"Squashwhe," Roger explained, "is a hybrid squash developed by The First Speaker. Peeled and dried the flesh can be ground and made into flour. All our bread is made from it. It has half again the yield per acre of wheat, and the land doesn't have to be torn up as much to grow it. It also has a shorter growing season, so it can be grown a lot more places. It's replacing wheat as a cover crop around the world. Oh! The seeds are edible, too, or they can be used to produce a low cal cooking oil. The pulp can be made into flour. The vines and leaves make excellent cattle fodder. The animals love it!"
Samuel shook his head. "Is there anything that man doesn't get into?" he asked. "You'll probably tell me he designed the Academy!"
When he looked to Roger, Roger only smiled and nodded.
"I should've known!"Samuel moaned.
A pleasant little woman met Samuel on the dock and led him to the Commandant's office. The Commandant greeted him warmly.
"I don't have to tell you," he continued, "contraband of any type is prohibited in the Academy. Anyone caught with anything they're not supposed to have will be immediately expelled! You'll find the rules here are quite similar to the boarding facility you were in, exdcept here you are allowed female guests in your room and for one hour each evening your door may be shut so you can have privacy. We strongly believe morality can't be forced, it has to come from within and what is normal for one individual is not necessarily improper for another.
I certainly hope if a young lady is in your company and temptation arises, you will have the manliness to respect her wishes if she should say no. I also hope that you will be ready to accept any responsibilities the actions you take may present. We expect that of our young men, and young women, above all else.
I don't think we'll have any grievances with you. I hope you will enjoy your stay with us. Return to your escort and she will show you to your quarters. Good luck, cadet! Oh! One other thing- Biblical names have been very popular in the last few years. We find we have several Samuels already, plus, some Sams! We normally address a cadet by his first name and put a letter for it if there's someone else with that name. But we already have a Samuel S. Would you mind being addressed as Cadet Star? We have no one else with that surname here."
"Not at all!" Samuel answered. "I understand perfectly!"
"Good!" the Commandant snapped. "Your name tags will be prepared and sewn on your uniforms. Again, good luck, cadet! Dismissed!"
Samuel found his quarters spacious, a temporary t.v. and radio had already been provided. His text books were on his desk with some notes telling what level his classmates had aready reached. He found he was in Roger's squad, and having him for a cadet officer made things rather pleasant. He didn't think three and a half years here would be all that bad!
They were allowed weekend passes and Samuel made several trips to Sue Ling's house and from time to time took friends. When he took Arthur, however, and Sue Ling and him looked at each other, Samuel knew she had lost all interest in him, and he slowly stopped going, letting Arhur take his place.
Life settled into a steady routine. Samuel got along with everybody except one female cadet, Linda R. The two of them simply did not get along, though they were often paired in combat exercises as Samuel was the only one that could give the aggressive female cadet any challenge. In hand to hand combat she was the finest the school had ever seen!
Their practice ground was out in front of the mental hospital. Most of the time the patients shut their curtains when the cadets were out practicing, but one young lady left her curtain open and would stand in the window watching them. Everyone soon figured out that it was Samuel she was watching, and he grew more and more curious about her, sneaking glances back at her. One day he wished very much he had been paying attention and not been distracted!

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