Chauncey rose. “I’ll do my part, and so will my boys—that means raising and maximizing production levels. You do your part.” He pointed his finger at Nora. “Keep those girls from making mistakes, and everything will be as good as it can be.”

Nora went through the motions of putting food on her tray. She selected an apple, a banana, and a cup of whatever the mystery soup of the day was. In truth, she had no appetite. This whole mess with the Alpha-1 work stoppage and the lack of productivity turned her stomach.

What if Chauncey was right? What if the Germans had gotten the jump on them? What if, right now, they were creating enough U-235…Tubealloy… She admonished herself and shook her head to clear it. Even in her thoughts, she should avoid using forbidden terminology. Forget about what the Germans are doing. You can’t control that. Focus on what’s in front of you.

It wasn’t peak lunch hour, so she was able to procure a table to herself over in the corner. When she was settled, she set down the attaché case she carried over her shoulder, withdrew a folder and opened it. She reviewed the roster of cubicle operators. She would have to shift the operators from Alpha-1 over to Alpha-3 as soon as it was up and running. If the modifications to the magnets in the newer racetracks worked, things should start to go much more smoothly, with fewer glitches and greater production. Whenever Alpha-1 came back on line…

Nora paused to take stock of the room. It felt as though someone was watching at her. You’re losing your mind. She refocused on the paperwork in front of her. Several moments later, when the feeling hadn’t dissipated, she scanned the room again. This time, her eyes settled on Mary. Although she averted her gaze, Nora could’ve sworn that she’d been staring a second ago. Reading people isn’t your strong suit. Stick to what you know.

She focused once again on her work and made a notation in the margin to talk to Jane Greer about the output calculations. She’d met Jane for the first time the other day and they’d clicked immediately. Jane had wanted to be an engineer, but she’d been told that wasn’t an appropriate career for a woman. Instead she turned to statistics and became the first woman to graduate with a degree in statistics from the University of Tennessee. In terms of their experiences as women in male-dominated fields, they had a lot in common. Now, Jane was in charge of all statistical analysis and documentation for the project. She had the same clearance as Nora—the only other woman ranked so highly—and thus they were able to converse in ways Nora couldn’t with any other females on the Reservation.