The Green Hills of Earth

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The phrase The Green Hills of Earth derives from a story by C. L. Moore (Mrs. Henry Kuttner), and is used here by her gracious permission.

–R.A.H.

Sure, we had trouble building Space Station One – but the trouble was people.

Not that building a station twenty-two thousand three hundred miles out in space is a breeze. It was an engineering feat bigger than the Panama Canal or the Pyramids – or even the Susquehanna Power Pile. But «Tiny» Larsen built her – and a job Tiny tackles gets built.

I first saw Tiny playing guard on a semi-pro team, working his way through Oppenheimer Tech. He worked summers for me thereafter till he graduated. He stayed in construction and eventually I went to work for him.

Tiny wouldn't touch a job unless he was satisfied with the engineering. The Station had jobs designed into it that called for six-armed monkeys instead of grown men in space suits. Tiny spotted such boners; not a ton of material went into the sky until the specs and drawings suited him.

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