“We’ve completed our roll-call at this end,” the general said, looking to his aide for a nod of confirmation. The aide leaned towards him, “Level P11, as usual, sir.” he mouthed to the general, indicating the lowest level of security clearance at their end of the room.

“If we could start with you, Colonel Milton.” the general prompted.

“Colonel Milton, Level 11, for ANFPS85 on the line, sir. Dr. Laurie West you know, Level 13, I also have a Mr. Neal Danielson for a spot analysis, Level 5 clearance, and Lieutenant Diorio, Level 11.”

The various other unseen sites on the briefing call provided their information, acknowledged by the general as Colonel Milton had been, and soon the meeting began in earnest. Over the course of the next forty-five minutes the general ran through a checklist of agenda items that apparently all the participants at the other end were privy to. He stopped at various points to allow various parties, both seen and unseen, to contribute in a well-orchestrated interplay of highly educated experts, informing highly ranked and often equally highly qualified officers. Topics included reports, analyses and think tanks on a variety of space-related surveillance topics from satellite tracking and development to launch monitoring programs, both at home and abroad.

As discussion of each agenda item came to a close, it was either closed or tabled for review in closed door meetings as deemed appropriate by the general after a form of hierarchal democratic consent had been reached which only effective military organizations and the occasional medieval government have ever done well.

In the meantime, Neal considered his fellow classified meeting attendees. Laurie was, undoubtedly, extremely clever, what was less expected was her lack of conceit or patronizing tone. Of course, being very nice and inclusive is, in its way, a conceit of the extremely clever and accomplished, albeit a more pleasant one.

That said, he brimmed with a pride he’d not felt in some time when he recalled how effectively he had explained his theory to her, and not for the first time he longed for the higher echelons of scientific pursuit which a younger, more arrogant Neal had spurned. He envied the patience that he knew she must have displayed in the decades she had no doubt spent under people less gifted than her before reaching the level which she clearly now enjoyed. Patience he himself had always had trouble showing during his shorter and distinctly less exalted career.