Chapter 26

Dear Brother,

They must have sent your letter special delivery somehow. I actually have a couple more days until I test. I'm nervous and excited. Mom and Dad at least have agreed to the plan that Erica and I have for our testing. I believe I told you about that.

As for kissing Marilyn. I wouldn't have minded, but right now that isn't really possible. She's too busy enjoying the fact that she can chase any guy. She's been rushing off at the end of the school day to head over to the high school or the college and find a boy to test drive. From what she told me at lunch yesterday she's tried out more than thirty boys and she only tested five weeks ago.

As for your suggestions about who I should look for. If I score high enough to take two people I already know who I want to take. And the people I'm considering have talked to me about it. They understand that I can't promise anything, but both of them believe in me. It's heartening.

Erica has found one person she likes. I think I told you about Larry. He's a gentle man and looking forward to finding out if Erica and I can pull off the scores we hope for. I think Erica is still looking for a second person, but she definitely has some ideas.

Your ship is carrying grain? Now I'm a bit confused. The trainers don't say much, but from everything they have told us humanity isn't supposed to be talking anything from Earth. The aliens appear to want us to be completely dependent on their technology. The AI units enforce that is what we were told. Has someone convinced the AI units to allow some exports from Earth? It makes sense, but it's a bit of a surprise to me.