17. A Series of Embarrassments
After weeks of troubleshooting, The Great Panjandrum’s developers returned to the beach, after attaching a third wheel to the device to improve stability. It was another embarrassment, as the device hurtled toward the beach, only to double back and turn back to sea towards the launching craft. In the meantime, some rockets detached from the Great Panjandrum’s wheels and launched themselves at observers on the beach, whistling over their heads or exploding underwater nearby.
Returning to the drawing board, the Great Panjandrum’s designers worked out the bugs. Figuring that they finally had it under control, the device’s proponents scheduled a final demonstration in front of a gathering of admirals and generals. As it turned out, the earlier embarrassments were destined to be eclipsed by the ignominy of the weird device’s final test.
