right. just a sec.
okay, come on down.
great.
dave, if you've a minute, i'd like your advice on something.
well, it's nothing really important, but it's annoying.
it's about my salary cheques.
well i got the papers on my official up-grading to ags-19 two weeks before we left.
that's right. well, naturally, i didn't say anything to payroll. i assumed they'd start paying me at the higher grade on the next pay cheque. but it's been almost three weeks now and i'm still being paid as an ags-18.
really.
yesterday, i finally called the accounting office at mission control, and all they could tell me was that they'd received the ags-19 notification for the other three but not mine, and apparently not yours either.
not really. they just said it might be because we trained at houston and they trained in marshall, and that we're being charged against differ- ent accounting offices.
well, what do you think we ought to do about it?
i must say, i never did understand why they split us into two groups for training.
we spent so little time with them, i have trouble keeping their names straight.
i suppose so. though, of course, there's a more sinister explanation.
yes. you must have heard the rumour that went around during orbital check-out.
oh, well, apparently there's something about the mission that the sleeping beauties know that we don't know, and that's why we were trained separately and that's why they were put to sleep before they were even taken aboard.
i don't know. all i heard is that there's something about the mission we weren't told.
yes, i thought so.
how?
that's true.
hal.  dave and i believe that there's something about the mission that we weren't told. something that the rest of the crew know and that you know. we'd like to know whether this is true.
okay, then how do we re-phrase the question?
not really. though, it is strange when you think about it. it didn't really make any sense to keep us apart during training.
i know. it would be almost inconceivable.
i suppose it isn't logically impossible.
still, all we have to do is ask hal.
right. hal, tell me whether the following statements are true or false.
our mission profile calls for discovery going to saturn. true or false?
our transit time is 257 days. is that true?
at the end of a hundred days of exploration, we will all go into hibernation. is this true?
approximately five years after we go into hibernation, the recovery vehicle will make rendezous with us and bring us back. is this true?
there is no other purpose for this mission than to carry out a continuation of the space program, and to further our general knowledge of the planets. is that true?
thank you very much, hal.
strange that the a.o. unit should go so quickly.
hal, have pod arms secure the component.
hal, please rotate pod number two.
how do you read me, dave?
how do you read me, hal?
hal, i'm going out now to replace the a.o. unit.
hal, maintain normal e.v.a. condition.
hal, check all airlock doors secure.
decompress pod bay.
opening pod bay doors.
hal, please acknowledge component correctly installed and fully operational.
i don't know. i've checked this damn thing four times now and even under a hundred per cent
yes, i don't know what to make of it.
yes, but it's more likely that the tolerances on our testing gear are too low.
yes, hal, what's up?
gee, that's strange, hal. we checked the other unit and couldn't find anything wrong with it.
let me see the tracking alignment display.
there's nothing wrong with it at the moment.
do you have any idea of what is causing this fault?
all right, hal. we'll take care of it. let me have the hard copy, please.
good morning.
are you reasonably awake?
well.  hal's reported the ao-unit about to fail again.
no.
i don't know. hal said he thought it might be the assembly procedure.
two more.
hal?
well, they won't get that for half an hour. how about some lunch?
hal was right all the time.
it's the last one.
there's something wrong with the flip-bolts, dave. you must have tightened them too much.
i guess you don't know your own strength, old boy.
i think i'll have to go out and burn them off.
hal, swing the pod light around to shine on the azimuth, please.