Journal of Supermassive Astronomy and Astrophysics:
Submission Update
Dr. Erin Monaghan,
Our editors have received an allegation of fraudulent data present in “Investigating the Impact of Tidal Disruption Events on the Axis Rotation of Galaxies Proximal to Black Holes.” Publication of your paper has been suspended at this time, pending committee review.
Regards,
Dr. Ronald Sams, Editor-in-Chief
She didn’t swear, now.
She didn’t say anything at all.
She just stared down at her email, unblinking.Unbreathing?Because if her sole-author paper was pulled from publication, its results that would’ve provided funding justifications for upcoming grants couldn’t be cited, and she’d lost a critical opportunity to establish herself as a name in their field.
Or as a name that she wanted.
She wouldn’t be linked to virtuosic analyses of black hole behaviors, Hawking radiation, or insights into the construction of space-time.
Dr. Erin Monaghan would be publicly associated with fraud.
“Ah…”
She swayed, her face white.
“Erin—” Ethan reached for her. Despite her colorless cheeks, her skin burned under his touch. Her pulse jittered as he guided her back into her chair. He pulled apart a danish into small bites and told her, “Eat this. Breathe.”
“I…”
“I know.” He did.
Dr. Ronald Sams was a name he’d seen as an attendee at various networking dinners for which Dr. Kramer had requested reimbursement through SVLAC’s Finance department. He was also listed in the caption of Dr. Kramer’s prized golfing photo.
His supervisor knew Ronald Sams.
Now Sams had blocked Erin’s paper from publication.
Fraudulent data, just like Ethan himself had implied at their all-hands.
Fuck.
Not even twenty-four hours after she’d…
…and this—thiswas what he’d feared. This swift brutality, this retaliation for her defiance, her assertiveness, her challenge to Dr. Kramer’s authority. For her clear-eyed insubordination. Her honesty.
What contributions areyouoffering to our quantum gravity research, Dr. Kramer?
Scientific parasite.
He’d agreed to help her find evidence of his manager’s misconduct. Not in order to claim credit for his own past work, not even to ensure his attribution for the outcomes of their quantum gravity project. But to protect her. Because if they had documentation and Dr. Kramer knew it, then maybe he wouldn’t act against Erin, wouldn’t…
He’d failed.
He should’ve known that he had no time.
This is how you lose the time war.
