mixed up in this unexpected brawl. They all sat, eyes lowered but faces
straight ahead, arms folded across their chests, having no part in it at
all.
The examining instructor, a man much larger and heavier than Hanlon's
five feet eleven inches and one hundred and seventy-five pounds, rushed
down from the platform. He grabbed at the cadet's arms, but Hanlon
swivelled away, then stepped back in and struck at the officer.
That was mutiny! It was unthinkable for a cadet to strike an officer,
under any circumstances or provocation.
The teacher, however, snared the cadet in a neo-judo hold that no
neophyte, however skilled or strong could break. He dragged the
struggling Hanlon up to the rostrum and, with his elbow, activated the
intercom.
"Ask the commandant to come to room 12-B. A cadet, caught cheating at
examinations, has mutinied."
Still holding the struggling, angry Hanlon, the instructor-officer
excoriated his victim for such breach of cadet honor. Hanlon, meanwhile,
yelled insults and oaths. He twisted and squirmed as though trying to
escape, although he had quickly realized he was now being held in a
loose though apparently-valid grip he could have broken easily had he so
desired.
Yet during all this Hanlon was receiving from the officer's mind the
distinct impression that the latter hated what he was doing, yet was
approving the way the new SS man was playing his part. Further, Hanlon
sensed he was being welcomed into the fellowship of those unknown SS men
to whom he was now brother.
Soon Admiral Rogers, followed by two hulking space marines, came running
into the room.
"What's going on here?" he barked.
Quickly the teacher repeated his charges, while Hanlon yelled denials
and vituperations at the moronic imbecile who dared accuse him of such
treachery.
"I'm ashamed of you, Hanlon!" the admiral said coldly. "We had high
hopes for you, as I told you when I interviewed you about your initial
assignment."
"Then why don't you listen to me instead of taking the word of this
slime-snake who calls himself an instructor? Bah! He oughta be digging
ditches!"
"That'll do!" Disgust showed on the admiral's face as he gestured to the
marines, who jumped forward and grabbed Hanlon's arms, twisting them
behind his back and handcuffing them.
"George Hanlon, you are hereby officially dismissed from the
Inter-Stellar Corps' Cadet School!"
So saying, Admiral Rogers ripped all identifying symbols from Hanlon's
uniform, then turned again to the marines. "Take him outside the
Reservation."
They hauled Hanlon, still shrieking and cursing, out of the room, out of
the building, across the park, and to the gate of the Corps' property.
There his handcuffs were removed, and the sneering marines literally and
not-too-gently booted him into the street, where he sprawled face
downward in a muddy puddle.
Hanlon pulled himself erect, apparently mad clear through. He shook his
fist at the grinning marines gathered just inside the gate. He cursed
them fluently with every foul oath and name he could remember ever
having heard. Innately clean of speech and thought, this swearing nearly
gagged him. But he was "putting on a good act."
They stood his insults for some time, but when he began to get too
personal, a couple of them started toward him, their mocking laughter
gone. To "make his act better," Hanlon now pretended to be frightened,
cowardly, and accompanied by the jeers of the civilian on-lookers who
had quickly congregated to see what all the rumpus was about, he fled
down the city street away from the Reservation.
At first opportunity, after he had outdistanced his pursuers, Hanlon
ducked into an alley. He ran down this until he spotted the back door of
a little cafe, and dodged inside. There, in the washroom, he cleaned
himself as best he could.
Again somewhat presentable, he left by the front door and rode the
slideways to a section of the city where he could buy some good but not
too expensive clothing.
Now inconspicuously dressed, he got a hotel room, then went to the bank
where he bought some shares of stock, arranged for insurance, and rented
a deposit box.