ON A CELL PHONE, THE ADDED FEATURES (PLATFORMS, SHORT STORIES, YEAR AHEAD, ETC.) CAN BE ACCESSED FROM THE TOP LEFT HAND CORNER (STACKED LINES). ALSO, THE ‘TRANSLATE’ & WORLD CLOCK WILL APPEAR AT THE BOTTOM.
在手機上，添加的功能（平臺，短篇小說，提前一年等） 可以從左上角訪問（堆疊線）。
*** All times / dates: Please remember that all time references (e.g., “dawn”) are PDT – Pacific DAYLIGHT Time zone. You can refer to the World Clock in the sidebar for more listings or Google ‘time zone converter’.
Email: suningem@gmail.com
Tim’s YouTube links: Unveiling Astrology
Unveiling Astrology Part 2)
START NOTHING: (ALL TIMES ARE PACIFIC DAYLIGHT): (All Sunday) Before 0:19 am Mon., 4:51 am to 12:33 pm Wed., and 10:27 am to 11:30 pm Fri.
PREAMBLE:
ALL SIGNS: Start no new projects, relationships nor big purchases before July 23. Stick with the ongoing, or reprise past projects, connections.
***
I see the benefits of a well ordered world. But it’s not for me. Nor, at this point, do I want it to be..
***
WEEKLY FORECAST:
ARIES: March 21-April 19
The general emphasis remains on your domestic situation, Aries. This includes everything from food to children to security, real estate, gardening, mother nature — and “pruning” your life’s garden: ending stale, unfruitful relationships, and planting the seeds for a new ones. The only problem with this process is that mercury is retrograde until July 23, and advises against forming any new relationships, making big purchases, or starting new projects. So life is saying to you: change your life, but don’t change your life. My advice: just go about your business, and wait for the view to clear. Don’t bother formulating plans. Stick to routine, and enjoy the beauty of life. Your real future benefit lies not in home, but in creativity, romance, adventure, beauty, sports, games and raising kids — these areas will encounter great good luck in the year that starts Tuesday (late Monday night PDT). Earlier, Sunday starts six weeks of hectic trips, paperwork and communications — in which the main topic is you. Beauty is already in your life, came in about two weeks ago. Sunday is intellectually expansive, and promotes a quiet, gentle love. Be ambitious Monday to Wed. noon (PDT). Some obstacles here, but you can overcome them. Be alert and realistic. Friends come, your popularity rises, and reasonable wishes can come true Wednesday noon through Friday — you’ll be happy! An old flame might enter — if on Wednesday p.m., this reunion might last a long time. Retreat Saturday for a weekend of rest and contemplation.
TAURUS: April 20-May 20
Still awash in a sea of messaging, errands and paperwork, Taurus — an uneasy sea, as confusion, indecision, delays and mistakes abound. Double-check words and addresses. A former acquaintance might appear with a message about money or romance. You have been unusually assertive for the past month and a half. That ends now as you return to your mellow old self. For the next six weeks money will flow to you more voluminously than usual. Spend this or pay off debt: spending will leave you poorer. (If you must spend, spend on computer related things for your career.) Wednesday night (PDT — Tuesday for the rest of the world) starts a 12-month phase of great money luck for you. It might be tied to finances/investments, or you could find a coveted item for a bargain price. Your best area of gain will be real estate. Thus is a very good year ahead to buy and/or sell a home. If you’re only able to rent, you can find a “just right” place for less. You might be tempted to invest or pursue a sexy person Sunday, but I wouldn’t bother. You become thoughtful, intellectual Monday to midday Wednesday — but keep your ideas on the back shelf, they might be a little misguided. Be ambitious Wednesday afternoon through Friday. You might advance swiftly, especially Wednesday. Be willing to commit, in order to gain a consequence. Saturday starts a weekend of popularity, social joys, optimism, and flirting — and happiness!
GEMINI: May 21-June 20
Still in monetary mode, Gemini. Buy, sell, collect and pay bills. Some casual intimacy, perhaps — and perhaps with an old flame who re-appears. You will likely also be handling old debts, perhaps forgotten ones. Your memory is strong now and the next two weeks. You might have felt spells of exhaustion during the past month or so — that changes now, to a feeling of overflowing energy for six weeks — don’t be aggressive but do be assertive — this trend is going to bring you more friends. Athletes among you will “outperform.” Your financial good luck in the past 12 months eases now, as you begin a new 12-month cycle of luck and expansion. This new cycle will noticeably increase your communications, written and verbal, your travel within your country, and paperwork. But wait awhile — until at least July 23 — before you start anything in these areas (trips, paperwork, etc.). Spend time looking both at your present mess and the year ahead. A former or “not yet concluded” money source might be worth pursuing. Sunday’s for relationships, with not much happening. Sex, secrets, finances, investigaffa9irstions, medical and lifestyle decisions greet you Monday to midday Wed. Be cautious here, be slow to decide, as aspects are poor. Profound ideas, international affairs, law, learning and media fill Wednesday pm through Friday. Now your luck is good, esp. Wed. Saturday starts a weekend of ambition, worldly status.
CANCER: June 21-July 22
You are still at the top of your game, Cancer. Your energy, charisma and clout are at a yearly high. Notice I didn’t mention effectiveness — that’s because Mercury is retrograde until July 23, causing several weeks of confusion, mistakes, and delays. Don’t start anything new before than — use your magnetism and clout to support ongoing projects/situations, or reprise something/someone from the past. A former friend (not necessarily a former lover) might return — good. Your money picture looks fine until about July 9. Now to mid-August, avoid sketchy venues and belligerent individuals. Tuesday starts a whole year of great money luck — e.g., it will be hard to lose on the stock markets. A good 12 months to purchase/utilize machinery. Tackle chores Sunday. All’s well. Relationships, fresh horizons, opportunities and opposition come Monday to midday Wed. Careful Monday, when both perception and practical reality are not on your side. Things improve slightly Tues./Wed. Wednesday afternoon through Friday plunges you into secrets, hidden knowledge, research, big finances, lust, and commitments — a beautiful, fortunate interval, especially. Wed. (Remember, nothing brand new, but you can commit to a prior or ongoing situation.) Saturday starts a mellow weekend, with pondering, travel, learning, and gentle love…avoid an argument early Saturday, tho.
LEO: July 23-Aug. 22
Lie low, Leo. Be quiet, rest and contemplate (but don’t make long-range plans — they will change). Liaise with gov’t or “head office” — seek advice, be charitable, maybe mentor someone. Tuesday starts an entire 12 + months of grand good fortune, but you might have to wait until late July onward to start riding that lucky horse. DON’T start any brand new relationships, projects nor major purchases before July 23. Higher-ups have been hard on you the last 6 weeks. That ends Sunday, when you start 6 weeks of happy socializing (yes despite your weariness and quietude) optimism and flirting. If you’re single, 26/27 will offer one of the greatest romances of your life. Sunday’s romantic and creative — enjoy yourself. Tackle chores Monday to midday Wed. A job from the past might return to be completed. Proceed cautiously, as perceptive and practical “potholes” litter your road. Tuesday best. Relationships, opportunities, possible opposition, fill Wed. pm through Friday. A good, productive interval, marked by co-operation. Wednesday’s best. Saturday starts a weekend of secrets, mysteries, and consequence. Remember — nothing brand new!
VIRGO: Aug. 23-Sept. 22
Weeks of happiness await your presence, Virgo. Get out and about, see and be seen, issue and accept invitations. Your career and reputation need care now to mid-August. Bosses are impatient, good humoured but silently critical. Sparking this “attention” might be new developments in computing (which will be with you for a long time). For many, many years, now to 2039, love relationships will be primarily sexual, and many other relationships will involve financial dealings or commitments. During these years, listen to your intuition; it will be more accurate than logic. You’ve gotten a hint lately of private pleasures. This hint is really introducing 12 months of good luck in management, civil service, delegating of chores, research and background efforts. It will also be a good 12 months to buy and sell real estate — to find a new home, whether bought or rented. Great for a spa retreat. Sunday is for home, kids, garden, nature and relaxing. Monday to midday Wednesday brings a creative surge, romance, and a winning streak. However, the aspects are terrible, especially Monday, so proceed with caution and be willing to let go of things that aren’t working. Tackle chores, Wednesday p.m. through Friday. Eat, dress sensibly. You will get a lot done, as events actually seem to help you. Saturday starts a weekend of relationships — good, successful ones, but be careful daytime Saturday, avoid disagreements.
LIBRA: Sept. 23-Oct. 22
The accent lies on your ambitions, career, prestige relations and worldly status for the weeks ahead, Libra. You have had a year of great good luck in these areas, but that luck ends Tuesday. (Though you’ll hardly notice, as this same day launches 12 months of great good fortune in group affairs, politics, socializing, entertainment and light romance. You’ll be happy, meeting fresh people, horizons and opportunities. These 12 months, at least at first, will also reward you in career zones, especially if you socialize with higher-ups.) You might have “fought off” (or succumbed to) risky investments or alluring people since last mid-May. That ends now, as Sunday starts 6 weeks of a different cycle: a very active, assertive mental stance, which could actually attract a “partner” from overseas, or see you publishing your story — but strictly avoid lawyers and lawsuits. (With one exception: you could marry one — and actually the 6 weeks ahead can bring a viable mate prospect. This can be an old flame before July 24, or a brand new one after July 23.) Your long-term future, romantically, looks splendid. Sunday’s for gabbing, casual friends, Be home, hug your family, garden, rest/contemplate, enhance security, Monday to midday Wed. (PDT). Don’t take a lot of chances, as this interval is a rocky, obstacle-filled one. Wednesday pm through Friday brings romance, creative surges, pleasure, beauty and a winning streak. Wednesday best. Saturday starts a weekend of work — guard your health, too.
SCORPIO: Oct. 23-Nov. 21
Three weeks remain of an expanding intellectual, travel, legal, learning, media and gentle love phase, Scorpio. (I use the phrase “gentle love” when referring to a romance mature enough to support a wedding.) Since mid-May, someone (perhaps a co-worker or dependent) has been assertive toward you. This ends now, to be replaced by 6 weeks during which you will explore the hidden side of relationships — sexual intimacy/bonding, financial commitment, secrets. These weeks will strongly heighten your sexual courage and magnetism. Remember, though, start nothing brand new before July 23. A returning old flame could be the answer. Higher-ups favour you until July 9. (Ask for a pay raise or promotion.) Tuesday begins 12 months of great good luck in career, worldly standing and prestige relations. This will boost your bank account, too. (Wait until late July to start anything.) Sunday is for money, buying/selling, maybe casual sex. If nothing else, learn by reading or attending a lecture. A ho-hum day. Monday to midday Wednesday brings reports messaging, paperwork and errands. Not an important interval (thankfully, as your luck here is dismal right now). Wednesday pm through Friday leads you to home, family, security, rest and contemplation. This is usually a good time to prune stale situations/relations, but I wouldn’t, as confusion and mistakes will prevail. But these are 3 lucky days, especially late Wednesday, so charge ahead in domestic matters. Saturday starts a weekend of romance, creativity, and a winning streak — enjoy!
SAGITTARIUS: Nov. 22-Dec. 21
You’ll be encountering the shady or secretive side of life for a few more weeks, Sage. Your intuition will be high, so listen to it when it warns you about a person or a deal. Investments, finances, sexual lust or lust for power, medical and lifestyle questions, these fill the days ahead. Hectic work demands end Sunday, which starts 6 weeks of relationship intensity. You’ll either fight or love — no in-between. You remain fairly mellow until July 9. Tuesday starts a whole year of great good luck in travel, international affairs, higher learning, media, law and social rituals (e.g., weddings, bat mitzvahs). — And in love. Finally. Remember, start NOTHING brand new before July 23. Instead, protect ongoing situations, and/or reprise someone/something from the past. It looks like two “past options” — one likely is financial, the other might be love’s prospects. Your energy and charisma are “tops” Sunday, but not much happens. Chase $, buy/sell, pay bills, lie with a sometime lover Mon. to midday Wed. (PDT). But don’t push too hard or expect too much, as the aspects are poor. Wednesday afternoon through Friday brings reports, messaging, paperwork and short trips. You’ll like these three days, especially Wed., when love might give you a wink. Saturday starts a domestic weekend — try to be with family, out in the garden, or on a little vacation, etc. All’s well!
CAPRICORN: Dec. 22-Jan. 20
The general emphasis lies on relationships, opportunities/opposition, public appearances, and agreements, sewn together or broken, Cap. Remember, start nothing brand new before July 23 — instead, support ongoing situations, or reprise something/someone from the past. The weeks ahead have a definite partnering lean, which partly is the result of the whole past year offering you new relations. An old flame might appear, and might have a “wedding” connection to you. You’ve been rather hot to trot in romance over the past few weeks — that ends now, as 6 weeks of arduous work enter. A former contract or agreement might “return,” and contains opportunity. Lie low Sunday — rest, contemplate and be charitable. Your energy and charisma soar Monday to midday Wed. — but use it to solve home problems rather than chasing an adventure or ambition. Luck, vision, practicality — all “difficult.” But Wed. afternoon through Friday brings quite good luck in money, earnings, buying/selling, and casual sex. Be bold, confident, esp. Wednesday. Saturday starts a busy, easy weekend of errands, calls and paperwork.
AQUARIUS: Jan. 21-Feb. 18
Three more weeks of work and health concerns, Aquarius. But the drudgery will be lightened by a romantic or creative involvement, lasting to mid-August, and by a thread of opportunities, fresh horizons and potential partnerships that starts Tuesday, and lasts until late July, 2027. You will face some of the biggest “open doors” of your life — step through and a dream can come true. (Remember, though, start nothing brand new before July 23. Instead, concentrate on things, people, activities, projects from the past, or on ongoing situations. A former job or co-worker “opening” could appear.) Friction at home stops now. Instead, you become very talkative (and assertive) in romance now to mid-August. Sunday is optimistic, happy, flirty. Embrace friends. Retreat from the bustling crowd Monday to midday Wed. — rest, contemplate, be charitable — but don’t seek advice nor make long-range plans — the former would misguide you, the latter would prove useless. Be self-protective. Wednesday pm through Friday, your energy, charisma soar, and good luck accompanies you — get out, give projects a meaningful push. Saturday starts a weekend of money, possessions, casual sex and rote learning — a good interval (though Sat. morning’s a bit tense).
PISCES: Feb. 19-March 20
Three more weeks of romance, teaching charming children, creative and speculative urges, beauty, pleasure, and a winning streak, Pisces. An old flame is almost certain to re-appear. What happens now can be the culmination of the last 12 months’ good luck in these same areas. Recent hectic paperwork and communications end now; six weeks of possible friction at home, begins. (This can also nudge you to buy or spend on the home — but remember, nothing brand new before July 23.) Co-workers remain friendly until July 9. Be ambitious Sunday, but not overly so (as aspects are blah — tho’ good for Asia). Paperwork, messaging, trips and errands — these fill Monday to midday Wed. (PDT) but not happily. Re-read your messages, check addresses before sending, and be careful driving (also July 4 morning) and don’t put your signature on anything unless you’re super-sure. These early week frustrations turn to smooth satisfactions Wednesday p.m. through Friday. You will be tired, and contemplative. But still, you can get a lot done in a good way with government chores, medical problems, research, seeking advice and comforting others. Wednesday is especially fortunate for these things. A great time to improve your karma by being charitable. Saturday starts a weekend of renewed energy, charisma, and clout — for you.
THE END.
AFTERAMBLE:
Venezuela (“V”) is an Aquarian nation. Pluto rules earthquakes. Pluto is in Aquarius now.
***
America is celebrating its 250-year anniversary this July. The festivities are planned for 16 days. 16 is the number of destruction.
***
If Ukraine is to achieve a peace treaty with Putrid, it will be this July to July 2027, or a bit beyond, but with the process beginning in earnest before Aug./27.
I see Ukraine followed my advice to send drones to bomb Moscow. But instead of 150 drones, Uke, send 10,000 in one wave as I suggested. Send at least 1000 at the Kremlin itself. Make a real impact.
***
I watched the Canada-Qatar FIFA Soccer game June 18. Boy, are those Qatarians ever nasty, dirty players. They were hauling Canada’s players down with neck-holds, shoves in the back, kicks not aimed at the ball — they even broke a star Canadian midfielder’s leg, putting him out for the whole tournament. They’re obviously not soccer players, but a bunch of thugs. They should be banned from playing internationally. Canada won, 6-0.
***
Remember I wrote here in the 1980’s that China would grow more capitalist, and the U.S.A. would grow toward communism, and from this a new worldwide government structure would be born? At present, 10 U.S. states have a communist leader (governor or mayor) and every state has a communist on the primary ballot for the Nov. 2026 election.
When I made that prediction, I think around 1983/84, I said that there would be stages, as Pluto travelled through each sign. From March 2023 to January 2044, Pluto is in Aquarius, so this is the revolt and civil disobedience stage. (Actions by the “Democratic Socialists” and other anti-government people.) 2044 onward is the Pisces stage, which will cause a complete overhaul (probably from the inside out, or the ground up) of the bureaucracy.
***
Time will tell, but I think Trump made a mistake in the Iran M.O.U. situation. Maybe not.
***
A Democrat just said: “immigration is deeply racist.”
That makes me think, she’s right. The Democratic Party in America is swelled with blacks, Hispanics and Asians far beyond their proportion of the population. Not totally, but in some regards, the Democrat party is the party of immigration – the more the better. That is why ICE’s very existence is abhorrent to them. But it supports the argument that the Democrats favour immigration because it will add to their constituency. The Democrats have long held large majorities among the minorities, because they have spent more public money on them than the Republicans do. To increase the minorities by unimpeded immigration, can only increase “our party”
The white liberals amongst the Democrats are opposed to ICE, and to Trump in general, on political and cultural (he’s unsophisticated) or philosophical grounds. But the Hispanics and blacks who flooded in during the Biden administration, as well as many here earlier, have begun to take leadership roles to combat the Trump ideology.
So immigration is racist, as the Democrat said. It’s racist because they want to include Asians of any kind, blacks of any country, and Caucasians in the form of Hispanics. I don’t know whether there were few other types of Caucasians/Europeans in the flood of migrants, or if they were treated differently, but they never made the news.
So the Asians/Hispanics/blacks were included — were the finest example of inclusion. That leaves only the D and E (of DEI) to argue.
The only trouble with inclusion, the I that concludes the DEI, and therefore strikes the strongest note, is that inclusion can — and absolutely does — demand conformity. Combine that with equity (the E) which means everyone gets the same, and you have communism.
It will be interesting to watch New York City. As I said before, this is part of a long long trend stretching from 1984 when I first mentioned it, to 2229, when both our era and our mega era (about 3500 years) will end. Both communism and capitalism will fade away, supplanted by a new government/bureaucratic structure. But on the way, China would head for democracy/capitalism and America for communism.Shortly after the new mega era begins in 2229, the US will once again face turmoil— maybe 40 years later – I’m not bothering to calculate it, could be between 25 and 60 years I think, or about mid to late 23rd Century. Anyway, whenever Pluto is about 26° Capricorn, the U.S. will be re-born, or re-shaped. It passed over this degree recently, and you can see the effect. It will do so again sometime in the mid to late 2200’s. I said/wrote back in the mid 80s, when Pluto returned to its birth degree, that the US would be protected for the next 250 years — in other words, until 2229. I haven’t looked at that chart, the 2229 one, in the last few years. Maybe I will to see what it says about Canada and the US and Europe, China and all those guys.
***
THE RECRUIT
A short story by Tim
He weighed about 120 pounds, scrawny and not too tall. He was probably nineteen. He had buck teeth, so pronounced that he could not eat hamburgers — his tongue and upper pallet grabbed the bun, but the meat patty slid out. Every week, he finished the obstacle course many minutes before the next man. Then he stood, watching. On the range, a Sargent drilled a bullet-point into his finger to teach him to fire slowly. And from that point he squeezed the trigger so calmly that he became the best marksman in his company. It was as if he didn’t know how to miss. And he thought he was a good marcher. But no one else did. He was often found at the tail end of his squad, walking along and looking around.
The Drill Sargents often ”adopted” a recruit, one they admired for his unusual height, athleticism, or leadership qualities — they joked with him apart from the other recruits, and made him a squad leader, or whatever they thought suited him. But the short, scrawny recruit, though he excelled in every contest except those of absolute strength, was simply ignored. He was too far from the norm. And he was not a leader.
One afternoon, as the company of trainees lined up in the narrow “street” between the steel quonset huts for a smoke break, another recruit, a short, stocky Texan with a jutting jaw who always held his chest out, jumped on him from behind. “You’d better learn to march!” he yelled as he tried a headlock.
The jumped-on recruit had worked in a small children’s zoo a few years before. A mongoose had eaten through a plywood wall, through the 1/4 inch steel mesh, and through the next plywood wall, and eaten the brains of a mother possum and her ten children. The recruit found him sleeping, curled in his own cage. He pitied the possums, but he also felt for the mongoose. It was doing what it was born to do, and it was astoundingly effective at it.
He had to transport the mongoose to another cage. Gingerly, with heavy leather gloves, he tried to pick the mongoose up, and was surprised when it calmly let him. It was a long grey ground-hugging creature with a bushy tail about 2 feet long. He lifted it up and placed it on the concrete floor of the multi-terrarium building, holding its ample tail so it wouldn’t flee. He held the tail and walked outside with it. The mongoose was unflappably calm and pliable, perfectly content to walk with the boy. A perfect, diplomatic gentleman. The boy admired that.
Now, attacked, he bent under the weight of the stocky Texan, who kept loudly grunting about his bad marching, and shouting that he’d better learn to march in cadence or he’d be sorry, while he tried to tie him up in a wrestling hold. He tried several holds. The other recruits watched. His holds, probably learned in high school, surrounded the recruit rather than pinning him, for the jaw-jutting Texan met no resistance, yet somehow could not seize and immobilize the skinny young man.. Finally the wrestler stood and the recruit stood. The recruit waited. The arrogant wrestler threw one arm in the air and walked away
A short, thick Drill Instructor, a Sergeant, called the recruit into the tin quonset hut the drill sergeants occupied.
“You think you’re a tough guy? You want to fight, tough guy?” The D.I. slammed the recruit up against the metal lockers, and proceeded to punch him repeatedly in the stomach.
But they were soft, fake punches that would hardly hurt a guinea pig.
“Why do you do that?” the recruit asked, puzzled.
“You say SIR when you speak, worm!’
He stood at attention.“Sir, yes sir.” He hesitated a moment. “Why aren’t you punching me hard?”
“You shit-sucking asshole! Get the fuck out of my sight!”
As the recruit left, the D.I. grabbed his shoulders and pushed him out, hard, so he stumbled into the street. “You want a real fight?” he said loudly. He shoved the recruit in the back again, sending him sprawling, though the recruit regained his balance after a few steps. The other recruits, about forty of them, still ranged along both sides of the road, watched intently.
The recruit turned to face the D.I. The Drill Instructor pushed him in the chest, then walked at him, pushing him again.
They were about the same height, but the D.I. was stockier, about 40 pounds heavier, and held his chest high, aggressively. The recruit suddenly fell to his knees, threw his arms around the Drill Instructor’s ankles, and pushed. The D.I. fell on his back. The recruit bounced up and kicked the Sergeant’s thigh once, with all his strength, with his combat boot. He stepped back and watched the D.I. stand up, favouring his left leg. The DI charged, lunging. The recruit turned and ran. It only took a moment, perhaps in the third or fourth stride — the boy dropped to his knees again with the Sargent a step behind, but this time he dropped into a curved ball, like an armadillo, and the D.I. tumbled over, onto his face this time. The boy jumped up and immediately began kicking the D.I.’s left thigh hard, twice this time before the Sergeant jerked up on his arms, rolled over and tried to grab the recruits’ legs. The recruit stepped back and waited. Another D.I., older, a gunny sarge, leaned against a post, arms crossed, watching.
“I’m sorry,” the recruit yelled. “Are we playing or really fighting?”
The D.I. formed a tripod with his right leg and two arms and struggled to his feet. He looked furiously at the recruit, his face red and wet, his breathing aggressive, as if he was going to charge. Then, he threw both arms in the air and stormed off, dragging his left leg.
The D.I. who had watched approached the recruit and said gently, “Son, you’d better go stand by your rack for now.” The recruit went into the quonset hut and stood by his bunk, but as no one followed, he sat on the bed.
A minute later the hut filled with recruits. No one spoke to him. They gaped at him. After a first glance at them, he held his eyes down. Soon, two big MPs entered and stood at his bunk.
“Private Lindon? Pack your gear. Everything.”
It took a few seconds to fill his duffle bag. The other recruits were staring at him. He stared back, not comprehending. The high-school Texas wrestler sat on his bunk, chin in hand, frowning, just like that famous statue. The recruit left, an MP on either side. As they reached the door, he turned. “I am not very developed!” he said loudly, apologizing.
“You’re fucking okay with us,” someone yelled. “Yeah!” “Take care, man!” “Fuck the Green Machine!” The recruit was gone. “Gold Star, man,” someone yelled. “You can fuckin’ be with me in ‘Nam.” “FUCK yeah!” another shouted.
In the brig, he felt worried, curious and alert. A new, dangerous place. But he knew how to be unnoticed.
A day later, MPs escorted him to a jeep, then to a room quite far from the drill field, in a building and an area he’d never entered or seen — gardens, and greenery falling over the adobe walls. Upstairs. Rm. 205, a thick wood door, polished by the years.
“Shut the door, Sargents, and wait outside,” the man said. “You can sit,” he said, gesturing. The recruit saw a silver flower or leaf on the man’s uniform collar, but he didn’t know the different kinds of officers. He seldom bothered to learn anything factual.
“Sir, yes, Sir.” But he didn’t sit.
“Your drill instructor’s still laid up.”
The recruit said nothing.
“If he complains, you could be in the brig for a year or two.”
The recruit said nothing.
“How’d you learn to fight like that?”
“Sir, nowhere, Sir.”
“Have you ever had hand-to-hand training? Martial arts?”
“Sir, no sir.”
“You can stop calling me Sir for now.”
He read something on his desk.
“If I attacked you right now, would you fight me?”
“No, Sir.”
“Because I’m an officer?”
The recruit said nothing.
“Private Lindon, you have to answer my questions. Would you not attack me because I’m an officer? Why would you abstain from fighting me, but will attack a Drill Sargent?”
“I didn’t attack the Drill Instructor, Sir. He attacked me. I have forty witnesses.”
The Major sighed. “Private, why did you enlist in the Corps?”
The recruit hesitated.
“Well?”
“I was curious.”
“Curious?”
The recruit’s eyes lowered, as if he was searching.
“And if, say, you killed or harmed me, right now, how would you plan on getting away?”
“Plan, Sir?”
The Colonel stared impatiently at him.
“Plan! You make a plan, then you follow it. Can you understand that?”
“I understand, Sir. I just… don’t…ever plan anything.”
“Why?”
“Plans are artificial.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I mean…” He thought. “They slow you down or distract you when the situation doesn’t fit the plan. I guess.”
“And no martial training?”
“I read a book on Judo once,” he offered.
The officer sat back in his leather chair. The recruit seemed neither hostile nor friendly. Blank, but with something in the blankness: what was it?
“I’ve seen your tests. You have a high I.Q. Most intelligent people are talkative; but you are not. Why? Keeping it all to yourself?”
“No Sir.”
“Well?”
“Usually I don’t understand things, Sir, so I just watch.” He hesitated. “Sir? I…did always try to march, and I thought I was marching really well. I don’t know why they say I’m out of step. And I didn’t attack the drill sergeant. It was strange that he gave up. I mean, in front of all four squads.”
“Are you saying your D.I. acted in a cowardly manner?”
“Oh, no, Sir. I think it has something to do with me.”
“How so?”
“I’m not sure. There’s something different about me.”
The Major looked out the window. After a minute he turned to the recruit and said, “What if we find you another place. You’ll still be a Marine, but you’ll be doing something different. What do you think about that, Private?… Well?”
“I’m not sure what you mean, Sir.”
“I’m suggesting sending you to a school, intelligence work. Your test scores are high. Yet you are a strange duck… I’m giving you a way out here. Or, you could just return to the brig for a few years.”
“Oh.”
The Major called the Sargents to take the private back to the brig.
At sunrise, at reveille, they found him dressed in his fatigues, sitting on his bunk, his eyes red. In the mess, he ate porridge, eggs, bacon, flapjacks, fruit, coffee, juice and hash browns. An hour later the Major visited his cell.
“Do you have any reservations about serving your country in the way I mentioned? On a different battlefield?”
The recruit looked out the window. “Okay,” he said.
The Major left, but quietly ordered an MP to enter the cell to push the recruit around, promising him a week’s leave and no repercussions. He watched via camera, ready to call a halt if it looked damaging. As the MP entered, the recruit rose to his feet. The MP suddenly pushed him in the chest, hard, without warning, so the recruit flew backwards about four steps, but he retained his balance.
The big man rushed to press him against the wall, but the recruit threw himself back against the wall, his forearms rose swiftly and the MP roared with pain, clutching his eyes. One of them hung 6 inches from its socket. He bent over, circling a little as hurt men do, moaning.
The recruit stood uncomfortably. “Well, why are you attacking me, then?”
The cell door flew open; two MPs entered, pulled the wounded one out, and locked the cell, without a word.
The next day, the recruit was transferred to a school that didn’t want him. He hadn’t even finished basic training, much less infantry training at Pendleton. But after some discussions between the Major and the Lieutenant General commanding special ops training, the recruit entered their world. With an advisory: Don’t make him march.
His instructors soon remarked on his ability to disappear and reappear — a valuable but mildly unsettling talent. His suspicion of his own strangeness recurred: he had glimpses of a difference. The main difference was, he didn’t believe. He didn’t believe like the other trainees.
And he didn’t learn. He forgot, was totally mechanically incompetent, and could not seem to get with the program. Finally, he disappeared for good.
It was a long, snaking road home, to the port where he had lived. The rain-soaked faces were white as mushrooms. His little sister, 9, ran to hug him around the waist. His mother looked at him from a darkened doorway, the hall door to the bedrooms.