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The Difference Between an Idiot
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and a Moron
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General Chapters
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To be Incorporated
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***Chapter ****\[****\]****-- Corporal Adir Levin***
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"Says here you're a, uhm, corporal?" said the NCO sitting across from
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@@ -768,3 +776,194 @@ Adir was so, so tired, and Programming was purring softly, which Adir
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loved because he'd never had a cat before, much less a feline cat.
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'I'm not running', he tossed back, annoyed.
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Chapter III -- Corporal Adir Levin
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Adir was woken up with a jolt by Ariel, who towered over him seeming
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mildly upset.
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The first thing he felt was a sharp pain in his temples, and he
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shuddered back with disgruntled revulsion.
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Everything came crashing back at once -- he had spent another night in
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the Pit, and was now paying the price for it. The headaches hurt him
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very often lately, which was understandable -- yet it was the worst when
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waking up in here. *No one should have to wake up without sunlight,
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without wind and fresh air*, he thought. But that didn't explain why
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Ariel was towering over him -- he was deemed problematic, and she had
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shunned him ever since. He didn't mind, of course, as he was shunning
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everyone else as well. What a bunch of bastards.
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But that *still* didn't explain why Ariel was towering over him. He
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sought answers.
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"Huh?" he asked eloquently.
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"Huh," Ariel replied with visible disgust. "Good morning."
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"I've had better."
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"Everyone else is cleaning."
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Great, he thought, Passive aggression for breakfast again.
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"OK"
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"Go help."
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"I'm really in pain."
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"Can't you even help?"
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"I don't know."
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Ariel kept staring him down, which was unusually aggressive for her. She
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was always quite cheerful and accepting, which Adir absolutely hated. Is
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he really that bad?
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"Go wash your face or something. You're a mess."
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"If you'd had a night like I had," he answered, "You'd be a mess too."
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"I've had plenty."
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"Good for you."
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Ariel finally disengaged. Adir rose from his office chair -- how he ever
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fell asleep in that thing he could not tell for the life of him -- put
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away his book, tossed aside his coat and went towards the bathroom.
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Looking around, he was dumbstruck by the amount of people in the room.
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There were well over four dozen people in Operation today, which was
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significant, and they were all running around with great vigor.
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He had to dodge several officers on the way out, all of which eyed him
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suspiciously -- some with open animosity, though he did not know them.
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He was glad to put Operation's big metal doors behind him, and started
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the endless trek through the hall to the bathrooms, praying no one else
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was there. He creeped on the floating tiles with hard won mastery -- if
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even one of them bangs again today his head would literally explode --
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and reached the bathroom.
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He stood in front of one of the sinks in the long, disgusting row,
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keeping his eyes lowered and doing his utmost to ignore his
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surroundings. He reached in his pockets and was glad to find his
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toothbrush, toothpaste and a bar of soap each wrapped neatly in plastic
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sandwich bags -- at last a success in these troubling times. He brushed
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his teeth, lathered the soap and carefully washed his face with frigid,
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mildly yellow water. When he felt mildly more refreshed, he finally
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gathered some loose wisps of courage and met his image on the mirror.
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His reflection gazed back, amazed and horrified.
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The image he saw was very far from how he remembered himself, and the
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dissonance jarred him.
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He was gaunt, and there were great dark gray circles around his eyes. He
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had far too much stubble for a single night, and his faced looked
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wrinkled and greasy even after washing. And the eyes... the eyes felt...
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wrong. Too cold. Too lifeless. He quickly looked away, realizing he was
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breathing uneasily.
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Slinking back he found everyone putting away the cleaning supplies, but
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against his expectations the frenzy did not slow down -- it even
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magnified, which was disconcerting. Nothing good can come out of this.
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Unhelpfully, the first person he ran into was Keren.
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From the second he stepped into Headquarters, Keren absolutely despised
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Adir -- and this time, he could not figure out why. It was something
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else -- a raw, seething hatred, a hatred of great velocity, intensified
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with each time they met. In a way, it was refreshing to be hated so
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intensely -- and while Adir did mildly dislike her for it, he did not
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hate her back nearly as much, which sort of made him the winner in this
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transaction.
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"Ariel, he finally bothered showing up", she muttered back into the
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Operations Chamber staring at him yet never addressing him. To her, he
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was some animal unworthy of engaging in conversation, and if that was a
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mean to attain the peace Adir so desperately sought he took it without
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hesitation.
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Ariel scurried towards them from much further back in the chamber with a
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speed that greatly concerned him. This was not good.
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"Where have you been?? it's been twenty minutes!"
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"I-"
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"Ugh, never mind. Just go back and get in line." She surveyed him
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carefully. "And put on all of your badges, Why would you even take them
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off?"
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"I-"
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"Never mind. Your problem. Model yourself and get in line. The
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commander's coming any minute."
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With that, they both scattered. Adir stood there dazed and confused for
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a few seconds until Karin passed nearby.
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"Hi, Adir"
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Adir admired Karin greatly. She always seemed peaceful, and always
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treated him with respect.
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"Hi, Karin. What's happening?"
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"The unit commander is coming any second to grant our ranks." she
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replied without a hint of judgment. "The grant is scheduled for 10:00"
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"The grant?"
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"Yes, we're getting our corporals!" Karin told, beaming. "You didn't
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know?"
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"I had no idea. It's been ten months already?"
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"Would you believe it?" Dennis chimed in from behind. "We've been stuck
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here a while!"
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"See you," said Karin and went further into the chamber.
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Adir sat down in his spot and pondered all these new findings when
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officers flooded the room, put on their berets and rose suddenly. A
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bunch of random people stood around Adir, all with eyes towards the back
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of the room where Adir's eight coursemates stood proud and motionless.
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Grateful for the anonymity, Adir stood like the rest and gazed ahead
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with purpose.
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The Horizon commander, Secondary Champion Ram Halabi, stepped into the
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room after an escort of officers from PR. He walked around the room
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casually greeting anyone he came across with an easygoing, friendly
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manner as he made his way towards the back. Adir was again grateful for
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his tactical remote location, far away from the passageway. The
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department commander, John, quickly appeared at his side.
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"Hello, everyone. Officers, NCO's, soldiers. How happy I am to be here!
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What a happy day!"
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A murmur of agreement came from the crowd.
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"Hello, Ram, happy to have you here as always", said John with atypical
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enthusiasm. "So, as you may or may not know", he said cheerfully, "We've
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gathered to grant these great soldiers, cycle 38 of Computing Systems
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Infrastructure Management, the rank of Corporals. In the Greens, and in
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other units of the force, it's not the custom to make it a ceremony;
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Certainly not with the unit commander -- When I was a corporal a million
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years ago, I was handed the rank and told to sow it on!"
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That was a killer, apparently; An audible chuckle went through the
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crowd.
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"But here, in the Horizon unit, we treat our people with the respect
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they deserve. The are skilled professionals, devoted soldiers, and
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they've worked hard to earn their rank. Corporal is said to be an
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automatic rank -- stay ten months, and you have it, but that's not true.
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A rank is earned, not bestowed! I've seen people remain Privates
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throughout their service, some even rookies, and I hope never to come
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across that again! Here are people who worked hard, and so we wanted to
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do them the honors, bring Ram here to show them how much we appreciate
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them -- and grant their rank from the unit commander, personally. Ram?"
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