STRANGE SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY OMNIBUS by Benson Grayson Page A

Mathews in an office on the top floor, formerly housing the factory management. From his office, Mathews could observe the work of the labor force on the factory floor below. Mathews’ first task was to draw up the plans for a space capsule capable of transporting a crew of two from the Earth to the Moon, landing on the Moon’s surface, and then safely returning the crew back to Earth.
    Initially Mathews just went through the motions, aware of the apparent futility of the project. He was astounded when Hawthorne asked to see the plans, carefully inspected them and then gave Mathews detailed instructions on how to improve them. Mathews realized that although Hawthorne was eccentric, he was nevertheless extremely intelligent and had good technical knowledge.
    The finished design was for a space capsule resembling in appearance a rustic log cabin. Despite its odd appearance and its smaller size than the space capsules designed by NASA, it was theoretically possible for it to reach the Moon. In some respects it was even better. Mathews was aware, from personal experience in piloting a space capsule, of defects he could now correct. He now
    employed new technology and material developed since the original space capsule design was finalized. Its thrust engines were more powerful than earlier ones and capable of extreme speeds, despite the relatively heavier weight of Hawthorne’s capsule, due to the reinforcing of its sides to prevent damage from collisions with dust particles in space.
    The plans completed, it was now time to begin the manufacture and assembly of the various component parts. Some were to be manufactured in the plant, others to be obtained from outside suppliers. Hawthorne showed great skill in supervising the award of the contracts. He was aided by the fact that he did not have to employ certain companies as suppliers that had powerful advocates in Congress, nor was he obliged to purchase from the lowest cost bidders who might actually be unable or unwilling to supply the highest quality item.
    Mathews had no difficulty in assembling a trained work force, being able to choose from among the many unemployed workers in the area. The space capsule was completed ahead of schedule and shipped to the East coast to be loaded onto a fast merchant vessel chartered by Hawthorne to transport it to a Russia Black Sea port. When the ship neared its destination, Hawthorne and Mathews flew directly to Moscow on Hawthorne’s private jet.
    Russian President Putin was surprised and annoyed by Hawthorne’s arrival. He was deeply involved in handling the crisis with Ukraine, seeking to keep that country within the Russian orbit while avoiding a rupture with Western Europe and the United States. He never anticipated when he made his vague commitment to Hawthorne that he would actually request the use of the Russian space facilities to send an expedition to the Moon. Putin therefore invited Hawthorne to tea at the Kremlin, planning to spend only a few minutes with him and then return to more important matters.
    Their meeting did not go as the Russian President had planned. Hawthorne not only voiced his strong endorsement of all Russian actions toward Ukraine, but volunteered to repeat them at a news conference in Moscow and again in Washington. Putin was particularly overjoyed by Hawthorne’s declaration that “If he had been in Putin’s shoes, he would react just as Putin had reacted.” A public statement like this from one of the most powerful American business leaders would clearly aid Russian propaganda and greatly bolster Putin’s standing in Western Europe.
    Unsurprisingly, the Russian President quickly agreed to Hawthorne’s request for help with his expedition. Putin issued instructions for Russian officials to accord every possible assistance and to treat the proposed launch to the Moon as the equivalent of a top priority Russian project. When the vessel transporting Hawthorne’s space capsule docked, it was