It was a week ago that a proposal slid across the desk of Dr. Art Steinberg, founder and head of project oversight at Steinberg Technical Solutions. As the head of project oversight, Art was the authority on what his company did or did not spend time, and money, researching. And as such, he was no stranger to rejecting proposals, both reasonable and outlandish, but something about this particular pitch gave the older man of science cause for alarm.

“Henry, can you please call Dr. Thorne to my office? Thank you.” Art said softly into the intercom on his desk. From the view through the frosted glass windows of his office, he could see his assistant Henry reach for a phone on his desk and begin to make the call. Sitting back into his comfortable chair, Dr. Steinberg furled his brow and waited anxiously for yet another talk with Dr. Melissa Thorne. Far away, heels clacked on the cold tile of the laboratory floor, stepping into an elevator, then onto the soft carpet furnishings of the upper-level offices. With purpose, Dr. Thorne strode through the bureaucratic maze of cubicles towards Dr. Steinberg's office, a look of pure elation on her face. This would be the day, surely. Today, after months of rejection, her proposal would be approved.

Melissa was bright, there could be no ambiguity there. She was blessed with a terrific mind and during her brief career at STS, she accomplished a great number of breakthroughs in the field of medical technology and genetics. At the young age of 26, she was poised to become one of the most lauded academics of her generation.

Or so she thought.

In truth, Dr. Melissa Thorne was brilliant and capable, but these traits were not without fault. As she passed through the upper-level offices, hushed whispers and snickering pervaded the air as her peers stopped to look and discuss the bizarre beliefs of the young doctor. Word travelled quickly around STS, and after her very first project proposal was rejected on the grounds of being “farcical conspiracy with no scientific merit.”, rumours began to spread. Nevertheless, Melissa held her proud head high, unwilling to listen to the naysayers and the detractors. She was going to leaver her mark on the scientific world, and this proposal was her ticket.

“You wanted to see me, sir?” She asked, her tone sugary and sweet as she peeked her head into Dr. Steinberg's office. The older man gestured her in and motioned for her to close the door.

“Yes, Dr. Thorne. Please, have a seat.” He said, easing into his chair as he shuffled some papers around his desk.
“I'm sure you know why I've called you in here, today. You've submitted yet another project proposal.”

The tone of his voice was dry, unenthused. Regardless, Melissa beamed a bright smile and waited patiently for the older man to continue. There was a quiet pause as Dr. Steinberg set his gaze upon a page, no doubt her proposal. Expectantly, Dr. Thorne waited for some good news but the silence continued to hang over the room as Dr. Steinberg pinched the corners of his eyes and set the page down on his desk.

“Dr. Thorne, Melissa, how long are you going to bother me with this strange fascination?” The older man asked, exasperated as his eyes finally met hers.

“What.. do you mean, Dr. Steinberg?” Melissa replied, trying her hardest to maintain a cool composure. She continued to smile, pulling the disarming look as wide as she could across her ruby-red lips. This was clearly not what she expected to hear, but she could still turn this around.

“Melissa, please. Before I continue, I want you to understand that I am very pleased with the work you have done for STS, very pleased. You are one of my brightest, but this foolishness simply cannot continue. Every week, you're in here, asking me to spend my money to.. to what, exactly?” Art asked, struggling to find the words before continuing.
“to piss away our reputation as people of science in the pursuit of disproving something as intrinsic as the very air we breathe!”

Dr. Thorne struggled to counter the outburst. While not exactly supportive of her goals, Dr. Steinberg had never expressed such an open opposition of her proposals beyond stamping them with a big red “DENIED”.

“Sir, I urge you to reconsider, there is still so much about our world that we don't know. Allowing me to pursue this project will put the debate to rest once and for all, I promise you that!” She pleaded, leaning forward in her chair, staring the older man directly in the eye. He looked back, and saw passion, pure unbridled drive and conviction in what she believed, and in that moment he felt pity that it was all so misplaced.

“Melissa, for the hundredth, if not thousandth time. The. Earth. Is. Not. Flat. You have filled your head with misinformed conspiracy drivel and if you seriously expect me to entertain these notions any further, I'm afraid I'll have to ask for your resignation.” Dr. Steinberg explained gravely, rising from his chair, scooping the proposal off the desk.
“Besides, this is simply preposterous, what you're asking of me. Thirty million dollars to fund a size-changing machine? Do you truly believe you could grow yourself large enough to observe the entire earth? Setting aside how destructive that would be to the planet, how would you breathe? How would you circumvent the square-cube law? This is utter nonsense and I will not hear any more of it.”

The proposal fell to the desk as Art leaned against his chair, huffing slightly, worked up from his outburst. Melissa said nothing at first, quietly shaking as she held back tears. She clenched her fist, steeling herself as she stood up. From behind her auburn bangs, she looked the older scientist in the eyes.

“Fine. I'll just shut up and do as I'm told then.” Dr. Thorne hissed, turning towards the door. Placing a hand on the knob, she turned back to Dr. Steinberg.
“You could have been in on the ground floor of the greatest discovery of our time, this could have been our chance to dispel all the lies the government has been spewing. I hope you're happy, sir.”

And with that, Dr. Melissa Thorne stamped off in a huff, leaving the perplexed older man alone in his office.

-------