George Revelle

“ He laid it in front of Brandon on the pile of income tax blanks. "Soon you'll be without income; your business will deteriorate from lack of attention."
Brandon said nothing.
Evans moved to the contour chair and sat down. He closed his eyes. "You've been out of circulation a long time, Brandon. The world is changing. Government is big business, one of the largest, and it's expanding. We need more men, good men."
Evans opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling. "You said you've become an expert on forms. Would you consider taking a position as head of the tax department?" ”

“ Wade looked at the narrow back of Harry Lowe. And he knew how the man became Secretary of Defense. It was shrewd getting him to open up like that. They both knew how lucky they were to have Allen Ackerson. Finding men capable of making such a flight hadn't been easy. Of the dozen volunteers only Ackerson remained. Mental and physical tests had eliminated all but a few. Those remaining were unfit for space travel, weeded out by the psychological teams, unable to cope with the morbid phobia of being alone so long wrapped in a metal cocoon. Only Ackerson and Tomer had succeeded. ”

“ There were all kinds of heroes. Men like Ackerson were driven by the lure of fame and money. Tomer became one because the job had to be done and there was no one else to do it. Lowe was one, in a way, fighting for peace against a world that was always in unrest. In a way Wade himself might fall in one category. The thought made him smile.
The Secretary was right, of course. The public would crucify them if they knew Tomer had been in the supposedly unmanned test rocket fired at the Moon with no way home. ”

“ Brandon said stubbornly. "And I won't. I'm becoming an expert on this. When a man spends one hundred days a year working on these damn things he learns quite a bit. There will be no errors."
"One hundred days!" Evans laughed. "Soon it'll be every day of the year. Then where will you be?" He looked directly into Brandon's eyes. "Can't you see? You're in the web already, working a third of the year without compensation."
Evans pulled from his pocket the the broken puppet he had picked up from the driveway outside Brandon's house. ”

“ Wade fished for another cigarette as he followed the sweep second hand with his eyes. It was ironic, in a way. Man had ventured to the Moon and could not land. He dared not. To set foot on the cold, dead satellite when there was no possible way of return would be inviting suicide. The test rocket fired at the silent world, and the Starfrost had eaten up the last of the appropriations and it would take a battery of ships to carry the supplies necessary for the building of take-off facilities. ”

“ I've had no special training; this is the first offer I'm even qualified enough to accept." He lifted the puppet face high, gazed at its face. "For ten years I've been pestered."
Evans laughed as he pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket. "You have determination and will-power. We need that type of nature these days more than ever." Evans' smile became wide. "And you will be one less taxpayer we will have to worry about now. You'll be on our side."
Evans pushed all the forms from Brandon's desk with a sweep of his tanned hand. "Forget all of that, Brandon, forever. No more taxes for you. ”

“ Wade nodded. Major Gormely was a good man ... they were all good men. Wade felt proud to be part of the team.
He took in the radar man checking the never-ending sweep of the beam. Frank Piluis, a tall, lanky man of twenty-three. He was checking the screen, adjusting, as if his own life depended on its operation instead of a man he hardly knew.
Wade checked his own screen again.
The Starfrost was so silent ... so latent ... so important. Wade found Tomer creeping into his thoughts again. He shut the thought out quickly. Wade was a military man. He had orders to forget Tomer. ”

“ He had been staggering under the load.
"You're an independent, Brandon," Evans said. "You stay in business for yourself because you dislike working for someone else. Isn't that right?"
"You might say that."
Evans dangled a handful of papers in front of Brandon's brown eyes. "You are working for someone else now. The tax department." ”

“ Someone else can take over in your place and handle that. You can supervise if you wish. But not until after you've had a rest."
"You know better, Harry. This is my baby and I'll handle it. It isn't that I haven't tried to keep him out of my mind. I have. Yet he always comes back to haunt me. If not because of my own feelings, then it's Ackerson reminding me. It's no use. ”

“ Brandon nodded wearily. Evans reached over and picked up a form. He frowned. "Complicated!"
"Each year it gets worse," Brandon said listlessly.
"I've never had to file one," Evans said.
Brandon lifted one eyebrow.
"Government employees never do. We are paid a flat sum and our subsistance is taken care of. Calculators and computers adjust our salary each year in proportion to the expense of the government. We have been operating out of the red that way for years. It works out fine."
Brandon ran his hands through the papers and forms. ”

“ But remember, we can't land on the Moon until we have appropriations for installations. It all takes money; landing sites, protection against the elements, and most important, take-off facilities. It's a big order. Ackerson can give us all of that if he is successful. The public will back us to the limit if we prove we have mastered space travel." The Secretary watched Wade carefully. "Ackerson is important!"
"I never said he wasn't."
"I know, Wade." The Secretary toyed with his tie. "But did you let your feelings toward Tomer interfere with your attitude toward Ackerson? ”

“ The Secretary's eyes penetrated. "I can't help but feel that you would be more concerned if Tomer were in the Starfrost instead of Ackerson. Wade ... don't let the fact that you hate Ackerson cloud the issue. He is doing us a great service."
"Stop it, Harry!"
"After all. The first man to circle the Moon is entitled to a place in the history books. I can share his feelings, in a way. It's a great thing he's doing."
"Others have done more," Wade said sharply. ”

“ Wade found himself lighting a cigarette. "Sure. I dislike Ackerson. Dislike him violently. I've taken more lip from him in the past months than I've taken during my entire life. And when he returns that will be finished or I'll finish him. One way or another." Wade inhaled deeply. "It's the project that counts. Only the project. It's bigger than one man ... it's bigger than all of us put together."
Lowe smiled. His face seemed younger. "I knew you felt that way, Wade. ”

“ The speaker remained silent.
"Starfrost. Can you read me. Over!"
The Secretary looked at Wade. His face was tight and drawn. "What do you think, Wade. Are we getting through?"
"It's hard to say. He's moving pretty fast. He could outrun the signal. We've never had a practical voice test."
Lowe's face had a worried expression covering it. "Didn't you have communications with the test rocket?"
"That was unmanned ... remember?"
"This silence doesn't worry you?" the Secretary asked with amazement.
"Ackerson was trained for this. He knows there is nothing we can do for him. He's on his own. ”

“ He said you were babying Tomer to the point where it was interfering with his instruction."
"He lied," Wade cut in. He threw down the cigarette he was holding and ground his heel into it. "You know me better than that!"
"Of course. But perhaps Ackerson did have something. Perhaps you spent more time with Tomer than you intended. Unconsciously you may have favored him to the point where Ackerson did suffer."
Wade let his eyes wander over to the small television screen. It was still operating. Flat, empty sand and a burned out area was all that remained of the Starfrost. ”

“ Keep an eye on the hull temperature. Watch that gyro. If you feel the slightest vibration be sure to start the auxiliary immediately. Over."
"Romeo, Mother. Take care of my letter. I—" the speaker became silent.
Major Gormely moved like a blur of light. Wade knew what was wrong the instant he looked at the pip on the radar scope. Major Gormely hurriedly began checking instruments. But he had seen too. The equipment was in order. It was the Starfrost. It had all indications of a "wobble".
"This is serious, isn't it, Wade?" ”

“ Perhaps it was because Lowe seemed to have a special talent for reading peoples' expressions, converting them into sentences. Like now, Wade felt the man was reading his face like a book.
"That's right, Harry. History is being made isn't it?"
The Secretary's face became very serious. "More than that, Wade. Perhaps salvation depends on it."
"Ten minutes," a voice said.
Wade nodded at the technician. Tiny lights came into play on the control panel as Major Gormely began closing circuits. The communications man made a final type check on the huge P.C.R. set.
"Starfrost. This is Mother. ”

“ The crater should have been stained yellow."
"Perhaps there was a mix-up in containers."
"You don't believe that, Frank."
"But the radio is still operating! A steady C.W. beam is coming in. If there was any danger we would be getting code." ”