"Ethan, I know you think so, but this isn´t my doing. I guess I shouldn´t tell you this, but..." She looked at Julian, who nodded slightly.
"Julian´s father was arrested a couple of days ago. Fraud, they say. His mom and little sister went north to Nashville yesterday, to stay with her parents. It´s only a matter of time before the police confiscate everything, including the house."
"I just want to get away from it all," Julian said.
"I´m sorry, but couldn´t you just go to college elsewhere then?" Ethan asked. Julian shook his head.
"All our accounts are frozen. I wouldn´t eat if Ariel´s parents hadn´t taken me in. Do you know how much college tuition is? Forget it."
"Alright then, I just think you should think this through. You could get a regular job, you know.”
“Yeah…” Julian grimaced. “Ethan, do you know anyone who´s hiring? Me neither, so let´s just get on with it.” Ethan couldn´t disagree with that. Unemployment rates were staggering these days, and with no education beyond high school and no previous experience you didn´t stand a chance.
“Well, let´s hope we can find a service that will take us then," Ethan said. Ariel looked at him dumbfounded.
"I thought they took anyone," she said. Ethan chuckled.
"They did, back when there was a hot war. If nothing else, as cannon fodder. But I read up on it during the weekend. These days, all the services have pretty high standards. We´ll just have to go find out, I guess."
They walked up to the entrance and a door opened automatically. The three of them walked in then an olive-clad female soldier directed them to stand in line.
"You´d better get used to waiting. This will take a while," she said.
4.
At first, the line didn´t move at all. Ethan was beginning to grow tired of waiting, when the female soldier returned with three infopads.
"Here," she said, and gave them each one. "Fill out the forms and keep these with you at all times for the next three days. There´s info on all the practicalities — such as accommodation and meals — in the menu tab. Good luck!" Then she walked off. Ethan frowned.
"What´s this? I knew the testing takes three days, but do we have to spend the nights here?"
"Looks like it," Ariel said.
"Doesn´t bother me," Julian said. Ethan gave him a pitying look.
"Hey, don´t you "sorry" me!" Julian retorted. "It sucks, but I´ll manage. I am managing."
"Alright, alright. Actually, I was thinking whether I´ll have a chance to call home, let Elsie know I´ll be here for a few days."
"But what about school?" Ariel asked. Ethan snickered.
"Who cares. It´s not like any of us are going to college anytime soon, so what´s the point?" Nobody replied.
"We´ll figure out a way to get word to school. I bet Dr. Lange will put in a good word for us, let us off the hook for skipping. In four weeks we´re graduating anyhow, and I bet they´d like nothing more than to show off three former students going off to war together. Who knows, they may even make us valedictorians."
"Hah, I´d like that," Ariel snorted.
"Hell no! We´d be the laughing stock of the class," Julian said. "You know, we´re not like Dr. Lange or those people who fought, back during the invasion. We´re all supposed to go to college, get a cool education and a cool job, one that pays loads. Valedictorians? No way!" Ethan half-smiled. Julian was shy, everybody knew it, and although he had a point, this was his shyness speaking. Granted, they would never compare to the Hero Generation, but serving in the military was still seen as something valuable, something most people looked up to.
His train of thought was interrupted as the female soldier returned again.
"Did you fill out your personalia?" she asked.
"Oh, sorry, we´ll get right on it," Ethan said, earning a stern look.
"Look, you may be civilians still, but in here we expect you to follow orders. Now, fill out the forms. That´s an order."
"Yes sir!" Ariel replied.
"Yes ma´am," the soldier corrected her.
"Yes ma´am," the three of them said.
5.
"You, go with the corporal," the female soldier said, indicating Ariel. Then she turned her attention to Ethan and Julian.
"While she´s doing her medical exams, you guys can start the aptitude tests. Just enter that door to the left and pick the shortest line. You have to complete this list of tests by the end of the day, or you´ll have to start over. Now get moving." She didn´t have to say it twice. Ethan and Julian gave her what they thought was an appropriate salute, making her shake her head and laugh, before they stepped through the door.
The room was dark, lit by what appeared to be emergency lighting only. There were three lines, and they picked the one to the right. Only five people stood in front of them. Ethan tapped one of them on the shoulder. The swarthy man, a few years older, turned and raised his eyebrows.
"What is this test?" Ethan asked.
"Didn´t they brief you? This is the math and logic test." Ethan felt his heart sink. Math had always been a weak spot for him. He nodded his thanks and turned to Julian.
"I guess you´ll ace this one," he said, "whereas I´m screwed."
"This isn´t school," Julian said, "I´m sure it´s just to help them find the appropriate position for us."
"Yeah, we´ll see soon enough."
The line snaked forward, and soon it was Ethan´s turn.
"Wish me luck," he whispered, and Julian gave him a thumbs up.
The test administrator signaled for him to follow him into an enclosure, where he sat down at a desk. He handed over the infopad and the administrator tapped on it. The desk top lit up, revealing it to be a touch screen. In the middle, there were several first names.
"Tap your name please." Ethan tapped his own name, then the screen changed. Numbers swirled around in no particular order.
"Please, rank the numbers.”
"From lowest to highest?"
"That´s up to you."
Ethan tapped 1, and continued up to 25. The screen changed again, now into colors. Red, orange, blue, violet, green and every other color there was.
"Arrange the colors please."
Ethan arranged the colors as he thought they should be. The screen changed again and it was math as he knew it from school. Only, the numbers flickered and moved — sometimes, when he touched the screen, it gave off a small electric impulse. The first time he withdrew his hand and cursed.
"Continue, please," the administrator droned. Ethan decided to suck it up and ignore the little bites. That´s what it felt like, as if tiny fish were taking small bites off his fingers. He tried to concentrate.
He continued like this for a time, he didn´t know how long, then the screen went blank and the next instant it looked like any ordinary desk again.
"That´s it, thank you. Please follow the arrows to the next test," the administrator said. Ethan rose from his chair and waited for the administrator to say something more. But the test administrator had already exited the enclosure and Ethan looked at the floor, where big green arrows had lit up, pointing to the back of the enclosure. A door opened where the arrows pointed and Ethan walked out, into the dark room again.
He realized he was alone. There were no arrows to show him the way and he contemplated circling around to find someone to ask. Instead, he decided to go deeper into the dark. There was enough light to see, so he kept walking until he came to an intersection. In where one of the paths led, there was a little light at the end, just a few paces ahead. A small table, a couple of chairs and a vending machine. One applicant had already got himself a soda and was leaning back, not doing anything in particular. Ethan turned and looked at the other path. The darkness seemed to grow deeper and there was nothing that said where it led. He hesitated for a moment, wondering how long he´d have to wait if he chose the sitting group. Then he stepped into the darkness. He only had to walk a few meters, before a door opened in the wall off
to the side.
"Please enter," a female said. She was wearing some kind of marker or insignia, which looked like a Y, only with a third line pointing up from the middle. And the outer lines were bent. Ethan didn´t know what it was or who she was, but he kept quiet and followed her through the door.
"Your infopad please," she said. Ethan handed it over and she tapped it.
"So, let´s see. Math and logic complete, decision making complete... time to test you for technical aptitude then."
"Excuse me, ma´am," Ethan said, "I think I only completed the math and logic test." She chuckled then.
"What do you think this was?" she replied. Ethan thought for a moment. He had just made conscious decisions on what do when he had incomplete or no useful instructions, whether to ask for help or go on into the darkness by himself, whether to go to the recreation area or keep moving towards his goal. He realized he must have passed the test. They wanted people who could think for themselves, right?
"Follow me, please," the woman said, and Ethan joined her. They walked up to another enclosure and stopped outside.
"Ma´am, could I ask you a question?
"Go ahead."
"That insignia, what do they mean?"
"That´s a Psi. It has lots of meanings. Didn´t you pay attention in school? Psi signifies the wave functions in quantum physics, among other things."
"I´m sorry, I guess physics was never my thing..." She laughed then.
"Never mind. We use it as they do in psychology. All these tests, well, what we´re really trying to figure out is how your head works. So there you have it.”
"Are you a psychologist then?"
"Among other things. But first and foremost, I´m an officer, and right now this lesson ends. Move on, please."
Ethan entered the enclosure. A man in his mid-forties, wearing thick glasses, unruly hair and a thick mustache motioned for him to sit down. Ethan wondered how anyone was allowed to look like that in the military.
"Infopad, please," the man said, and Ethan handed it over.
"Hmm, this doesn´t look good. Well, alright. Oh no, this won´t do... Ethan Wang. Maybe we should just call it a day."
"Excuse me, sir, what are you talking about?" The man jumped nervously, seemingly surprised there was anyone else around.
"Oh, sorry Mr Wang," he said, and extended his hand. "Name´s Jeremy Tanner. Call me Jerry. I sometimes talk to myself. You see, most people prefer the company of others, whereas I prefer my own. That way I don´t have to-"
"Sir, what were you talking about? Are my results that bad?" Jeremy hesitated for a bit, before he sank down on a chair next to Ethan.
"Mister... Ethan, I don’t know how to say this to you. I´m not good with people you see. I fought in the war and was captured, and then someone managed to escape, and I tagged along, and as soon as I was free, I took part in an attack, and then I was injured. The Lumins shot me you see, and ever since I´ve been a tad nervous, and I tend to say too much, or too little sometimes, and then I have to stop myself because my mouth cannot keep up with my head and it would have been so much easier if my head could just slow down a little and allow me to think like a normal person. But since I´m smart, really, really, really, really smart, it´s like, they normally leave me to my research, although I sometimes help out with the tests and I..."
"Sir!" Ethan interrupted him, causing the man to jump again. "Did I fail the tests?" Then Ethan braced for another tirade. Jeremy just looked at him, calming as he took deep breaths.
"That depends on what you mean by "failed". Ethan, you will never be a regular soldier, that much I can tell you right now. But don´t quit on me now. Complete the testing, and then tomorrow there will be a medical examination and physical tests. Who knows, maybe there´s hope for you yet."
Ethan blinked, wondering if he´d heard the right words.
"I will never be a regular soldier. That´s what you´re telling me? After just two tests?"
"And your other data," Jeremy said. "We do gather much more data than the tests, you know. Your school grades, any public records, your online activity, phone records — it´s all part of the larger picture. Even if you ace the technical aptitude test and the psych evaluation, both of which I sincerely doubt, it seems you´re just not the right match for the armed forces."
Ethan needed a moment to let it sink in. This was taking a seriously bad turn. Jeremy seemed to see how every sliver of hope was draining away, and leaned forward to tap him on the knee.
"Ethan. Don´t give up just yet. I said you will never be a regular soldier, I didn´t say you were beyond hope."
Ethan looked up, and for the first time he noticed there was something behind the thick glasses and the unruly manners of the man in front of him. A twinkle in his eyes that appeared and disappeared in an instant.
"Son, there are other other options."
"What do you mean?"
"Just... complete the tests. Do what comes naturally, don´t try to fake anything. You never know, something might come up."
"Thanks, I guess..." Jeremy clapped his hands together and rose.
"Alright then, let´s move on to the technical aptitude test then."
6.
Ethan only met the others when they were being put up for the night, half an hour before lights out. The three friends were given bunks in a twenty man room, and the time left was quickly spent. They didn´t have anything other than what they had been wearing, and what everyone was assigned — a simple pack of essentials, such as a toothbrush and a small bar of soap. Ethan began to realize how unprepared he was, but he was already this far and he´d see it through, however it went.
Then a mean-looking sergeant gave them a few choice words before bed time.
"If I so much as hear a whisper, you´re sleeping on the floor tonight," he barked. As much as Ethan wanted to compare experiences, they all obeyed. Soon after, he was fast asleep.
The morning began with the same sergeant shouting and cursing.
"Rise and shine you worthless ants. It´s a glorious day outside, and you´re gonna spend it getting your heads screwed open, the shit kicked out of you and your ugly behinds probed!" Ethan winced, considering whether taking the medical exam was really worth it, now that he knew he´d be kicked out no matter how things went today. Still, he got out of bed and five minutes later, he was gobbling down a snack on his way to the medical wing, alongside Julian.
"Did anyone tell you how you did yesterday?" Julian asked out of the blue. Ethan coughed and lied.
"Nope. How about you?"
"Nothing. I just hope they tell us if we screw up too bad. I don´t want to have to go through everything just to be rejected."
Ethan didn´t say anything, and Julian didn´t press on. Soon, they were being examined, probed, analyzed and tested. Samples of skin, blood and urine were taken to the labs and they ran the treadmill until they puked, only to get up and do it again. All to see how far they could be pushed and what their limits were. After lunch, they were tested for speed, strength, stamina and tolerance for pain. They were given medication that induced drowsiness, to test how far they could push it until they passed out. Another drug induced pain, and they were given a variety of tasks to perform, from the simplest to the most complex. Ethan gave it everything he got, remembering Jeremy Tanner´s words, you never know, something might come up.
When he thought he had spent every bit of willpower, his last drop of strength, his last breath of fight, he was sent into a big hall, where applicants were gathered around what looked like a boxing ring. He saw Ariel standing off to the side, and went to join her.
"What´s up?" he asked. Ariel shrugged.
"No idea. Where´s Julian?"
"Not sure. He was next to me in line for a while, but I think he had to redo one of the tests. He´ll be here soon, I´m sure."
They quieted down as a man entered the ring. With an average height and lean build, he wore some kind of martial arts outfit. He stood in front of the them and smiled.
"Listen up. My name is Lieutenant West, and I am here to test your fighting skills." The lieutenant paused and looked through the crowd.
"You, young man, come here," he said, and a big, strong-looking fellow Ethan had seen once or twice in the medic wing stepped forward. He was at least a head taller than Lieutenant West and moved with a confidence that displayed a certainty that this should be an easy match.
"What´s your name son?" Lieutenant West asked.
"Bobby Longstreet," the man said.
"Okay, Bobby, let´s see what you´ve got."
Bobby attacked immediately, swinging for the lieutenant´s head, only for West to move slightly to the side. Bobby took a half-step forward and swung again. This time, the lieutenant put up a hand and it looked to Ethan as if he guided Bobby´s movement away, without grabbing him or using any force. Lieutenant West looked relaxed, and he even smiled. Bobby, on the other hand, seemed annoyed to have missed twice in a row and put up both fists.
"Come on now, I know you can do better," West said. Bobby gritted his teeth and leapt forward, jabbing with one hand and swinging with the other. The lieutenant stepped gracefully aside, leaving Bobby to stumble forward. Then, almost too fast to notice, he placed his hand on the back of Bobby´s and bent it forward. Ethan heard the crack half a second before Bobby´s scream.
"Did you see that?" he said to Ariel, who didn´t reply.
"Medic," Lieutenant West shouted, and two medics came running, and helped Bobby away.
The lieutenant stepped up before them again.
"Don´t worry about him, he´ll be alright. Now it´s your turn," he said, grinning.
7.
Ethan was rubbing the side of his chest, but it didn´t do anything for the pain. The medics had confirmed there were no fractures, but he still felt like he´d been hit by a truck. Lieutenant West had beaten every last one of them, and Ethan considered himself lucky — he was just banged up. Julian had two fingers broken, Ariel could barely see through one bloody eye and one guy was still in artificially induced coma, after having his head split open.
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