grant proposal?"
Ian looked up and started to answer.
"The truth, Dr. Lacklin , or you'll regret it!"
"No." His answer came out as a timid squeak.
In exasperation the Chancellor slammed the proposal onto lan's desk. A flurry of dust swirled around the two men. The Chancellor suddenly reached across the table, grabbed hold of the proposal, and threw it into lan's lap.
"Then look at this, damn it!"
Ian picked it up and, adjusting his glasses, he peered owllike at the cover.
" 'A proposal for the implementation of the Alpha 3 unit for the reestablishment of contact with colonial units of the twenty-first century, submitted by Dr. Ian Lacklin , Provincial University System.' "
Ian suddenly felt very sick.
He pulled open the proposal and started to scan it.
"Turn to the last page, damn you!"
Ian obeyed the shouted command.
Proposed Crewing of the Alpha 3 Discovery
Understanding the extreme limitation on crew space and taking into consideration the isolation from any higher authority, it should be realized that the crew must deal with all contingencies related to establishing contact with human colonies while out of contact with Earth. Crew proposal is as follows:
1. Pilot of the Alpha 3 unit with previous expe rience in deep space flight and isolation.
2. Medical/biological technician with an under standing of medical situations unique to the twenty- first century, since all units contacted will have been isolated with their particular varieties of microbes for the last 1107 years.
3. Sociological/psychological personnel capable of dealing with the ramifications of cross-cultural exposure and shock.
4. Assistant to the program director, capable of logging all reports, administering to all reporting, filing, and data management.
5. Program director , versed in twenty-first- century history, in particular relating to all aspects of the establishment of the self-contained colonies starting in 2019 until the decision to flee near-Earth space in the year 2078. The program director must be familiar with each of the colonial units in ques tion, their engineering, sociological backgrounds, cultural makeup, and administrative organizations.
Sweat broke out on lan's forehead. He stopped for a moment to look up at the Chancellor and was met with a glacial stare. He returned to his reading.
The program director should have a full under standing of the process leading to the decision by the seven hundred colonial units to abandon Earth on the eve of the Holocaust War. The program director should be familiar with the trajectories se lected by the units when evacuating near-Earth space and have reasonable estimates of distance traveled by each unit since departure. All such data is cur rently on file with the author and is available upon request.
Ian groaned softly and looked up imploringly at the Chancellor.
"Look at that signature," the Chancellor hissed.
Ian did as ordered and stared numbly at the signature and personal seal placed upon the last page of the pro posal. They were his, all right.
"Can you explain this?!" the Chancellor demanded.
Ian could only shake his head.
"Are those your signature and personal seal?"
"Yes," he replied weakly.
"Then, good God, man, this is your grant proposal!"
"But I didn't write it."
"Oh, yes you did, Dr. Lacklin , you most certainly did. My contact over at the Ministry has informed me that the grant has been approved and that the decision has already been made that you, as the author of this grant, shall lead the mission.
"Dr. Lacklin , I don't give a good damn if you wrote this thing or not, but as far as anyone is now concerned, you are the sole author of it and will take responsibility as mission head. I'll not have it said that this document got past my office and then turned out to be a fake. I'd be the laughingstock of the profession. Dr. Lacklin , this one is yours and you are
Ian looked up and started to answer.
"The truth, Dr. Lacklin , or you'll regret it!"
"No." His answer came out as a timid squeak.
In exasperation the Chancellor slammed the proposal onto lan's desk. A flurry of dust swirled around the two men. The Chancellor suddenly reached across the table, grabbed hold of the proposal, and threw it into lan's lap.
"Then look at this, damn it!"
Ian picked it up and, adjusting his glasses, he peered owllike at the cover.
" 'A proposal for the implementation of the Alpha 3 unit for the reestablishment of contact with colonial units of the twenty-first century, submitted by Dr. Ian Lacklin , Provincial University System.' "
Ian suddenly felt very sick.
He pulled open the proposal and started to scan it.
"Turn to the last page, damn you!"
Ian obeyed the shouted command.
Proposed Crewing of the Alpha 3 Discovery
Understanding the extreme limitation on crew space and taking into consideration the isolation from any higher authority, it should be realized that the crew must deal with all contingencies related to establishing contact with human colonies while out of contact with Earth. Crew proposal is as follows:
1. Pilot of the Alpha 3 unit with previous expe rience in deep space flight and isolation.
2. Medical/biological technician with an under standing of medical situations unique to the twenty- first century, since all units contacted will have been isolated with their particular varieties of microbes for the last 1107 years.
3. Sociological/psychological personnel capable of dealing with the ramifications of cross-cultural exposure and shock.
4. Assistant to the program director, capable of logging all reports, administering to all reporting, filing, and data management.
5. Program director , versed in twenty-first- century history, in particular relating to all aspects of the establishment of the self-contained colonies starting in 2019 until the decision to flee near-Earth space in the year 2078. The program director must be familiar with each of the colonial units in ques tion, their engineering, sociological backgrounds, cultural makeup, and administrative organizations.
Sweat broke out on lan's forehead. He stopped for a moment to look up at the Chancellor and was met with a glacial stare. He returned to his reading.
The program director should have a full under standing of the process leading to the decision by the seven hundred colonial units to abandon Earth on the eve of the Holocaust War. The program director should be familiar with the trajectories se lected by the units when evacuating near-Earth space and have reasonable estimates of distance traveled by each unit since departure. All such data is cur rently on file with the author and is available upon request.
Ian groaned softly and looked up imploringly at the Chancellor.
"Look at that signature," the Chancellor hissed.
Ian did as ordered and stared numbly at the signature and personal seal placed upon the last page of the pro posal. They were his, all right.
"Can you explain this?!" the Chancellor demanded.
Ian could only shake his head.
"Are those your signature and personal seal?"
"Yes," he replied weakly.
"Then, good God, man, this is your grant proposal!"
"But I didn't write it."
"Oh, yes you did, Dr. Lacklin , you most certainly did. My contact over at the Ministry has informed me that the grant has been approved and that the decision has already been made that you, as the author of this grant, shall lead the mission.
"Dr. Lacklin , I don't give a good damn if you wrote this thing or not, but as far as anyone is now concerned, you are the sole author of it and will take responsibility as mission head. I'll not have it said that this document got past my office and then turned out to be a fake. I'd be the laughingstock of the profession. Dr. Lacklin , this one is yours and you are
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