 Why can't Lane read or write?
Raging , Trooper Lane hovered three thousand feet above Tammany Square. The humming paragrav-paks embedded beneath his shoulder blades held him motionless above Newyork's three administrative towers. Lane dropped lightly to the floor, inside the room, in battle-crouch. Lane's mailed hand snapped open a pouch at his belt. It shaded the view from his window and re-entered the tower wall just below. A loudspeaker shouted into the room: "Come out of there, Lane, or we'll blast you out." The cannon trundled into the Square on its olive-drab, box-shaped caterpillar mounting and took up a position equidistant from the bases of the three towers.
 Lane has only been schooled in soldiering since he was seven. He was taught to fight, nothing else.
 When the cybrain was installed, Lane's own brain was wiped clean.  Lane is dyslexic. He got frustrated trying to learn and gave up.  Teaching the soldiers how to read and write would only lead to rational thinking. The soldiers might start to question orders. Therefore, they are only taught fighting.  Lane has only been schooled in soldiering since he was seven. He was taught to fight, nothing else.