time enough for love-时间足够你爱(英文版)-第15部分

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　　The　details　are　consistent　with　Old　Home's　history　so　far　as　we　know　it。　The　Senior's　first　century　coincides　with　that　century　of　continuous　war　which　preceded　the　Great　Collapse…　a　century　of　much　scientific　progress　paralleled　by　retrogres
　　
　　…　sion　in　social　matters。　Waterborne　and　airborne　ships　were　used　for　fighting　throughout　this　century。　See　appendix　for　idioms　and　technicalities。　…
　　
　　…J。F。　45th
　　
　　CA
　　
　　hours　plowing　behind　a　mule。　and　the　longer　he　stared　a　the　south　end　of　that　mule；　breathing　dust　it　kicked　up　ani　wiping　the　sweat　of　honest　toil　out　of　his　eyes；　the　more　hi　hated　it。
　　
　　That　night　he　left　home　informally；　walked　fifteen　miles　t~　town；　slept　across　the　door　of　the　post　office　until　the　post　mistress　opened　up　next　morning；　and　enlisted　in　the　Navy　He　aged　two　years　during　the　night；　from　fifteen　to　seventeen　which　made　him　old　enough　to　enlist。
　　
　　A　boy　often　ages　rapidly　when　be　leaves　home。　…The　fac　was　not　noticeable；　birth　registrations　were　unheard　of　a　that　time　and　place；　and　David　was　six　feet　tall；　broad…shoul　dered；　well…muscled；　handsome；　and　mature　in　appearance　save　for　a　wild　look　around　the　eyes。　…
　　
　　The　Navy　suited　David。　They　gave　him　shoes　and　nev　clothes；　and　let　him　ride　around　on　the　water；　seeing　strang　and　interesting　places…untroubled　by　mules　and　the　dust　o　cornfields。　They　did　expect　him　to　work；　though　not　as　much　or　as　hard；　as　working　a　hi…Il　farm…and　once　he　figured　ou　the　political　setup　aboard　ship　he　became　adept　at　not　doinl　much　work　while　still　being　satisfactory　to　the　local　gods　namely；　chief　petty　officers。
　　
　　But　it　was　not　totally　satisfactory　as　he　still　had　to　get　UI　early　and　often　had　to　stand　night　watches　and　sometime~　scrub　decks　and　perform　other　tasks　unsuited　to　his　sensitivc　temperament。
　　
　　Then　he　heard　about　this　school　for　officer　candidates…　〃midshipmen〃　as　they　were　known。　Not　that　David　cared　what　they　were　called；　the　point　was　that　the　Navy　would　pay　bin　to　sit　down　and　read　books…his　notion　of　heaven…untroubled　by　decks　to　scrub　and　by　petty　officers。　0　K？ng；　am　I　boring　you？　No？
　　
　　Very　well…　David　was　ill　prepared　for　this　school；　…never　having　had　four　to　five　years'　additional　schooling　considered　necessary　to　enter　it…mathematics；　…　what　passed　for　science；　history；　languages；　literature；　and　So　forth。
　　
　　Pretending　to　four　years　or　so　of　schooling　he　did　not　have　was　more　difficult　than　tacking　two　years　on　the　age　of　an　overgrown　boy。　But　the　Navy　wished　to　encourage　enlisted　men　to　bee　officers；　so　it　had　established　a　tutoring　school　to　aid　candidates　slightly　deficient　in　academic　preparation；；
　　
　　第9节
　　
　　David　construed　〃slightly　deficient〃　to　mean　his　own　state；　he　told　his　chief　petty　officer　that　he　had　〃just　missed〃　graduating　from　high　school…which　was　true　in　a　way；　he　had　〃just
　　
　　missed〃　by　half　a　county；　that　being　the　distance　from　his　home　to　the　nearest　high　school。
　　
　　I　don't　know　how　David　induced　his　See…Pee…Oh　to　remend　him；　David　never　discussed　this。　Suffice　to　say　that；　when　David's　ship　steamed　for　the　Mediterranean；　David　was　dropped　at　Hampton　Roads　six　weeks　before　the　tutoring　school　convened。　He　was　a　supernumerary　during　that　time。　The　Personnel　Officer　（in　fact；　his　clerk）　assigned　David　to　a　bunk　and　a　mess；　and　told　him　to　stay　out　of　sight　during　working　hours　in　the　empty　classrooms　where　his　fellow　hopefuls　would　meet　six　weeks　later。　David　did　so；　the　classrooms　had　in　them　the　books　used　in　tutoring　in　academic　subjects　a　candidate　might　lack…and　David　lacked　them　all。　He　stayed　out　of　sight　and　sat　down　and　read。
　　
　　That's　all　it　took。
　　
　　When　the　class　convened；　David　helped　tutor　in　Euclidean　geometry；　a　required　subject　and；　perhaps　the　most　difficult。　Three　months　later　he　was　sworn　in　as　a　naval　cadet　on　the　beautiful　banks　of　the　Hudson　River　at　West　Point。
　　
　　David　did　not　realize　that　he　had　jumped　from　the　frying　pan　into　the　fire；　the　sadism　of　petty　officers　is　a　mild　hit…ormiss　thing　pared　with　the　calculated　horrors　visited　on　new　cadets…〃plebes〃…by　cadets　of　the　senior　classes；　especially　by　the　seniormost；　the　first　classmen；　who　were　walking　delegates　of　Lucifer　in　that　organized　hell。
　　
　　But　David　had　three　months　to　find　this　out　and　to　figure　out　what　to　do；　that　being　the　time　upper　classes　were　on　the　briny；　practicing　warfare。　As　he　saw　it；　if　he　could　last　nine　months　of　these　hazards；　all　the　kingdoms　of　the　Earth　would　be　his。　So　he　said　to　himself；　if　a　cow　or　a　countess　can　sweat　out　nine　months；　so　can　I。
　　
　　He　arranged　the　hazards　in　his　mind　in　terms　of　what　must　be　endured；　what　could　be　avoided；　and　what　he　should　actively　seek。　By　the　time　the　lords　of　creation　returned　to　stomp　on　the　plebes　he　had　a　policy　for　each　typical　situation　and　was　prepared　to　cope　with　it　under　doctrine；　varying　doctrifles　only　enough　to　meet　variations　in　situation　rather　than　coping　hastily　on　an　improvised　basis。
　　
　　Ira…〃O　King；〃　I　mean…this　is　more　important　to　surviving　in　tough　situations　than　it　sounds。　For　example；　Gramp…　David's　Grampaw；　that　is…warned　him　never　to　sit　with　his　beck　to　door。　〃Son；〃　he　said　to　him；　〃might　be　nine　hundred　and　niy…nine　times　you'd　get　away　with　it…no　enemy　of　your'n　would　e　through　that　door。　But　the　thousandth
　　
　　time…that's　the　one。　If　my　own　Grampaw　had　always　obeyed　that　rule；　he　might　be　aflve　today　and　still　jumping　out　bedroom　windows。　He　knew　better；　but　he　missed　just　once；　through　being　too　anxious　to　sit　in　on　a　poker　game；　and　thereby　took　the　one　chair　open；　one　with　its　back　to　a　door。　And　it　got　him。
　　
　　〃He　was　up　out　of　his　chair　and　emptied　three　shots　from　each　of　his　guns　into　his　assailant　before　he　dropped；　we　don't　die　easy。　But　'twas　only　a　moral　victory；　he　was　essentially　dead；　with　a　bullet　in　his　heart；　before　he　got　out　of　that　chair。　All　from　sitting　with　his　back　to　an　open　door。〃
　　
　　Ira；　I've　never　forgotten　Gramp's　words…and　don't　you　forget　'em。
　　
　　So　David　categorized　the　hazards　and　prepared　his　doctrines。　One　thing　that　had　to　be　endured　was　endless　questioning；　and　he　learned　that　a　plebe　was　never　permitted　to　answer；　〃I　don't　know；　sir；〃　to　any　upperclassman；　especially　a　first　classman。　But　the　questions　ordinarily　fell　into　categories…　history　of　the　school；　history　of　the　Navy；　famous　naval　sayings；　names　of　team　captains　and　star　players　of　various　athletic　sports；　how　many　seconds　till　graduation；　what's　the　menu　for　dinner。　These　did　not　bother　him；　they　could　be　memorized
　　
　　…save　the　number　of　seconds　remaining　till　graduation；　and　he　worked　out　shortcuts　for　that；　ones　that　stood　him　in　good　stead　in　later　years。
　　
　　〃What　sort　of　shortcuts；　Lazarus？〃
　　
　　Eh？　Nothing　fancy。　A　precalculated　figure　for　reveille　each　morning；　a　supplementary　figure　for　each　hour　thereafter；　such　as：　five　hours　after　six　o'clock　reveille　subtracts　eighteen　thousand　seconds　from　the　base　figure；　and　twelve　minutes　later　than　that　takes　off　another　seven　hundred　and　twenty　seconds。　For　example　at　noon　formation　one　hundred　days　before　graduation；　say　at　exactly　twelve…oh…one　and　thirteen　seconds；　figuring　graduation　at　ten　A。M。　which　was　standard；　David　could　answer；　〃Eight　million；　six　hundred　and　thirty…two　thousand。　seven　hundred　and　twenty…seven　seconds；　sir！〃　almost　as　fast　as　his　squad　leader　could　ask　him；　simply　from　having　precalculated　most　of　it。
　　
　　At　any　other　time　o'　day　he　would　look　at　his　watch　and　pretend　to　wait　for　the　second　hand　to　reach　a　mark　while　in　fact　performing　subtractions　in　his　head。
　　
　　But　he　improved　on　this；　he　invented　a　decimal　clock…not　the　one　you　use　here　on　Secundus；　but　a　variation　on　Earth's　clumsy　twenty…four…hour　day；　sixty…minute　hour；　sixty…second
　　
　　minute　system　then　in　vogue。　He　split　the　time　for　reveille　to　taps　into　intervals　and　subintervals　of　ten　thousand　seconds　a　thousand　seconds；　a　hundred　seconds；　and　memorized　~　conversion　table。
　　
　　You　see　the　advantage。　For　anyone　but　Andy　Libby；　God　rest　his　innocent　soul；　subtracting　ten　thousand；　or　one　thousand；　from　a　long　string　of　digits　up　in　the　millions　is　easier　to　do　in　your　head；　quickly　and　without　error；　than　it　is　to　sub。tract　seven　thousand；　two　hundred；　and　seventy…three…the　figure　to　be　subtracted　in　the　example　I　just　gave。　David's　new　method　did　not　'involve　carrying　auxiliary　figures　in　the　mind　while　sea~ching　for　the　ultimate　answer。
　　
　　For　example；　ten　thousand　seconds　after　reveille　is　eight　forty…six　forty　A。M。　Once　David　worked　out　his　conversion　table　and　memorized　it…took　him　less　than　a　day；　just　memorizing　was　easy　for　him…once　he　had　that　down　pat；　he　could　convert　to　the　hundred…second　interval　ing　up　next　almost　instantly；　then　add　（not　subtract）　two　digits　representing　the　time　still　to　go　to　the　last　two　places　in　his　rough　answer　to　get　his　exact　answer。　Since　the　last　two　places　were　always　zeroes…。check　it　yourself…he　could　give　an　answer　in　millions　of　seconds　as　fast　as　he　could　speak　the　figures；　and　have　it　right　every　time。
　　
　　Since　he　didn't　explain　his　method；　he　got　a　reputation　for　being　a　lightning　calculator；　an　idiot…savant　talent；　like　Libby。　He　was　not；　he　was　simply　a　country　boy　who　used　his　head　on　a　simple　problem。　But　his　squad　leader　got　so　groused　at　him　for　being　a　〃smart　ass〃…meaning　that　the　squad　leader　couldn't　do　it…that　he　ordered　Dave　to　memorize　the　logarithm　tables。　This　didn't　faze　Dave；　he　didn't　mind　anything　but　〃honest　work。〃　He　set　out　to　do　so；　twenty　new　ones　each　day；　that　being　the　number　this　first　classman　thought　would　suffice　to　show　up　this　〃smart　ass。〃
　　
　　The　first　classman　grew　tired　of　the　matter　when　David　had　pleted　only　the　first　six　hundred　figures…but　Dave　kept　at　it　another　three　weeks　through　the　first　thousand…which　gave　him　the　first　ten　thousand　figures　by　interpolation　and　made　him　independent　of　log　tables；　a　skill　that　was　of　enormous　use　to　him　from　then　on；　puters　being　effectively　unknown　in
　　
　　those　days。…'
　　
　　But　the　unceasing　barr