There was only a month and a half until the end of the year, and it was impossible to spend the money according to the letter of the law (Introducing New Laboratories). The builders, who had originally promised the new building by May 1, then the October holidays, and then Constitution Day, were now talking about May 1 of the following year. The crates and boxes of equipment were crowding the parking grounds. Besides, unused monies were always dangerous because they could lead the planning organizations to cut the budget the next year. And so, Arkady Arkadievich announced a “contest” at the institute seminar: who could come up with the best plan for using the eighty thousand before the year was out? Krivoshein suggested a “Lab of Random Research.” Since there were no other suggestions, he had to agree to this one.

Arkady Arkadievich did so against his better judgment and even changed the name to the more proper “Lab for New Systems.” Labs were created to suit people, and for now, Krivoshein was a loner — a fair schematic engineering technician but nothing more. Let him get his fill of independence and overextend himself, and when it came down to research, he'd beg for a director himself. Then they could look for a good candidate of sciences, or better yet, a Ph.D., and create the lab's profile to suit him.

Of course, Arkady Arkadievich did not discount the possibility of Krivoshein's shaping up. The idea he had proposed at the senior council last summer on… on what had it been? Oh, yes, the self — organization of electronic systems through the introduction of arbitrary information… this idea could be the basis for a master's thesis or a doctoral dissertation. But with his penchant for disagreeing with people and his hot temper, Azarov doubted it. Back at that council meeting, he shouldn't have dealt with Professor Voltampernov's remarks that way; poor Ippolit Illarionovich had to take pills after the meeting. No, no, Krivoshein's insubordination was completely inexcusable! There was still no data to show that he had proved his ideas; of course, a year wasn't a very long time, but an engineer was no Ph.D. who could get away with getting involved in research that takes decades.