"Haven't you caught on to what they've been doing to you ever since you checked in?"
"Doing what?"
"War of nerves, man. Haven't you noticed some tests were too easy-too easy to cheat in, that is? When you went over the bumps, didn't you notice that they let you take a good look at the drop before you made it? When they could just as easily have kept you inside where it wouldn't worry you?"
Matt thought about it. It was an enticing notion-he could see how some of the things he had not understood would fit in to such a theory. "Go on."
"Oh, it's a good gag-it cleans out the weak sisters and it cleans out the stupes, too, the guys so dumb that they can't resist an invitation to cheat, never dreaming that it might be booby-trapped. It's efficient-a Patrol officer has to be smart and fast on his feet and cool-headed. It keeps from wasting money on second- raters."
"You just called me dumb and yet I got by."
"Of course you did, junior, because your heart is pure." He laughed again. "And I got by. But you'll never make a Patrolman, Matt. They've got other ways to get rid of the good, dumb boys. You'll see."
"Okay, so I'm dumb. But don't call me junior again. What's this got to do with the ship that crashed?"
"Why, it's simple. They want to eliminate all the dead-wood before swearing us in. There are candidates with cast-iron stomachs who don't get upset by the bumps, or anything. So they send up a ship under robot control- no pilot, no passengers and crash it, just to scare off those who can be scared. It's a darn sight cheaper than training just one cadet, if he doesn't pay off in the long run."
"How do you know? Have you got inside information on it?"