time enough for love-时间足够你爱(英文版)- 第24部分

　　
　　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　and　the　only　thing　that　sets　us　apart　from　t