A Girl Named Sandy

enve

please tell me that

still blinking his eyes after the blinding flash that had come from the m

u just attempted to reduce to useless parts?" the first man asked. This was Profes

derate mountain of displays and measuring equipment, on which most lights h

r Donahue? Do you mean that the experiment worked?"

to useless parts, just as you said. Although, not all of it seems to have blown up yet. The power cable still looks usable, " Don grinned. "Care to go for the rest, P.E.?" H

hair where he had spent most of the afternoon and evening. He stretched his arms over his

hum of the equipment they hadn't touched diminished as their power sources were cut off, until all that was audible in the experimental laboratory

mething more substantial and uplifting than your child

ck of the spectral changes regarding a significant number of irregular quasar clusters proves to be a bit more complex than we had assume

g an envelope towards the burnt-out

that was just bad luck and worse wiring, sir." He then caught his spectacles as they slipped off his nose. "We discovered a few

s gwyddon, not gibbon. Although I have to admit th

icists then rose

"The restaurant closed several hours ago. As usual, for you. And before I forget, this has been de

d into a pocket of the coat that Paul ret

can go up to the scope first, tomorrow, " he suggested,

e that expensive radio telescope any more to send a morse-code message to yo

new even for him, and he was quite aware of many of t

avoided the subject as he looked for his coat, wh

had run into and how they might tackle it. They were still talking and arguing as they found a late night restaurant near the university where they ordered something

only when their orders were brought to the table. As they sat and at

prised. "In me? You should

ling the honoured professor 'shining', because of the man's bald

knife, and extracted the crumpled envelope from his pocket. He pu

his co-worker's food, as his plate was obscured fro

e Institute, the UMd Department of Astronomy and NASA-Goddard are hosting a three day scientific meeting. Topics covered will include black holes, active galactic nuclei, the high-energy astrophysics of galaxies, galaxy clusters, and cosmology. The meeting will concl

etter, and snatched the latter from the former's fingers to read all that himself. When he lowered the lette

And I am glad you

ow on the surprise

of the

wondered. "I have thought about it, but never assumed that to be something attainable for

At least we're out of his hair for

*

classes they taught so much, that they almost got caught by surprise by t

partment, to make sure that he would take clean clothes. "Wilma sends you

t a very young age. His father had died before he was born and his m

id Don. "I have some. And ye

er. "He says he could fit some clothes into his

ies, " Don reminded him. "T

s, " Paul du

you two have around your names and god knows I am never impressed with the way you dress. But please make sure yo

st drowned out, by the sound of something fragile falling and ending its existence in its current shape. Paul did not bother to conve

suitcase!" Wilma yelled, lou

aperwork, " Don snorted. "I

that's it. It is Friday tomorrow, after all. Remember, we have the day off

i and I had better be ready." Don sounded slightly annoyed, bu

someone to look after y

from Don's end, after which he said: "I

you when I wake up on Tuesday and pray tha

d, who was still going throug

what is all that? I'll be gone for about a week, I am not mo

ed that you can manage on your own, like a certain Donahue!" She had come close eno

that after forty-eight years I can manage just fine by myself, " h

lled yet another pair of trousers into the light of day, "so I am not taking cha

*