"Thanks," muttered Paresi in vicious irony.
"He's the doctor," said Ives good-naturedly. "But don't put it off too
long, huh? This furnace needs stoking." He fisted his huge chest.
"Well, this is encouraging," said Paresi.
"It certainly is," said the Captain. "Maybe the breaking point is just
the point of impact. After that the rebound, hm?"
Paresi shook his head. "Breaking means breaking. Sometimes things just
don't break."
"Got to pass," said a voice. Johnny, the pilot, was stirring.
"Ha!" Anderson's voice was exultant. "Here comes another one!"
"How sure are you of that?" asked the doctor. To Johnny, he called,
"Hiya, John?"
"I got to pass," said Johnny worriedly. He swung his feet to the deck.
"You see," he said earnestly, "being the head of your class doesn't make
it any easier. You've got to keep that and pass the examinations too.
You've got two jobs. Now, the guy who stands fourth, say--he has only
one job to do."
Anderson turned a blank face to Paresi, who made a silencing gesture.
Johnny put his head in his hands and said, "When one variable varies
directly as another, two pairs of their corresponding values are in
proportion." He looked up. "That's supposed to be the keystone of all
vector analysis, the man says, and you don't get to be a pilot without
vector analysis. And it makes no sense to me. What am I going to do?"
"Get some shuteye," said Paresi immediately. "You've been studying too
hard. It'll make more sense to you in the morning."
Johnny grinned and yawned at the same time, the worried wrinkles
smoothing out. "Now that was a real educational remark, Martin, old
chap," he said. He lay down and stretched luxuriously. "_That_ I can
understand. You may wear my famous maroon zipsuit." He turned his face
away and was instantly asleep.
"Who the hell is Martin?" Ives demanded. "Martin who?"
"Shh. Probably his roommate in pre-pilot school."