One-Shot

In ONE-SHOT, by James Blish, on the day that the Polish freighter Ludmilla laid an egg in New York harbor, Abner Longmans ("One-Shot") Braun is in the city going about his normal business, which is making another million dollars. The text asks what to do given the situation that neither data nor time is adequate and an answer must be produced. The narrator says the Harbor Defense chief, Harry Anderton, phoned at 0830 Friday asking them to take on the job of identifying the egg.

Andy tells Braun over the phone that it is the biggest gamble there ever was, that he thinks they need an expert, and asks whether Braun can come down to CIA's central headquarters right away. Braun answers that he will come if it is that big, otherwise he has lots of business there and is not going to be in town long, and asks if Andy is sure it is top stuff. The narrator says that they failed the test and that, at one minute short of the deadline, Joan had the divers unscrew the cap.