I'm trying to recall a short story from the late 1940s or 1950s about ex-soldiers being recruited by a shadowy agency who then end up fighting in a far-future conflict. The chief recruiter employs a human woman to act as office staff and she stumbles on the truth.
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Just like The Big Time by Fritz Leiber? It is from 1958: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Big_Time_(novel)– Yaroslav KornachevskyiCommented Apr 28, 2021 at 19:50
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There are a couple of other references (on the link): The Corridors of Time by Poul Anderson and Leiber's short story "Try and change the past"– Yaroslav KornachevskyiCommented Apr 28, 2021 at 19:53
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1 Answer
That's almost certainly "Recruiting Station" by A. E. van Vogt, first published in ASF in March 1942. It's a point-for-point match with your description. Norma is the secretary who discovers what's really behind the recruiting station she works at -- and she ends up as a double (or maybe triple) agent in an intergalactic/time travel war.
It can be found in a number of anthologies and collections: https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?68329
Incidentally, if you enjoyed that story, Michael Swanwick "Legions in Time" wrote a sort-of sequel, sort-of other view which is excellent.
answered Apr 28, 2021 at 20:24
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3The general theme is also central in "Old Man's War" by John Scalzi, though this is much more recent and focuses on sourcing talent from the elderly, not just former soldiers.– CriggieCommented Apr 29, 2021 at 10:40
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I guess some part of Perry Rhodan (Masters of Andromeda - Arc) was also inspired by this.– ArsenalCommented Apr 30, 2021 at 7:20