@@@@@"I'd say your deepest urge is omnipotence,
@@@@@"I'd say your deepest urge is omnipotence, that's all
"And yours too, whether you'll admit it or not
Hearn's sharp voice softened a little with irony"What moral precepts am I supposed to draw from all this?"
Cummings's tension alteredThere had been a deep satisfaction in expounding this, a pleasure apart from all the other concerns of this discussion with Hearn"I've been trying to impress you, Robert, that the only morality of the future is a power morality, and a man who cannot find his adjustment to it is doomedThere's one thing about powerIt can flow only from the top downWhen there are little surges of resistance at the middle levels, it merely calls for more power to be directed downward, to burn it out
Hearn was looking at his hands"We're not in the future yet
"You can consider the Army, Robert, as a preview of the future
Hearn looked at his watch"It's time to go to chow Outside the tent the earth was almost white in the glare of the overhead sun
"You'll go to chow when I release you Hearn scraped his foot slowly against the floor, stared at him quietly, a little doubtfully
"You threw that cigarette on my floor today, didn't you?"
Hearn smiled"I figured that was going to be the point of all this talk
"It was simple enough for you, wasn't it? You resented some of my actions, and you indulged a childish tantrumBut it's the kind of thing I don't care to permit The General held his half-smoked cigarette in his hand, and waved it slightly as he spoke"If I were to throw this down on the floor, would you pick it up?"
"I think I'd tell you to go to hellI've indulged you too longYou really can't believe I'm serious, can you? Supposed you understood that if you didn't pick it up, I would court-martial you, and you might have five years in a prison stock