Chapter 32
“What makes you think we wantto take out the pirates, as you put it?”
“You—we don’t?”
The senator shook his head.
“This is not generally known, but it is the policy. You see, the Time Pirates are useful—very useful.” He grinned. “It is an old philosophy, known to statesmen for thousands of years: a good enemy helps to organize a society, it supports any call for unified action, and thereby patriotism to the state.”
It struck Carl, then, that this speech sounded a lot like one he’d heard at the captain’s table among the pirates. It shook his world, made him feel uneasy.
“Oh,” he said.
The senator rose to his feet.
“You know,” he said. “I think you have just started a new phase of growth. Things look well. You’ll have to be evaluated formally by Major Holmes, but if that is favorable—which I think it will be—then you can probably return to the Academy. You will have lost a year, of course. But you’ve gained invaluable field experience.