Descending Road - WAITING FOR THE AXE by Dana W. Paxson

WAITING FOR THE AXE

2380 CE

“Dr. Hackshaw,” Senator Orbaker said, “we’re glad you could come on such short notice. We want to get right to the point. have a seat.” The committee room was one of the small ones, without space for spectators. The Senator indicated the long table facing the committee.

No bleachers in the slaughterhouse, are there? Here it comes, Gene thought. The axe. Might as well hang on to my dignity.

“I always try to be here when I’m needed, Senator,” he said in his best mild tone. He sat down, with Chanie alongside.

Senator Orbaker was not a tall man, but he made a strong impression as the Commerce Committee chairman. He was from Idaho, quite pale of skin, one of the shrinking number of congressional legislators who showed no trace of ancestry from anywhere but Northern Europe. He spoke in an urgent rasp. “We’ve got a problem, Dr. Hackshaw. A problem with your stellar survey project.”

“How can I help you?” Gene said, hopelessness creeping in through his last layer of coffee. He waited.

“Tell me about Thorin 74.”

“Of course. It’s the dark dwarf star discovered by Werner Pellnat some years back.”

“And what do you know about that star?”

“It’s coming past the solar system, and it’s traveling fast.”

“And?”

“The InterFabric is running a series of trajectory calculations. And the IAU is getting a pretty good picture of it. Unfortunately my project does not have the resources to turn a decent number of shotgun scopes on it. We’d need to do that to get a good stereo digitization. Otherwise I don’t know anything else that you don’t, Senator.”

“Did you notice, Dr. Hackshaw, that we’re in a secured committee room?”

Gene hadn’t noticed. The readers at the door had flashed the usual green when he and Chanie offered their IDs, that was all. “No, I didn’t.”

“We have a surprise for you.” Orbaker paused.

Oh, for God’s sake, get on with it. Lop off my head and I’ll just carry it out the door tucked under my arm. With dignity.

“We want you to start expanding your efforts to do your job, Dr. Hackshaw,” Orbaker said. “Senator Prilby, would you give me the marked-up copy of the report?” The senator next to him passed along a thick wad of well-thumbed paper.

“Dr. Hackshaw, we need to find Earthlike planets, and we need as many as we can get. I want a list of fifty candidates at the least, in my hands in ten years, or in my successor’s hands if I’m not here.”

Gene reared back in his chair as if a bulldozer had just decided to shove him against the wall. “What?” he said in a low voice. He swallowed. “What?” This time a little louder.

“Ten years. Fifty Earthlike planets. Your job. How can I make it simpler?”

That sounded like a goad. Gene straightened in his chair, paused, and then asked, “How can I do this when I haven’t found even one Earthlike planet after two years of detailed looking with everything I’ve got?”

Senator Orbaker grinned at him. “Because we’re going to turn you loose, Dr. Hackshaw.”

Story List	SURPRISE ME	Author Page
USER SURVEY	PUZZLE ME	MAKE ELM MARK

HOVER Lucida Bright BARE	HOVER Lucida Bright FULL	HOVER Palatino Linotype BARE
HOVER Palatino Linotype FULL	HOVER Times New Roman BARE	HOVER Times New Roman FULL
PAD Arial BARE	PAD Arial FULL	PAD Lucida Bright BARE
PAD Lucida Bright FULL	PAD Times New Roman BARE	PAD Times New Roman FULL


	WAITING FOR THE AXE 2380 CE “Dr. Hackshaw,” Senator Orbaker said, “we’re glad you could come on such short notice. We want to get right to the point. have a seat.” The committee room was one of the small ones, without space for spectators. The Senator indicated the long table facing the committee. No bleachers in the slaughterhouse, are there? Here it comes, Gene thought. The axe. Might as well hang on to my dignity. “I always try to be here when I’m needed, Senator,” he said in his best mild tone. He sat down, with Chanie alongside. Senator Orbaker was not a tall man, but he made a strong impression as the Commerce Committee chairman. He was from Idaho, quite pale of skin, one of the shrinking number of congressional legislators who showed no trace of ancestry from anywhere but Northern Europe. He spoke in an urgent rasp. “We’ve got a problem, Dr. Hackshaw. A problem with your stellar survey project.” “How can I help you?” Gene said, hopelessness creeping in through his last layer of coffee. He waited. “Tell me about Thorin 74.” “Of course. It’s the dark dwarf star discovered by Werner Pellnat some years back.” “And what do you know about that star?” “It’s coming past the solar system, and it’s traveling fast.” “And?” “The InterFabric is running a series of trajectory calculations. And the IAU is getting a pretty good picture of it. Unfortunately my project does not have the resources to turn a decent number of shotgun scopes on it. We’d need to do that to get a good stereo digitization. Otherwise I don’t know anything else that you don’t, Senator.” “Did you notice, Dr. Hackshaw, that we’re in a secured committee room?” Gene hadn’t noticed. The readers at the door had flashed the usual green when he and Chanie offered their IDs, that was all. “No, I didn’t.” “We have a surprise for you.” Orbaker paused. Oh, for God’s sake, get on with it. Lop off my head and I’ll just carry it out the door tucked under my arm. With dignity. “We want you to start expanding your efforts to do your job, Dr. Hackshaw,” Orbaker said. “Senator Prilby, would you give me the marked-up copy of the report?” The senator next to him passed along a thick wad of well-thumbed paper. “Dr. Hackshaw, we need to find Earthlike planets, and we need as many as we can get. I want a list of fifty candidates at the least, in my hands in ten years, or in my successor’s hands if I’m not here.” Gene reared back in his chair as if a bulldozer had just decided to shove him against the wall. “What?” he said in a low voice. He swallowed. “What?” This time a little louder. “Ten years. Fifty Earthlike planets. Your job. How can I make it simpler?” That sounded like a goad. Gene straightened in his chair, paused, and then asked, “How can I do this when I haven’t found even one Earthlike planet after two years of detailed looking with everything I’ve got?” Senator Orbaker grinned at him. “Because we’re going to turn you loose, Dr. Hackshaw.”