The room is silent as I enter. Not the best atmosphere for collecting on a promise. Cheney sits in an overstuffed leather chair and looks the way I feel, quite exhausted. Rumsfeld was supposed to be here but he is in Iraq. Condi is here too. I am glad she is because I have discussed these plans with her quite extensively and I am sure she has been priming the President for my requests.

"Long time no see. The last time, as I recall I was sending you on a wild goose chase to France." The President extends his hand and the greeting is a formal one. Whenever he uses the trappings of office to keep distanced I know he has been prepped. I get the distinct feeling Rove is in the wing somewhere and has left the room just a few moments before my arrival.

"But you kept your promise - you got me Saddam."

"An ear to the ground in Tikrit eventually paid off."

"So now you are here to get me to keep my end of the bargain. Well, fire away. Let me hear what you've got."

He returns to his high back blue leather chair, kicks his feet up on his beautifully carved desk and folds his hands - a pose he often held in the meetings at Crawford. He is relaxed and that is good. I slide into one of the royal blue and sand colored chairs which is turned to face his chair.

"I want Mars."

I pause to let the message sink in.

"I want a moonbase, an orbiting space dock and a new manned ship that can explore the planets. I want to phase out the shuttle and put man back in space."

I look around the room casually to see the reaction. The room is full of poker faces. Cheney is slightly grinning but I am not sure if it's a mocking grin or an amused one. Condi is very serious. She is leaning forward attentively with her notepad in her lap and a pen in her hand and she appears to be taking notes. That is a real good sign and I am getting excited but I need to control my enthusiasm.

I turn and look back at Bush. He is very serious and is looking me dead in the eye again. That's another good sign.

"That's a tall order. But I made a promise to you and I intend to keep it. What do you think this is going to cost?

"A hell of a lot."

I pause again to let it sink in.

"But this time it will be worth every penny. NASA can be streamlined into agency whose sole purpose is a manned exploration initiative. Wasted dollars can be redirected and public support is strongly behind manned space. The space shuttle is obsolete and its image is forever tarnished. It is long overdue for retirement."

"Give me a ballpark figure."

"6 billion per year. 1 billion for the first year and double it the second year then increase by 2 until it's a steady 6 billion higher than it is now."

I hear Cheney whisper something.

"What's that?"

Bush must've heard it too.

"Undoable. Those figures are going to be nickel and dimed to death by Senators from New York to California till you end up with a repeat of 1981."

"How can we make it happen." When Bush utters those words I know he is really going to see this through. They are the exact same words he used when orchestrating the CIA into Afghanistan after 9-11. Condi puts her pad down and I watch as she moves from the couch to one of the chairs right alongside the President's desk.

"I have been through the budget with a fine tooth comb and I know we can scrape at least 150 million of lard off of the plate and not have touched any of the meat underneath. We need to diversify the programs so that each state gets a big chunk of the contract work that this initiative will entail - then we lobby like no tomorrow - like we've had to before."

I interrupt.

"I've worked on this for quite awhile. Here's the lobbying talking points:

China. China wants to go to the moon. They've orbited a man. If we let them recapture the space initiative - we could loose the moon and all our satellite edge. We have to put a lunar base on the moon to control the moon and secure some of our most expensive interests.

This should work well with the hawks who are most likely to balk when their own projects are threatened. By merging a military necessity with an exploration goal - you can kill two birds with one stone and win public and congressional support for the endeavor."

Condi turns to me and smiles, "Very good. I like it. You have given this a lot of thought haven't you?"

"I know some folks who would give their right arm to see us back in space. Exploration is synonymous with the American Spirit."

Cheney laughs. "Save it for the sound bites." But Bush is not laughing. He is twirling a pen in his hand.

"Who's going to fight us on this. I mean really fight us."

Cheney laughs again, " 'Who isn't going to fight us?' is the question. But for starters? The democrats will create a solid wall of opposition. They can't effectively talk about deficit spending and then say they support a large space initiative. Their most powerful constituent block doesn't give a darn about mars but about labor protection, tariffs and unchecked illegal immigration."

"Okay. So who on our side is going to be an obstacle. And how do we set it up so that we can sneak off with a few votes from the other side of the aisle to bolster this thing's chances?"

Condi speaks up. "It's an election year. Your opponents are weaker than they have ever been and we hold all the aces. This initiative can be sold to the people first - and the private sector - and we take our turn at bat to swing at each obstacle as it pops up."

"Ok. Make it happen."

Those four words echo in the room. At least they seem to echo to me as I hear them. I see Bush look at his watch. Bush knows when he has said enough and I know my time and work here is done. He gets up from his seat and I get up from the chair. His eyes conceal his feelings a bit, but I think I see a spark in there. He knows this is not about me - just as I know this is not about him. It is bigger and we are both running against the tide for others' interests. Condi and Cheney rise and shake my hand perfunctorily. They know I've hit the jackpot - and their looks betray they know I know it too. Condi offers to walk me out of the White House as my car is called for.

"I want mars - that was a nice touch. But this war is just beginning. I'll do what I can on this end - but you better rally whatever troops you can and get some of the corporate boys excited. We can make it worth their while and we have to because we are going to have to sell this thing long before it comes up for a vote. See if you can get Lock-mart and the others to open their election year strongboxes early."

"It's as good as done Condi - and Condi...thanks. I really owe you one. Next time youre in the southwest - dinner's on me." She gives me a quick friendly hug goodbye which surprises me somewhat. But a pleasant surprise. I must be doing something right.

As I pull away and off to the Lear waiting for me at Ronald Reagan, I pop a cd in the player, a CD which I had brought along just for this occasion.

"Thus Spoke Zarathrusta" never sounded so damn good.

SDAI-Tech1