Circa: Early 1960s. Type: NASA slang. Definition: An astronaut or aerospace engineer who quickly devises an ingenious solution to a life-or-death problem while under extreme pressure. ** PROLOGUE He’s smart and good-looking with a satisfying, desirable job. He has a wonderful girlfriend, is liked and respected at both his place of work and in the wider community, and he drives a DeLorean, his all-time favourite car. Simply, Judson Bell’s life is awesome and he couldn’t be happier about it. Why, just a moment ago a man randomly high-fived him. A man he didn’t even know. It happened as Judd returned to his office at Johnson Space Center. As NASA’s youngest shuttle pilot he’d been the face of its recent public-relations tour. It had been a rousing success and garnered NASA a boatload of positive press, especially the 60 Minutes piece, hence the random high-five from an enthusiastic coworker.
