“Mr. Simmons,” he said pleasantly, “this board is meeting to pick certain candidates for the Spacemaster School, as you know. The board may select several from this area, or none at all. There is no restriction that one and only one must be chosen. So please feel that you are being judged entirely on your own merit, and not in comparison with others who may be here today. And I should add that very few of those being interviewed are likely to be selected. It would be best to prepare yourself for possible disappointment.”
Dick nodded that he understood, thought to himself swiftly that this was undoubtedly a canned speech, and turned his attention to the two men who were to determine his future. Their power over his ambitions almost frightened him. For a bare moment he asked himself what he
