Needless to say, none of this would have been possible without the fanatic support of the people of Heldon, such as the two thousand or more folk whom Remler had lined up in neat ranks for Feric's inspection in the main exercise yard of the Camp. These were for the most part apparently blemishless specimens who had temporarily doffed their civilian clothes for the plain gray numbered tunics of the Classification Camp. Though the sojourn in the Camp was something of a hardship even for the overwhelming majority who gained recertification, Feric was pleased to note that there wasn't a sour face in the lot. No doubt the possibility of gaining admission to the SS was an important contributing factor to the high morale in the Camps, for hardly a moment passed when the inmates did not have the dashing sight of a tall, blond, physically perfect specimen of SS manhood in tight black leather and scarlet cape before their eyes as an inspiration and an example.
As Feric halted about ten yards from the front rank of Camp inmates, Remler came to a precise heel-clicking halt at his side, and gave a silent Party salute.
Immediately, a veritable forest of arms shot into the air, and the hearty shout of "Hail Jaggar!" reverberated throughout the length and breadth of the Classification Camp.
Peric returned the salute, and, as was his custom, made a few brief remarks to reward the inmates for their self-sacrificing patriotism.
"Fellow Helder, I congratulate you on your spirit of patriotic self-sacrifice. I understand that over half of you are volunteers. Such idealistic fervor is an inspiration not only to myself but to each and every true human living under the Swastika. Further, it is a message that will 168
strike fear into the Dominators of Zind and all who serve them at home and abroad. May not a Dom be found among youl May you all achieve recertification! May many among you be found worthy of entry into the SSI Hail Heldon! Hail Victory!"
With the answering roar of "Hail Jaggar!" still ringing in his ears, Feric led Remler toward the processing shed to complete his inspection of the Camp.
The processing shed was a large, low, rectangular building constructed of galvanized steel sheeting. A large crowd of Camp inmates presided over by tall blond SS men in spotless black leather milled about to one side of the main door. More SS men guarded four neat lines of inmates entering the building. As these lines moved rapidly inside, the SS continuously fed new inmates from the crowd into them, while SS squads now and then ushered groups of inmates from elsewhere in the Camp into the waiting area. The effect was of a continuously running process, an assembly line, as it were. Feric noted that the folk milling around in the waiting area talked among themselves quite animatedly, while those already queued up adopted a solemn dignity appropriate to the import of the occasion.
"I'm glad to see that the lines move so rapidly," Feric remarked to Remler. "For humanitarian considerations as well as those of efficiency."
Remler nodded crisply. "Some of these young fellows are so confident of admission to the SS that they try to trade off their rations for an earlier place in line," he said.
Feric beamed as Remler led him around to a side door; he could well sympathize with such fervor. Still, it would not do to have the best potential SS candidates sap their physiques by starvation!
' "Issue an order that any man caught trading off ms rations will be put back ten places in line," he commanded. "We can't let our best genetic purebreds starve themselves through misguided enthusiasm."
"Yes, my Commander!" Remler replied as they entered the corrugated-steel shed.
The unpainted interior of the shed was starkly function-al. Each of the four lines filed past a long counter which ran half the length of the building; behind these were long ranks of SS genetic analysts in trim black leather armed with batteries of tests which were administered in sequence to the inmates. The four lines debouched into a small open area well guarded by a dozen SS armed with 169
truncheons and submachine guns. Beyond this, the rest of the shed was hidden by a sheet-steel wall broken only by four unmarked doorways. As each man completed his tests, he was directed through one of the doors for further processing. Feric noted that most of the men were ushered through the doorway on the .extreme right.
"We've recently developed four additional tests," Remler told Peric proudly. "Each Helder must now meet twenty-three genetic criteria, and of course the entrance requirements for the SS are infinitely more stringent. Since we've already uncovered close to seventy thousand SS
recruits in the Camps, we've been able to upgrade the SS
criteria once more. The women's Camps have produced nearly forty thousand females found genetically suitable for mating with the SS. Can you imagine what incredible specimens the next generation will produce, my Commander?"
