passcode he ensured none of us could see. The reason for us all being chummy in the elevator was explained.
“Are we having a
Get Smart
moment?”
Chuckie heaved a sigh and ignored me. Well, he shot me his “seriously?” look and then ignored me.
We headed right down into the bowels of the earth. This, more than anything else, confirmed we were heading into the A-C controlled part of the facility—A-C bases tended to go down, not up.
The doors opened onto a part of NASA Base I hadn’t seen before. It looked like we were entering the floor of a typical office building. A sterile, very white, very quiet office building.
We trooped down a long hallway. “You know, this is sort of like
2001: A Space Odyssey
. Or
Men in Black
. Or both.”
“It’s the secured floor,” Chuckie said.
“Secured for what? There’s no one here but us.”
“Almost no one.” Christopher pointed to the end of the hall. There was a reception desk, manned by a young Hispanic woman with large glasses and long black hair. Matching the rest of this floor, she was dressed in white. She didn’t smile when we finally reached her.
She wasn’t ugly, but she wasn’t Dazzler level in any way, so it was a safe bet she was human. Most A-Cs at least shot you a smile the first time they met you, too.
Chuckie handed her his badge. “I have personnel for the HSAC exam,” he said without preamble. “You should be expecting us.”
The woman didn’t look impressed by the badge, which was a first in my experience. She examined it and sniffed, then examined all of us and sniffed again. Not the “what’s that smell” kind of sniff, but the “you’re beneath me” sniff. I wondered if she’d ever met Mrs. Darcy Lockwood, my Washington Wife class instructor, or if she’d picked up how to be supercilious all on her own.
Her clothing didn’t scream “impressive.” The suit was okay but a little baggy on her, and her blouse was sort of wrinkled.
Before I could ask if she’d recently lost weight, she deigned to speak to us. “My name is Sandra. I’ll be monitoring your activity during the HSAC.”
“Does that mean you’re administering the test?” Chuckie asked.
“No. We have someone for that. I’ll be there to ensure there is no cheating.”
“Why would we cheat? It’s not like we won’t get into a good college or something if we flunk.”
This earned me another dismissive look. “You’d be surprised.” Sandra turned back to Chuckie. “I had five individuals listed.”
“There should have been six.” Chuckie indicated Buchanan. “He should be on the list, too. May I see it?”
Sandra handed a small clipboard over, a tad unwillingly if I was any judge. I was sure she’d recently lost weight, because the clothes just didn’t fit her right. Maybe she was still dieting and so hungry. I didn’t like to miss a meal, so I could cut her some slack over being a little testy due to limited caloric intake.
“Huh.” Chuckie showed the list to Jeff, who grunted.
“What?”
Chuckie looked at me. “Your name isn’t on the list.”
“Cool! I’ll just wait out here with all of you, then!”
“You have to take this test, Kitty,” Christopher said, shooting me Patented Glare #1.
“Apparently I don’t.”
“Kitty Katt?” Sandra asked.
“That’s me, yes. Well, my maiden name.”
“Ah.” She pulled out a slip of paper from her jacket pocket. “Yes, I have you here. Kitty Katt-Martini. You’re supposed to take the test alone.”
“I beg your pardon?” Chuckie and I said that one in unison.
Sandra shrugged and handed her slip of paper to Chuckie. His eyes narrowed. “This is highly unusual. I’ll have to clear it. With much higher level personnel,” he added meaningfully.
This didn’t seem to bother Sandra, who shrugged again. “Suit yourself. We’ll take the others in now.”
“No,” Chuckie said firmly. “They all test together or they don’t test at all.”
Sandra heaved a sigh while Chuckie
“Are we having a
Get Smart
moment?”
Chuckie heaved a sigh and ignored me. Well, he shot me his “seriously?” look and then ignored me.
We headed right down into the bowels of the earth. This, more than anything else, confirmed we were heading into the A-C controlled part of the facility—A-C bases tended to go down, not up.
The doors opened onto a part of NASA Base I hadn’t seen before. It looked like we were entering the floor of a typical office building. A sterile, very white, very quiet office building.
We trooped down a long hallway. “You know, this is sort of like
2001: A Space Odyssey
. Or
Men in Black
. Or both.”
“It’s the secured floor,” Chuckie said.
“Secured for what? There’s no one here but us.”
“Almost no one.” Christopher pointed to the end of the hall. There was a reception desk, manned by a young Hispanic woman with large glasses and long black hair. Matching the rest of this floor, she was dressed in white. She didn’t smile when we finally reached her.
She wasn’t ugly, but she wasn’t Dazzler level in any way, so it was a safe bet she was human. Most A-Cs at least shot you a smile the first time they met you, too.
Chuckie handed her his badge. “I have personnel for the HSAC exam,” he said without preamble. “You should be expecting us.”
The woman didn’t look impressed by the badge, which was a first in my experience. She examined it and sniffed, then examined all of us and sniffed again. Not the “what’s that smell” kind of sniff, but the “you’re beneath me” sniff. I wondered if she’d ever met Mrs. Darcy Lockwood, my Washington Wife class instructor, or if she’d picked up how to be supercilious all on her own.
Her clothing didn’t scream “impressive.” The suit was okay but a little baggy on her, and her blouse was sort of wrinkled.
Before I could ask if she’d recently lost weight, she deigned to speak to us. “My name is Sandra. I’ll be monitoring your activity during the HSAC.”
“Does that mean you’re administering the test?” Chuckie asked.
“No. We have someone for that. I’ll be there to ensure there is no cheating.”
“Why would we cheat? It’s not like we won’t get into a good college or something if we flunk.”
This earned me another dismissive look. “You’d be surprised.” Sandra turned back to Chuckie. “I had five individuals listed.”
“There should have been six.” Chuckie indicated Buchanan. “He should be on the list, too. May I see it?”
Sandra handed a small clipboard over, a tad unwillingly if I was any judge. I was sure she’d recently lost weight, because the clothes just didn’t fit her right. Maybe she was still dieting and so hungry. I didn’t like to miss a meal, so I could cut her some slack over being a little testy due to limited caloric intake.
“Huh.” Chuckie showed the list to Jeff, who grunted.
“What?”
Chuckie looked at me. “Your name isn’t on the list.”
“Cool! I’ll just wait out here with all of you, then!”
“You have to take this test, Kitty,” Christopher said, shooting me Patented Glare #1.
“Apparently I don’t.”
“Kitty Katt?” Sandra asked.
“That’s me, yes. Well, my maiden name.”
“Ah.” She pulled out a slip of paper from her jacket pocket. “Yes, I have you here. Kitty Katt-Martini. You’re supposed to take the test alone.”
“I beg your pardon?” Chuckie and I said that one in unison.
Sandra shrugged and handed her slip of paper to Chuckie. His eyes narrowed. “This is highly unusual. I’ll have to clear it. With much higher level personnel,” he added meaningfully.
This didn’t seem to bother Sandra, who shrugged again. “Suit yourself. We’ll take the others in now.”
“No,” Chuckie said firmly. “They all test together or they don’t test at all.”
Sandra heaved a sigh while Chuckie
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