time enough for love-时间足够你爱(英文版)-第21章
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（Omitted）
One body…contact sport David loved； one of ancient popu
lazily； which he had learned back n Those bills he had fled from。 But it was played with girls and was not officially recognized at this school。 There were harsh rules against it； and a 'cadet caught practicing i~ was kicked out without mercy。
But David； like all true geniuses； paid only pragmatic atten。 tion to rules made by other people…be obeyed the Eleventh mandment and never got caught。 While other cadets sought the empty prestige of sneaking girls into the barracks or went over the wall at night in search of girls； David kept his activities quiet。 Only those who knew him well knew how in。 dustriously he pursued this one body…contact sport。 And no one knew him well。
Eh？ Female cadets？ Didn't I make that plain； Ira？ Not only were there no girl cadets； there was not one girl in thai Navy…except a few nurses。 Most particularly there were no girls at that school； there were guards night and。 day to keef them away from the cadets。
Don't ask me why。 It was Navy policy and therefore did not have a reason。 In truth there was no job in that entire Navy which could not have been performed by either sex or even by eunuchs…but by long tradition that Navy was exclusively male。
e to think about it； a few years later that tradition wa~ questioned…a little at first； then by the end of that century； shortly before the Collapse； that Navy had females at all levels。 I am not suggesting that this change was a cause of the Collapse。 There were obvious causes of the Collapse； causes I won't go into now。 This change either was a null factor or possibly postponed the inevitable by a minor amount。
Either way； it doesn't figure into the Tale of the Lazy Man。 When David was in school； cadets were supposed to encounter females but seldom； and only under highly stylized circumstances； rigidly bound protocol； and heavily chaperoned。* Instead of fighting the rules； David looked for loopholes and made use of them…he was never caught。
Every impossible rule has its loopholes； every general pro…
* From the noun 〃chaperon。〃 This word has two meanings： （1） A person charged with preventing sexual contacts between males and females not licensed for such contacts； （2） a person superficially performing such disservice while in fact acting as a benign lookout。 It appears that the Senior uses the word here in its first meaning rather than in its anti'ietical second meaning。 See appendix。
J。F。 45th
hibition creates its bootleggers。 The Navy as a whole created its。 impossible rules； the Navy as individuals violated them； especially its curious rules about ？ex…a publicly monastic life on duty； a slightly veiled life of unjimited voluptuousness off duty。 At sea； even harmless reliefs from sexual tension were treated most harshly when detected…although such technical violations of the mores were expected and condoned less than a century earlier。 But this Navy was only a little more hypocritical in its sexual behavior than was the social matrix in which it was imbedded； more excessive in its outfets only to the degree that its public rules were more sternly impossible than those of that society as a whole。 The public sexual code of that time was unbelievable； Ira； the violations of it simply mirrored in reverse its fantastic requirements。 To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction…if you'll excuse the obvious。
I did not int！nd to discuss this other than to say that David found ways to ~get along with the school's regulations about sex without going pletely off his nut； as too many of his classmates did。 I'll add only this…and this is merely rumor：
Through a mischance all too easy then although unheard of today； a young woman became pregnant； presumably by David。 In those days…believe mel…this was a major disaster。
Why？ Just stipulate that it was a disaster； it would take forever to explain that society and no civilized human would believe it。 Cadets were forbidden to marry； the young woman had to get married under the rules current then； intervention to correct this mischan& was almost unobtainable and physically very dangerous for her。
What David did about it illustrates his whole approach to life。 When faced with a choice of evils； accept the least hazardous and cope with it； unblinkingly。 He married her。
How he managed to do this and not get caught； I do not know。 I can think of a number of ways； some simple and fairly foolproof； some plex and thereby subject to breakdown； I assume that David selected the simplest。
It changed the situation from impossible to manageable。 It converted the girl's father from an enemy； all too likely to go to the mandant of the school with the story and thereby force David to resign when he had but a few months more to reach his goal； into an ally and fellow conspirator anxious； to keep the marriage secret so that his son…in…law could graduate 。and take his wayward daughter off his hands。
As a side benefit David no longer needed to give plannin'
to the pursuit of his favorite sport lIe spent his time off in unworried domesticity； wftb。perfect chaperonage。*
As for the rest of David'~s career in scthool； one may assume that a lad who could substitute six weeks of unsupervised reading for four years of formal schooling could also stand first in his class academically。 This would pay off in money and rank as a young officer's place on the promotion list was determined by his standing at graduation。
But the petition for first place is sharp indeed； and… worse…makes the cadet who achieves it conspicuous。 David became aware of this when he was a fresh…caught plebe。 〃Mister； are you a savoir？〃…that is to say： 〃academically brainy〃…was another trick question； a plebe was damned whether he answered Yes or No。
But standing second…or even tenth…was practically as useful as first place。 David noticed some thing else： The fourth year counted four times as much as the first； the next to the last year three times as much； and so on down…that is； a plebe's marks did not affect his final standing much…only one part in ten。
David decided to maintain a 〃low proffle〃…always the smart decision when one is likely to be shot at。
He finished the first half of his plebe year a little above midway in his class…safe； respectable； inconspicuous。 He ended his plebe year in the upper quarter…but by that time the first classmen were thinking only of graduation and paid no attention to his status。 His second year he moved to the upper 10 percent； his third year he improved that by a few numbers
…and his last year； when it counted most； he went all out and finished with a final standing for four years of sixth…but effectively？second； for of those higher in ranking two elected to~ leave the lin~ of mand for specialization； one was not missioned because he had damaged his eyes by studying too hard； and one resigned after he graduated。
But the care with which David managed his class standing does not show his true talent for laziness…after all； sitting down and reading was his second favorite； pastime； and anything which merely called for excellent memory and logical reasoning was no effort to him。
During the mock…warfare cruise that opened David's last year of school a group of his classmates were discussing what cadet ranks each would receive。 By then； they knew pretty well
* Context implies second meaning。
J。F。 45th
which ones would be selected as cadet officers。 Jake is certain to be cadet corps mander…unless he falls overboard。 Who gets his battalion？ Steve？ Or Stinky？
Someone suggested that Dave was in line for that battalion。 Dave had been listening instead of talking； a standard feature of his 〃low profile〃…and very nearly a third way to lie； Ira； and easier than its equivalent…talking while saying nothing…and also tends to give the nontalker a reputation for wisdom。 Never cared for it myself…talking is the second of the three real pleasures in life an
