ard was
crushed contemptuously. I don't even attempt to justify the Indian
treatment of captured civilians and noncombatants, but nevertheless, I
absorbed quite a few of my grandfather's ideals and views about war,
and it's downright disgusting to see him so falsely represented by the
authors of the run-of-the-mill Western story or movie."

"Well, those writers have to eat, too. And maybe they can't hold an
honest job. Besides, you don't still look at war the way your
grandfather did, do you? Civilization requires plenty of other virtues
besides courage in combat, and we have plenty of better ways to display
those virtues. And the real goal of the fighting man is to be alive
after the war so he can go home to enjoy the things he was fighting
for."

"No, I hadn't been in Korea long before I lost any notions I might have
had of war as the glorious adventure my grandfather described it to be.
It's nothing but a bloody business, and should be resorted to only if
everything else fails. But I still think the individual fighter could do
a lot worse than follow the code that my grandfather believed in."

"That's so, especially since the coward usually gets shot anyway; if not
by the enemy, then by his own side. Hey, it's getting late! I've got
some things to do before going on watch. Be seeing you."

"O.K. I'll try to find something else here I haven't read yet."

* * * * *

Eight o'clock. Still no sign of the sun. The stars didn't have the sky
to themselves, however. Two or three times a minute a meteor would be
visible, most of them appearing to come from a point about halfway
between the Pole Star and the eastern horizon. Harry Lightfoot stopped
the elevator, opened the hatch, and stepped in.

"She's all yours, Harry. I've already checked out with the tower."

"O.K. That gyro any worse?"

"No, it seems to have steadied a bit. Nothing else gone wrong, either."

"Looks like we're in luck for a change."

"Let me have the parka and I'll clear out. I'll think of you up here
while I'm relaxing. Just imagine; a whole twenty-four hours off, and not
even any training scheduled."

"Someone slipped up, I'll bet. By the way, be sure to look at the
fireworks when you go out. They're better now than I've seen them at any
time since they started."

"The meteor shower, you mean? Thanks. I'll take a look. I'll bet they're
really cluttering up the radar screens. The Launch Control Officer must
be