Original title, in magazine serial, was "Recruiting Station." Also published by Ace Books as "Earth's Last Fortress."
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A recruiting station; a storefront in the heart of a big-city downtown. Young men can volunteer to join the armies of a beleaguered new democracy overseas.
~ ~~ ~
But the recruitment is a scam. Each volunteer goes, not to the Calonian army, but through a pulsing machine which moves them hundreds of centuries up the time line, to become cannon fodder in a war which is shaking the universe.
~ ~~ ~
Two present-day humans are taking on this mammoth military machine. Their chances are miniscule. Their only hope is to save a few lives before giving up their own. But playing tricks with Time can lead to unexpected results.