Space: A Novel by James A. Michener

Author:James A. Michener [Michener, James A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780804151436
Publisher: Random House LLC
Published: 2014-03-18T04:00:00+00:00

To his surprise, the admiral flew personally to the Tulagi, where in the flag quarters he delivered a message from the Navy brass which astonished Commander Pope:

‘John, I gave you bad advice at Jacksonville, and I apologize. When I cautioned you then against becoming an astronaut, I was thinking selfishly only of the Navy. I failed to realize how immense this space thing was, and how vital it’s going to become in the future to the Navy’s interest.

‘NASA is going to pick six men in the special draft, we’re told, and it’s of maximum importance that at least two of them be Navy men. I know that the Army is grooming some of its likely candidates and the Air Force is frantic. They feel space belongs to them and that they’ve been short-changed. We have to get in there fighting. We’ve got to put our best men forward, and we all agree that you’re our prime candidate.

‘The head of the selection committee is an Air Force astronaut you may have known at Edwards. Deke Slayton. This gives them a leg up, but they assure me he’s very fair. You know anything about him? Well, study up. Find out what he likes to drink, what planes he flew, everything, because his veto is fatal. I suppose you know he was scheduled to take the flight that Carpenter took. Heart trouble scrubbed him. I wouldn’t blame him if he were bitter about it. But he’s the man you have to satisfy.’

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