Elemento 583 (Element 583)

Sus padres lo envían a la escuela para que despierte y se fortalezca. Han visto en su ensimismamiento un rastro de debilidad y prefieren que se haga hombre en la vida militar. Tiene trece años y habla perfectamente el ingés. Solo le interesan los libros. Falta a formaciones para leer tendido entre la yerba. Desdeña las lecciones de ciencia, la higiene y los deportes. No es gracioso y sus amigos se limitan a dos o tres lunáticos más que comparten la presencia ausente en la escuela. Los castigos no lo conmueven. No te preocupes, aunque me fusilen no lograrán hacer de mí un militar. Dice y vuelve a zambullirse en la lectura.

In English (trans. by Andrew Hurley)

His parents sent him to the school to put a little "life", a little "spirit" in him, and to make him strong. In his absent-mindedness, his daydreaming, his quietness, they've seen a trace of weakness, and they have sent him here to make a man of him, in the military life. He is thirteen years old and speaks perfect English. All he’s interested is in books. He skips formations to go out and lie in the grass somewhere and read. He’s not interested in science, hygiene, or sports. He is neither graceful nor funny, and his only friends are two or three other lunatics who attend the school in the same absent-minded way that he does. He is unmoved by pushups, by corporal punishment—by punishment of any kind. Don’t worry, even if they stand me up before a firing squad and shoot me, they'll never make a soldier out of me, he says, turning his eyes and mind back to his book.