The Project Gutenberg EBook of Mercenary, by Dallas McCord Reynolds

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Title: Mercenary

Author: Dallas McCord Reynolds

Illustrator: Lloyd Birmingham

Release Date: January 20, 2008 [EBook #24370]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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[Illustration]

MERCENARY

Every status-quo-caste society in history
has left open two roads to rise above your
caste: The Priest and The Warrior. But in
a society of TV and tranquilizers--the
Warrior acquires a strange new meaning....

BY MACK REYNOLDS

ILLUSTRATED BY BIRMINGHAM

Joseph Mauser spotted the recruiting line-up from two or three blocks
down the street, shortly after driving into Kingston. The local offices
of Vacuum Tube Transport, undoubtedly. Baron Haer would be doing his
recruiting for the fracas with Continental Hovercraft there if for no
other reason than to save on rents. The Baron was watching pennies on
this one and that was bad.

In fact, it was so bad that even as Joe Mauser let his sports hovercar
sink to a parking level and vaulted over its side he was still
questioning his decision to sign up with the Vacuum Tube outfit rather
than with their opponents. Joe was an old pro and old pros do not get to
be old pros in the Category Military without developing an instinct to
stay away from losing sides.

Fine enough for Low-Lowers and Mid-Lowers to sign up with this outfit,
as opposed to that, motivated by no other reasoning than the snappiness
of the uniform and the stock shares offered, but an old pro considered
carefully such matters as budget. Baron Haer was watching every expense,
was, it was rumored, figuring on commanding himself and calling upon
relatives and friends for his staff. Continental Hovercraft, on the
other hand, was heavy with variable capital and was in a position to
hire Stonewall Cogswell himself for their tactician.

However, the die was cast. You didn't run up a caste level, not to speak
of two at once, by playing it careful. Joe had planned this out; for
once, old p