
A brilliant chemist turned director finds himself nursing a hangover while his over‑engineered alarm clock stages a full‑blown morning revolt. Amid the chaos of a busted party culture at a remote rocket research station, he must rally a weary staff, hide the evidence of last night’s debauchery, and keep his own reputation from crumbling. The story opens with a wry look at the absurdities of bureaucracy, where even a simple switch can become a nightmare for a sleepy scientist.
When a powerful senator announces an unexpected visit, the director scrambles to stage a convincing tour, juggling experimental sled runs, hastily arranged decorations, and a nervous secretary who doubts his competence. The frantic preparations reveal a colorful cast of engineers, public‑relations officers, and rival officials, all caught in a farcical race against time. It’s a satirical glimpse into the pressures of scientific ambition, office politics, and the precarious balance between genius and disaster.
Language
en
Duration
~22 minutes (21K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Greg Weeks, Diane Monico, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
Release date
2010-06-06
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Subjects
A little-known science fiction writer from the pulp-magazine era, remembered for brisk, witty stories with big speculative ideas. His surviving work points to a brief but memorable run in the early 1950s, including tales first published in Galaxy Science Fiction.
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