Early Themes - Chapters 1-5
The first few chapters introduce the main characters, Logan, Cap, and Lena. They are cadets at a military science and engineering academy. On the one hand, the reader will find much that is similar to student life today. There are final exams pressures, over-indulgence by some students, somewhat immature one-liners mixed with anxiety about the future, etc, All of these things are all common elements in today's life. However, it also soon becomes apparent that these characters live in a society where purchases are rationed by a buy card system, young men and women are expected to go on active military serve in places where Chicago and other cities are considered "the frontier", and violent public games serve as the highlight of the year.
It is in this environment that Logan is visited by Lt. Fischer, a member of the SPD (a kind of state secret police). Lt. Fischer inquires into the death of Logan's grandfather, Arthur Chambers, who dies in a car accident in chapter 1. Fischer is a rather intimidating figure, not because of what he says, but because of the secret unchecked power he wields as an officer of the SPD. Logan is careful to keep his answers short and to the point when talking with Fischer. The SPD officer senses Logan's nervousness and plays a little game to unnerve the young man but soon relents when he sees Logan becomes sufficiently rattled.
However, after Fischer leaves Logan's apartment, Logan retrieves a medallion and note his grandfather had sent before his death. Why Logan didn't offer this to the SPD officer are not immediately apparent, but he later admits to Cap that he was being foolishly stubborn. Cap recommends that Logan "come clean" about the medallion, the cryptic note and tantalizing riddles his grandfather had passed on to him.
In the exchange at the end of chapter 4 an important difference between Logan and Cap is revealed. We already know that Logan is a serious and successful student and Cap doesn't take academics seriously and just wants to graduate so he can go on to fly fighter planes. However, the reader soon sees this difference is superficial. Logan, though careful and hard working, is actually disposed to rebel against a very powerful and controlling government, while Cap, despite all his flippant remarks, sees no value in bucking the system and prefers to work the angles instead of fight it openly.
A final significant event in the first five chapters occurs when Logan is taking a final examination. While his professor sits at his desk reading news reports of atrocities being committed in the frontier territories, Logan suffers a seizure. We get the sense that he's experienced them before, and when it happens he's prepared. Unfortunately, although it only lasts a minute or two, the seizure left him somewhat confused when it ended and he barely finishes his exam in time. The end of the chapter finds him lamenting the fact that although he would likely receive a good grade on the exam, it would not be enough to achieve his goals. Lena, his academic rival, would be the class valedictorian.
It is in this environment that Logan is visited by Lt. Fischer, a member of the SPD (a kind of state secret police). Lt. Fischer inquires into the death of Logan's grandfather, Arthur Chambers, who dies in a car accident in chapter 1. Fischer is a rather intimidating figure, not because of what he says, but because of the secret unchecked power he wields as an officer of the SPD. Logan is careful to keep his answers short and to the point when talking with Fischer. The SPD officer senses Logan's nervousness and plays a little game to unnerve the young man but soon relents when he sees Logan becomes sufficiently rattled.
However, after Fischer leaves Logan's apartment, Logan retrieves a medallion and note his grandfather had sent before his death. Why Logan didn't offer this to the SPD officer are not immediately apparent, but he later admits to Cap that he was being foolishly stubborn. Cap recommends that Logan "come clean" about the medallion, the cryptic note and tantalizing riddles his grandfather had passed on to him.
In the exchange at the end of chapter 4 an important difference between Logan and Cap is revealed. We already know that Logan is a serious and successful student and Cap doesn't take academics seriously and just wants to graduate so he can go on to fly fighter planes. However, the reader soon sees this difference is superficial. Logan, though careful and hard working, is actually disposed to rebel against a very powerful and controlling government, while Cap, despite all his flippant remarks, sees no value in bucking the system and prefers to work the angles instead of fight it openly.
A final significant event in the first five chapters occurs when Logan is taking a final examination. While his professor sits at his desk reading news reports of atrocities being committed in the frontier territories, Logan suffers a seizure. We get the sense that he's experienced them before, and when it happens he's prepared. Unfortunately, although it only lasts a minute or two, the seizure left him somewhat confused when it ended and he barely finishes his exam in time. The end of the chapter finds him lamenting the fact that although he would likely receive a good grade on the exam, it would not be enough to achieve his goals. Lena, his academic rival, would be the class valedictorian.
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