"Do you know what they've been calling the astronauts down there? 'Failures'! As if the process isn't demeaning enough," Lance barked.

"I've been made aware. I'm sorry. I've asked them to recalibrate their vocabulary," the administrator said, apologising on their behalf. The gene team and the astronauts had not been seeing eye to eye recently, ironically. The geneticists had a tendency to forget their test subjects had once been Homo sapiens, viewing them more as defective, discardable prototypes in the process of refining their size-reducing gene therapies. The astronauts, meanwhile, always strong-headed by nature, only seemed to swell their egos to compensate as their physical stature decreased.

"They treat us like lab rats," Lance grumbled. "And it's not just about me. I need to know there'll be someone standing up for the boys once I'm gone."

"Gone?" asked the Administrator politely.

"Once I'm off-world."

"Ah, yes, about that," said the Administrator. "Care for a drink?"

How to put this gently? There was a bottle of good scotch in his desk. He poured a measure large enough to drown the diminished astronaut. He really needed to order some more tumblers. He pushed it across his desk.

Lance pushed it back. "I don't drink before a mission."

"There is no mission, Lance. You won't fit the portal. You're still three inches too tall."

"Forty billion light years and you're quibbling over three inches! I'll fit," Lance said adamantly. "You lube me up and you fire me through."

"Not without dislocating your arms and legs."

"Five-milligram of relaxin, directly into the pelvis. Reversible subluxation."

"Your blood is already 90% hormones, Lance - any more and your cells will start melting. Beside, we want to stand a man on another world. How do you plan to do that with joints like silly putty?"

Lance slammed the table with one small, clenched fist. "I'll fit, damnit! I'll fit! Do you realise what I've sacrificed for this project? I used to be respected around here. Now it's like people don't even notice me."

"That's simply not true. You're still a big...- a relevant part of this organisation. There will be many roles here, on Earth, that will require your expertise once the first colony is established."

The Administrator looked up as his office door opened. "Speaking of, I've not yet introduced you to our off-world liaison. Naomi, please, take a seat - no, not that one!"