not between my backbone and
my stomach!"

Warrant Officer McKenny burst into the room and began to compete with
the rest of the noise outside the buildings.

"Five minutes to the dining hall and you'd better not be late! Take the
slidestairs down to the twenty-eighth floor. Tell the mess cadet in
charge of the hall your unit number and he'll show you to the right
table. Remember where it is, because you'll have to find it yourself
after that, or not eat. Finish your breakfast and report to the
ninety-ninth floor to Dr. Dale at seven hundred hours!"

And as fast as he had arrived, he was gone, a flash of red color with
rasping voice trailing behind.

Exactly one hour and ten minutes later, promptly at seven o'clock, the
three members of Unit 42-D stood at attention in front of Dr. Joan Dale,
along with the rest of the green-clad cadets.

When the catcalls and wolf whistles had died away, Dr. Dale, pretty,
trim, and dressed in the gold and black uniform of the Solar Guard, held
up her hand and motioned for the cadets to sit down.

"My answer to your--" she paused, smiled and continued, "your
enthusiastic welcome is simply--thank you. But we'll have no further
repetitions. This is Space Academy--not a primary school!"

Turning abruptly, she stood beside a round desk in the well of an
amphitheater, and held up a thin tube about an inch in diameter and
twelve inches long.

"We will now begin your classification tests," she said. "You will
receive one of these tubes. Inside, you will find four sheets of paper.
You are to answer all the questions on each paper and place them back in
the tube. Take the tube and drop it in the green outline slot in this
wall."

She indicated a four-inch-round hole to her left, outlined with green
paint. Beside it, was another slot outlined with red paint. "Remain
there until the tube is returned to you in the red slot. Take it back to
your desk." She paused and glanced down at her desk.

"Now, there are four possible classifications for a cadet. Control-deck
officer, which includes leadership and command. Astrogation officer,
which includes radar and communications. And power-deck officer for
engine-room operations. The fourth classification is for advanced
scientific study here at the Academy. Your papers are studied by an
electronic calculator that has proven infallible. You must make at least
a passing grade on each of the four classifications."

Dr. Dale looked up at the rows