The Shame of the Great Dome
Kirk was surprised to get his summons. The Great Dome had enough professional soldiers to put the enemy to flight. He had no idea why army leaders might think he was fitter than the rest of the men in the Dome. He was also surprised to be summoned, because measures like this were only taken if there was an impending emergency. He knew of nothing serious enough. Kirk could do little else but attend the draft-board. He was neither flattered nor motivated, and he felt like this because of Zurr, his fiancée. It had taken him quite a long time to make her his fiancée. Yet now that he’d announced his intention to get married and find a flat, he had to join the army for an uncertain period of time. “Why me?” he was wondering when he entered the tunnel leading to the army area. There were many men of all ages standing outside the army office and there were more coming. Once they were crammed together like sardines, the committee started its job. They called in groups randomly and Kirk didn’t even bother to work out what the system was. He thought it would be best to stand against the wall and not to think about what the future held. He would find out what it was soon enough. It seemed almost everybody thought the same, because they too just stood there, not talking to anyone. When the first groups reappeared everybody wanted to get some information from them, but they didn’t know anything. Kirk didn’t have the time to start thinking about the little that he knew when his name was called. The committee was sitting in 9
a big, well-lit room behind a long table. There were different kinds of soldiers, some holding papers and pens, others various instruments. One of the soldiers stood up and started to list the names. Those who heard theirs stepped in front of the desk, answered some questions and then left the room. Kirk was the last in line. Suddenly he started to feel a sense of dread. He didn’t know why, but he thought there must be a reason why he was the last one. “What could they want?” he asked himself.
The soldier in the middle raised the paper in front of him and looked at Kirk. “Name?” he asked. “Kirk.” “Place of birth?” “You know much better than I do,” he thought but answered. “Great Dome.” “Occupation?” ““Cattleman.” The soldier looked surprised. 10
“But it says here that you are an architect.” Now, it was Kirk who looked surprised. “Architect? But never in my life… I’ve been working on a cow farm ever since I left the College of Agriculture.” “I don’t understand this,” said the soldier and turned to the others and started discussing the matter. Kirk suddenly had a thought. “Possibly you’re mistaken. It’s another Kirk. Who isn’t me.” The soldier looked up angrily. “What are you saying? Do you have any idea what you are implying? You should learn that the army is never wrong. Do you understand?” and he wrote something on the piece of paper. “How could I be so stupid? I’m an idiot. Why couldn’t I keep my big mouth shut?” Kirk despairingly asked himself. “And what are you doing, you cattleman?” asked the soldier maliciously. “What do you mean? What’s my job?” asked Kirk, trying to put things right. “Yeah, that. What are you? An executive of a company? Why are you so clever?” Kirk swallowed humbly, and said: “A cattleman...” “And what do you do with those cows?” Before answering this question, Kirk looked around and saw that everyone behind the table was looking at him nastily and he started to feel as if he was in front of a court. “Well, I look after them.” 11
Glossary
summons katonai behívó
stubbornness önfejűség
measures intézkedés
to court-martial sy hadbíróság elé állít valakit
to put the enemy to flight megfutamítja az ellenséget
impending küszöbönálló
draft-board sorozóbizottság cattleman tehenész to imply sugall
maliciously rosszindulatúan
executive of a company vállalatvezető humbly alázatosan to muck out kiganajoz
to be trapped csapdába kerül muck collector trágyahordó
to twist sy’s words kiforgatja vki szavait
to serve one’s sentence letölti a büntetését
fodder takarmány shortage hiány
milking machine fejőgép
duct kivezető csatorna ancestor ős walk séta
blunder komoly hiba
to fall through kudarcba fullad caste kaszt
forced labourer kényszermunkás You bet. Na, persze.
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About the Author László L. Lőrincz (1939) is an orientalist, writer and translator. He studied history and Mongolian language and literature, spent years in the Far-East and published more than a hundred scientific articles on the subject. Writing in different genres – sci-fi, detective and adventure stories, juvenile literature – under his own as well as pen-names, he is one of the most successful writers in Hungary. His works have been translated into several European languages. His sci-fi novels and short stories earned him three book awards: the Galaktika, the Arany Meteor and the Zsoldos Péter Prize. His best-selling adventure novels combine educational scientific knowledge and experience with lively action.
About the Title The Shame of the Great Dome (A Nagy Kupola szégyene) is an early sci-fi short story by László L. Lőrincz. Due to its popularity, the collection of stories in which it is included has seen several reprints and special editions since its first publication in 1982.