Free Margaritifer Basin (Margaritifer Trilogy Book 1) by Gregory Gates Page A

calculus expression with a few
missing symbols. Jeff gave her time to get a handle on it.
    “You’re kidding,” she said,
sounding more hopeful than incredulous.
    “No, I’m dead serious.”
    She exhaled audibly through her
teeth and scratched her eyebrow, “Okay, well… look, NASA couldn’t land a man on
Mars in four years, even if they wanted to…”
    Jeff, cut her off. “You’re
absolutely correct. No, they could not. But not because they don’t have the
technology, they do. Nor is it because they don’t have the manpower, they have
plenty. And it’s not because they don’t have the money, the U.S. government can
raise as much money as it wants. It’s none of that. They reason they can’t do
it is because they simply don’t have the will. Look, NASA is a giant government
bureaucracy whose primary mission is, like all government bureaucracies, job
security, nothing more. NASA doesn’t want to go to Mars, because it’s bosses,
Congress and the White House, don’t want to go to Mars because their boss, the
people, also don’t want to go to Mars. At least, not right now. The days of
Kennedy and ‘We choose to go to the moon in this decade’ are gone. Today
Americans want cheap healthcare and iPods and social safety nets. Fine,
democracy, we vote. That’s their decision. So if we are going to go to Mars –
and you know as well as I that we can, the technology exists, the commercial
aerospace industry is full of manpower, and I have a great deal of money, and
believe I can get more – it all boils down to assembling a team of people that
have the will to do it. Do that, and this can be done. Someone will do it. It’s
not a question of if, only when. And I intend on being the one to do it. And I
want you on my team.”
    Gabriel swirled the coffee in her
cup, clearly contemplating an almost endless list of questions, trying to
figure out which one to ask first. “Hmmm. Okay, commercial launch,
off-the-shelf hardware… the old ‘Mars Direct’ approach, something like that.
Right? So, what do you need me for?”
    “Because you know it’s not that
simple.”
    Her head snapped up, “Yes, I do.
But do you?”
    Jeff smiled and leaned forward
resting his elbows on the table and his chin on his clasped hands, “Yeah,
believe me, I know. Look, it’ll take days to go over all the details, many of
which are far from being cast in stone, and I can’t possibly answer all your
questions now. And in any case, if I had all the answers, we wouldn’t be having
this conversation. I understand your skepticism and incredulity, I get that a
lot. All I ask is that you keep an open mind and give me the opportunity to
show you the whole plan – the easy parts, the hard parts, and the parts for
which there are no parts… yet. Come to my headquarters in Rhode Island for a
couple days – all expenses paid – and let me show you what I’ve got. No
obligation.”
    “My thesis defense is next week. I
couldn’t possibly do it before then.”
    Jeff leaned back in the chair,
stretched his arms over his head and breathed deeply. She’s interested, and curious.
“Understood. How about the week after? Say, Friday, June 15? I’ll even treat
you to a celebration dinner, Doctor Frederick.”
    Gabriel laughed. “Rhode Island,
huh? Are you from there?”
    “No. Actually I’m from Long Beach,
just across town from here. But I have this place in Rhode Island, just outside
Newport. It’s quiet and comfortable and a good place to work and think. Will
you give me a chance to prove to you that this can be done and that we’re gonna
do it?”
    She stared at the table, gritting
her teeth and drumming her fingers on the now half empty coffee cup, “Okay.”
    “Most excellent,” he beamed. “Give
me your email address and I’ll send you the airline reservation.”
    Jeff and Gabriel stood and shook
hands again, exchanged business cards and he headed down the hall. As he was
nearing the door he heard her shout from behind,