Cita en el futuro

"Cita en el futuro" by A. Thorkent is a science fiction novella set on the rebel planet Aita, where the Galactic Empire's Elite Repressive Infantry (IRE)—soldiers surgically modified into emotionless killing machines—wages a stalled colonial war against native resistance. The protagonist, David Landon, is a former imperial dissident transformed into an IRE soldier who retains conscious mental faculties, which he conceals while awaiting escape. The narrative follows Landon's tense daily existence maintaining his deception among his fellow automatons, his overhearing of officers discussing imminent withdrawal, and his hope for desertion during the journey home to Pluton. The opening chapter establishes his summons to his commander's post, where he encounters Cole Harriman, a civilian from Earth with mysterious authority over Landon. The text explores the psychological strain of Landon's performance as a mindless soldier while possessing full awareness and fear—a condition superior to his condition, he reflects, for surviving such warfare.