CHAPTER 8“CAPTAIN, THIS IS RICH. Winken, Thinken, and Prod want us to join them, next Tuesday, to welcome the Russian delegation. To impress the Russkies, they want us to wear dress blues in August. You game?”
“Yes, Admiral.”
Over the intercom, the admiral’s voice quavered in a childish treble. “Think we should take the side boy with us to broaden his knowledge of protocol?”
“Let me take the matter under advisement, Admiral. His tutor will be briefing me on his progress at lunch.”
“How are you coming with Schopenhauer?”
“He’s winning, Admiral. When I read a page, I have to review two pages to get the gist of the page I read.”
“He starts getting difficult near the end,” the admiral encouraged, “but I’m calling to remind you that I have a little staff meeting in my conference room at 1
