New York.
The New York Times building.
The door to the editorial office swung open, and a curly-haired man in a black suit strode in, tossing a stack of documents onto the desk closest to the door.
"Anders, here's a poll on the Ares Program. I want you to work it into the next interview piece. Get it to me before the end of the day."
"Sure, boss."
Anders, a man with deep-set eyes, quickly took the documents, licked his index finger, and flipped through them.
Although the gesture looked rather unhygienic, it had become a professional habit. Whenever a big story came along that excited him enough, he did this-even when the material he received was digital.
After reading through the polling data, Anders sat up straight and spoke with excitement tinged with disbelief.
"...Incredible. This administration's approval rating has actually risen by 14.3 percentage points."
Sitting down at his own desk, Duke, the editor-in-chief, pulled a document from a drawer. As he rapidly wrote something on it with his fountain pen, he grinned.
"Yes. The public is very interested in the Ares Program and the ongoing volunteer selection. Columbia Television has already contacted us about putting together a talk show soon."
Anders looked up. "A talk show? Who are they inviting?"
Duke said, "The three lucky winners, of course. The Ares Program volunteers."
Anders's eyes widened in surprise. Planting both hands on his desk, he stood up and said incredulously, "Oh, shit. They've already picked the three lucky winners?"
Duke said, "They picked them last week. It just isn't time to announce it yet. An old friend at NASA told me the three astronauts are already training in the Arizona desert, learning basic spaceflight skills... and some essential general knowledge."
Anders asked reluctantly, "Are they all ordinary people?"