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'Fine,' nodded Isaac Newton. 'The point is that ground-level interference can be avoided in
another way.'
'Then why did we go to all that trouble?'
"The comets forced it themselves in the beginning. But now the position is different because
we have a two-way transmission going. You see, Chancellor, I sent out a shorter wavelength
in parallel with the longer wavelength. The short wavelength signal had the advantage of
going directly to Comet Halley, instead of being relayed through the satellite.'
'Which you could do from the ground?'
'Yes, easily. We did it directly from the Cavendish.'
'What happened to interference from other ground transmissions?'
'I used a forbidden band - one of the bands reserved for radio- astronomers which nobody is
supposed to use for transmission. It's prohibited by international treaty.'
'Between Governments?'
'Yes, it's forbidden not just to commercial traffic but even to the military. Warsaw Pact
nations as well as NATO, and, of course, forbidden to Governments themselves.'
'Then you'd better not do it again!'
'Too late, Chancellor. The fat's in the fire already.'
Godfrey Wendover shifted himself and took a sip from his gin and tonic.
'How can the fat be in the fire already?'
'Because Comet Halley seized on the shorter wave transmission immediately. It must have
interpreted the change of wavelength as an invitation, a sort of guarantee that it could use
the channel without there being an interference problem.'
'Which you say there isn't?'
That's right.'
222
COMET HALLEY
IP
'So what's the problem?'
'The problem is that Comet Halley is now transmitting on the shorter wavelength. It's coming
straight through the ionosphere to ground-level, and it's swamping the radioastronomers.
They've lost their channel.'
'And they're not too pleased about it, I suppose?'
'To put it mildly, Chancellor. I'd expected some sort of a protest, of course, but not quite the
uproar they've actually stirred up. It's being done through ICSU.'
'ICSU?'
'The International Council of Scientific Unions.'
'Who represents ICSU in this country?'
'The Royal Society.'
'I see,' said the Chancellor thoughtfully. 'What exactly is happening?'
'I expected things to build up over a period of two or three months, but it's happened at
almost lightning speed. The Royal Society's Scientific Information Committee is meeting
tomorrow. By itself it isn't a particularly formidable committee, but ICSU representatives
from abroad will be there, as well as the Society's own senior officers. So the Committee
has been puffed up into something a lot bigger than its normal complement. And of course
the radioastronomers will be there, thumping the table as hard as they can.'
'You've been invited?'
' "Summoned" might be a more correct description.'
'I don't quite see what I can do.'
'I wasn't expecting any action by the Government. It's rather that I'm suspicious about the
haste. From the point of view of the radioastronomers the damage is done. It can't be
retrieved except by allotting them a new band, which doubtless will be done - although the
allocation procedure may take a little time.'
'Couldn't you have asked for the allocation of a band yourself? It might have been better to
go through the usual international channels. With strong Governmental support I'd expect an
international application for a band to succeed,' the Chancellor remarked.
'It took the radioastronomers years to succeed, with pressure from scientists in every
country, Soviet scientists as well as Western scientists. I doubt, Chancellor, that the
Russians or even the Americans could have been persuaded to push their own commercial
and military interests to one side. Not quickly, anyhow - Inot before Comet Halley moves
away from us. By the time we had a band free from interference, the opportunity would have
been lost.'
'I'd hardly have thought there would be any particular political motivation from the Royal
Society.'
'Not the Royal as a whole, certainly not,' agreed Isaac Newton, 'A canvas of the Fellows
would show supporters for all the main political parties. But at the time of a general election,
the fraction who support your opponents. . .'
'Might have pushed this business along. . .'
'That would be my suspicion. After all, the Government is getting some advantage out of its
support of the Comet Halley Project. So why shouldn't your opponents snatch at a chance of
unravelling your position?'
'There's no possibility tomorrow's meeting will be kept confidential?'
'Doubtless confidentiality will be the Society's official position, but with so many attending
the meeting, so many visitors, the opportunities for leaking the business will be legion,' Isaac
Newton told the Chancellor.
'I see.'
'What would you advise, Chancellor? To start with, do I attend the meeting at all?'
'Are you a Fellow of the Society?'
'Yes.'
'Then you must go. But say as little as possible. You'll have a taste of what it feels like to be
under attack in the House.'
'Without any support from my own side.'
'Ministers don't always get support from their own benches. Then the position is doubly grim,
I can tell you.'
'It won't be easy for me to say as little as possible; it would really mean saying nothing at all.'
'Obviously you must defend your position, but make your defence as short and as clear as
possible. Then stick to it. Don't wander off into sidelines. Repeat and stonewall. Long
experience shows the best tactic is to be as slippery and smooth as black ice. Don't lose [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]