Volk by Piers Anthony Read Free Book Online

boys were no longer subservient to teachers; we were not confined to prisonlike buildings. Boys were supreme! There was an exuberance about that which was almost intoxicating. This was an escape from narrowness, and it was associated with something vital and important. This was the uplifting spirit. Here were—the
Volk
.”
    â€œThe
Volk
!” Karl echoed, agreeing. He had used the word himself.
    â€œWhat spirit is associated with that term!” Ernst continued. “It stands for the racially and spiritually pure and fit, the young strength and hope of the nation. In the World War we Germans lost partly because we had been deceived and betrayed by the Allies and Jews and Communists, and partly because we had not been strong. Not strong enough to withstand the kicks of the whole world. But this time our youth is being brought to its full potential, to be absolutely superior to all others. Other nations may let their youth lie fallow, to grow up into weaklings. I have seen it in America: few are strong. One in a hundred, a thousand.” He thought of Lane Dowling, indeed one in a thousand. “Most Americans never approach their potential, lacking any program to bring them up to it. But here in Germany we know that a physically healthy human being with courage is more valuable than any weakling, regardless how intelligent that weakling may think himself. The
Volk
are strong, and I am proud to be one of them.”
    Karl eyed him appraisingly. He could not argue with this thesis without seeming false to the Fatherland, and he could not object to Ernst’s attitude on the grounds of conformity. Ernst was conforming in the most patriotic possible manner. Herr Best was still gazing away, but smiling. He knew that Ernst had backed Karl off. That was a significant family event.
    Then Karl changed the subject, which was his way of conceding the issue. “And what of the girls?”
    â€œI did not go to America to socialize, I went to learn the best of what they had to offer.” But now he thought of Lane’s fiancée, Quality Smith. On the surface a typically decadent college creature. But she was not. She was another in a thousand, intriguing in surprising ways.
    â€œWait until you see the
Mädchen
,” Karl said smugly. “Remember that spindly neighbor’s girl Krista?”
    Krista. Ernst concentrated, remembering. She had been fourteen, perhaps fifteen, in the BDM,
Bund Deustcher Mädchen
, the League of German Girls within the Hitler Youth. He had seen a lot of her because her house was adjacent and her main entertainment had been to tag along after him. Her family had not kept close enough watch on her. She had stringy yellow hair, freckles, a turned-up nose and awkward limbs.
    But Krista, despite her inadequacies, had believed in the Aryan ideal. She had been convinced that proper living and proper effort would transform her, too, into a superior creature. She had had faith, determination, and precious little else.
    â€œI remember,” Ernst said.
    Uncle Karl grinned. “You have an experience coming. She is most eager to see you again.”
    â€œAll in good time,” Ernst murmured, aware that he was the object of some sort of joke. Had Krista become an amazon? That was hard to imagine.
    At last they drew up to the house. This was a fine big mansion, stone-fronted, surrounded by neatly trimmed lawns and hedges. Ernst had lived here four years, between Herr Best’s Spanish and American assignments. Two of those years his father had been away on duty in Japan; the family had felt it better for Ernst to remain in civilized Germany during this important segment of his education. Thus he had had four full years in the Fatherland, and he remained grateful. It was not that he had disliked his time in Spain or America—those had in fact been rewarding years, and he had been sorry to part with his friends in those places—but he had friends here too, and