VASSILY P. AKSYONOV
53
lently. The prerevolutionary Dutch tile cracked and shattered.
Perhaps all that's left is to join ranks with Caesarism, the
redheaded giant thought. Theirs may be the only pillars that haven't
begun to rot from the inside out. He offered the colonel a Marlboro
cigarette.
"On television they're saying the overseas lands are putrify–
ing," the colonel said, inhaling the pale blue smoke. "But actually,
we've got the cesspool here and they've got the economic achieve–
ments. And what's the reason?"
"What?" the redhead asked.
"Ain't no decent organization," the colonel explained will–
ingly. "They criticized Marshall Tarakankin and that criticism was
right, I agree. However, they forgot that the Marshall had a brain.
The kind of orders he gave? Why, to delay demobilization of all per–
sonnel with demerits for the same number of days as they had black
marks on their record."
"Why is there no latrine here?" one smiling fellow asked in
surprise. "The comrade here's pissing without the presence of a
latrine. "
"Every pencil wants to piss, but they hold their lead in
silence," said another smiling fellow.
"Marshall Tarakankin arrived at our trireme," the colonel con–
tinued' "in time for demobilization. They sawall of that personnel
off with an orchestra, but detained seaman Pushinkin for 105 days
because in his three years of service he had chalked up 105 days in
the brig. Everyone else returned to their productive civilian jobs,
but Pushinkin roamed aimlessly through all compartments of the
trireme and became disgustingly louse ridden."
"Pardon me, but what link is there between this situation and
the economic lag?" the redheaded giant asked.
"They've forgotten how to organize things right," the colonel
explained. "Moreover, the campaigners fighting against cosmopoli–
tanism seriously damaged the quality of our science. Just look
around-no self-respecting tomcat will eat today's sausages."
"You've got sour aspic for brains," the redheaded giant mum–
bled as he moved away from under the pseudo life-jacket colonnades
of Caesarism, not without some dismay.
Then, yet another blow. In one terrific burst, a gust of hot wind
blew down all the palms on Shoreline Road. One of the prerevolu-
