So commissioner Saviniki asked that I warm you up with with a joke So she doesn't have the pressure of having to come up with a joke So a photon checks into a hotel and the bell hop says do you need some help with your luggage and the photon says no, thanks I travel light All right, I'll work on these for next year So let me introduce commissioner Saviniki Commissioner Christine Saviniki was sworn in for a second term as a commissioner of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission on June 29th 2012 her first term began in March of 2008 She came to the Commission from a position on the staff of the Senate Armed Services Committee where she worked on issues such as nuclear defense programs Nuclear security and environmental management Prior to her work in the Senate commissioners Saviniki worked as a nuclear engineer in various positions with the US Department of Energy Both in Washington DC and in Idaho before that she was an energy engineer for the Wisconsin Public Service Commission And on a personal note In my 30 years or so as a member of the US NRC you kind of form You know some favorites among commissioners I have to say commissioner Saviniki is one of my favorites because of her intelligence her her focus on providing what I believe to be very excellent vote sheets and well-written and Not the least of which is a dry wit that I come to appreciate greatly. So I give you commissioner Christine Saviniki Well, good morning. Thank you bill for that Introduction and I very much appreciate your kind words. I think when I began my service as a commissioner It was my hope that I would earn the respect of the agency's hard-working staff or at least some of them So that's very meaningful to me. Thank you I'm very pleased to take part in this year's regulatory information Conference it is the first intergalactic Regulatory information conference as is evidenced by the model of the death star that appears in the middle of the stage there I think that the people working on the artwork saw they saw Star Wars for sure. I think But my hats off to their creativity, I'm not the least but creative artistically or visually so I do appreciate The hard work on on the artwork I and I do want to add my thanks to the many NRC employees who make the conference possible I know we all say this But we need to say it because of the fact that we would not have the successful conference every year if it weren't for our many Conference staff and volunteers So I do thank them and many of them do it and do it again each year. So that's great I would like also to acknowledge our many colleagues in attendance who've joined us from across the country And around the world and and I thank you for taking your very precious time and traveling here to be with us Or even tuning in to the webcast because there are many things Competing for your attention. I'm sure so appreciate your time and to any of those That I've met this year or spoken to or visited your facilities I do appreciate you adding to my journey of continuous learning Which is what it is or has been for me to be an NRC commissioner Spent a journey of continual learning and and I do thank you for sharing your wisdom and insights and experiences with me I also would like to acknowledge the president presence of other important partners from federal state agencies I don't know if we have any local officials here today But the NRC's many critical relationships with other governmental entities are essential to the achievement of our mission So I thank you for taking the time to be here and in some cases for agreeing to be panelists in some of our breakout sessions Thank you for that. Good morning to my commission colleagues chairman Burns Thank you for your willingness to return to the NRC for a term of service on the commission and Subsequently to serve as its chairman. I'm very grateful for your willingness to do that commissioner baron Thank you for your willingness to come at all of these issues with a fresh perspective and to challenge us to consider things from different vantage points I really value your many contributions to the commission and your service here and Commissioner Austin dwarf I didn't just jump over you arbitrarily as has been mentioned after Completing your current term of service in June you have elected to turn your attention to the important work of shaping young minds and To invest your energy in the development of the policy leaders of tomorrow those are the women and men who will at some day it forms just like this one take your place and take my place and I think we all share a debt of gratitude to you for your willingness to do that work It has been a pleasure and certainly an honor to serve alongside you first as Congressional staff colleagues and then here on the nuclear regulatory commissions and we have traveled an interesting road my friend Have we not we certainly have and you know I just want to say there's been reference to the fact of differing views and differing opinions But in those rare instances where commissioner Austin dwarf and I just did not or could not for whatever reason see I tie in An issue I always knew that your position was rooted in principle It was advanced with a lot of honesty sometimes very raw honesty and it was defended always without any malice or guile And I think it is possible doesn't seem very evident But it is possible to have those kinds of very civil and respectful differences of opinion I would like to think I haven't served on other commissions But I would like to think that our commission tries to model that behavior always we try to model it for our staff as They might have differences of opinion For with each other, but I think we try to model it more broadly that it is possible and I felt really good I thought we got some acknowledgment in our two most recent congressional hearings Comments from the dais from congressmen and senators that they they could observe that it was apparent How well we work together, so I think we should take some pride in that I think it's it's an accomplishment and it's pronounced fuchsia and it's not fuchsia Which is always what you want to call it or it's pronounced pink anything any color you'd like to call it But it is technically fuchsia. I know I expanded your view of what colors can be made in a different types of apparel I just think you're jealous because as I look out I noticed that all the gentlemen really have are their wardrobe is confined somewhat narrowly to Parts of the color palette and women can wear anything they want almost pretty much Well, if they're their Lady Gaga or somebody they can wear whatever they want, but you know I also would know I wanted to wear and as I was trying to leave the house today. I felt that I should go put on a black Outfit I'm all seriousness. I was very tempted to do that, but then I was Remembering that today is International Women's Day, so I want to welcome all of the women here today today is International Women's Day and I Thought you know I didn't want to wear a bright color because it seemed not serious to me And then I have these long internal monologues with myself and I said really Christine on International Women's Day You don't want to wear it because it's feminine because being feminine is not serious So I really you know I really challenged myself on this stuff. I'm like no There's nothing that makes it not seriousness. That's somebody. It's not serious. That's just somebody Else's opinion about it. And so Although I think in the United States for our international visitors I don't know that we make as much of International Women's Day as a number of other countries do but first lady Michelle Obama will be meeting with Girls in schools today because the theme at least in the US this year is let her learn about the education of girls and women Which I think is a very important topic to be talking about so This is my eighth Rick speech not that I'm counting or anything and in a few short weeks I'll begin my ninth year of service on this commission That brings to mind for me. I wasn't gonna mention this is a little off-color But I was listening to a female comedian and she goes you hear about women being in labor for 20 hours I don't even want to do something pleasurable for 20 hours. It's like way too long to be doing something but eight years is a long time to be doing something and You tend to fall into patterns one unfortunate pattern is as I mentioned last year I told a joke at my first Rick and then people have this expectation that you'll tell another joke Now as I sat here this morning. I thought perhaps mr. Dean is well and truly taking that Responsibility off my shoulders. I don't have any better jokes than him. I had to decide Pons are the lowest form of humor. Am I the only one who calls them that so I had a pawn and I'm a vegetarian so it was funny to me The other one is based on such tired Sexist stereotypes that I wasn't going to tell it and then I thought wait. It's International Women's Day So I ought to tell that one because women come off looking kind of good in it So I don't know between you should I tell neither what should I do go for okay, so both Well, I think I heard a clear vote for both So the first one is have you heard that there's new scientific evidence that vegetables can feel Pain as you're eating them. That's why I drowned all mine in dressing. It's the only romaine thing to do Okay, and the other one since that one went over so well, I got a little bit more out of them than you have done You're a commissioner. Okay. Oh, that's right He said I'm a commissioner. So you have to laugh So a computer company distributed a corporate clothing catalog, you know like logoed catalog for the employees It included a pair of cufflinks that had the two keys from the computer keyboard for control and escape a Female employee was overheard saying to another make a great gift for any man because it would remind him of the two things He can never have So let me that was a good one see I thought funny the men liked it because you're all a Really good spirited group, but I don't know the women if the women liked it, but anyway, maybe we liked it for different reasons I Should Try to get through some remarks I guess here and then if we wanted to leave time for commissioner ostendorf I did talk to bill about ending early Partly because commissioner ostendorf's q&a has the potential to be the most interesting thing in the Rick Have you noticed how when people are leaving they become like really honest about things His q&a might really be good But the best analogy I could use I am beginning to feel the longer I met NRC that that I draw these comparisons to a family it does feel like being in a family There's a musician and spoken word poet loud and wane right and I'm a fan of his works But he was he has this way that he put it He said I doubt that the length of the acquaintance Necessarily makes it easier for loved ones to know you better or for you to know them The past keeps getting in the way, and I think that is true in families a little bit true in NRC And as a commissioner I communicate on the issues that come before me principally through the vehicle of my written votes Or in the case of our adjudicatory orders through a descent or additional views that I might append to that decision And in the course of the last year since I spoke here those views and various forms have run the gambit from very sincere expressions of commendation from me to the NRC staff for those Instances where I feel that their work was very insightful, and I feel very blessed by the careful and disciplined work that they do To those instances where I have called out things when I'm not convinced when I think that maybe it isn't going to work the way people think and So I you know it runs the gambit and that's why Bill's expression of at least acknowledging my hard work is so meaningful to me Because that's what I'm there to do as a commissioner. I kind of say I'm the internal skeptic I'm the asker of tough questions, and I just had the opportunity to meet the newest member of the Defense Nuclear Facility Safety Board And he was saying well ask a lot of questions some of them are dumb I don't like that phrase dumb questions, but he said you know that out of food I asked ten questions that tenth one sometimes really gets to something that we all need to talk about and I think that that's true In his Washington Post review of the book Descent and the Supreme Court book reviewer David Cole writes Majority opinions are exercises in power Descends our appeals to our better judgment the majority prevails But the dissenters role is by far the more romantic It is the work of the individual who on principle stands against the crowd History not rhetoric or cogency determines whether a dissent wins out in the long run Yet by articulating a compelling vision a persuasive dissent can contribute to the arc of historical change My recent vote on the establishment of centers of expertise comes to mind in this regard although I Wouldn't call the vote romantic. I'll have to think more about that I knew I wasn't going to be on the winning side of the question when I cast the vote So I was able to shall we call it give full license to my Misgivings about the proposal now anyone who's in NRC is a student of my positions And I certainly hope you have better things to do with your free time But you know that I am a near universal skeptic of the establishment of task forces steering committees groups centers Directorates or any of the other broad panoply of bureaucratic workarounds for what I think is often some sort of process or Organizational dysfunction, and I think that you ought to get we have a little thing a nuclear called a root cause So I'm big on those but in this specific case I even attached a memorandum to that vote was an internal NRC memo from 1979 Where an individual spoke very freely an NRC individual spoke very freely About how such a proposal had been tried and had failed and his view as fundamentally Unworkable now only time will tell if as David Cole said about distant dissents Whether or not my vote will contribute to the arc of historical change But over enough time maybe who knows in some cases playing the role of internal skeptic is no more Complicated than attempting to hold the agency's work product to the same high levels of scrutiny as it will be held To after it is finalized But doing so before that work product leaves the building as final regulatory action In the case of rulemaking the standards is laid out in the Administrative Procedure Act of 1946 or straightforward Under that law the reviewing courts are instructed to hold unlawful and set aside agency action findings and conclusions that are found to be one Arbitrary capricious and abuse of discretion or otherwise not in accordance with the law to contrary to constitutional right power privilege or immunity Three in excess of statutory jurisdiction authority or limitations or short of statutory right or For without observance of the procedure required by law now This seems straightforward enough doesn't it until you throw into the mix court deference to agency Expertise factual expertise as well as deference to the agency's own interpretation of its powers under the relevant statute as Long as the right procedural steps are followed the odds seem pretty much stacked in the regulators favor Still that makes the role of the internal skeptic that much more necessary and important There's nothing to stop the NRC from requiring the most exacting standards of itself and Careful study of the agency's regulatory history would bear out that traditionally the NRC has held it to higher Standards, I think than any of its critics have held it So what exactly is the reward for fulfilling the role of internal skeptic? Well, I would say it provides its own satisfaction as better articulated in the words of Abraham Lincoln Let us have faith that right makes might and in that faith Let us to the end dare to do our duty as we understand it Or Considering this is a very diverse crowd if you prefer your wisdom in the form of a country music lyric Stand your ground when everybody's given in and Low and behold when you stand that ground long enough you might find That you convince people of something now and then you might even convince a group of people to change their mind about something and Those moments, I will tell you are the particularly gratifying ones Those are the moments that keep you in it for the long haul and if your tenure is long enough You might also develop a deeper understanding of where and how things change and where they don't or where they are not likely to It recently occurred to me I don't know what I was thinking of at the time But I did some quick Calculation in my head and it occurred to me that if an NRC employee has in the neighborhood of 25 years that they've spent with NRC as an agency employee I have been a commissioner on their commission for about one-third of their career and That's something I tend to call scary math meaning it's math that you do and you kind of go That's kind of scary that to think to think of that So I try not to think about it, but what insights have I developed in that time period by my Observation it's people that change the most readily partly because people are more resilient often than we give them credit for But partly also in an organization people will move in and out and through various positions of responsibility in the organization So to my observation, that's the most ready type of change that you see Processes are the thing that change the next most readily in my observation and least changeable of all is Culture now, I'm certainly not suggesting that it's impossible to change an organization's culture And I would even posit to you that there are some good things about culture not being readily changeable Almost every organization has positive attributes to their culture and you want those to be deep-rooted But you've heard this morning and you will hear more throughout this conference About NRC's project aim initiative in a session this afternoon I think we've heard tell of this the nuclear industry nuclear industry presenters will discuss Initiatives they have going on industry-wide to respond to changes in the broader energy economy But in within their industry as well If we step back though, I think in any given period it's tempting to claim that we are faced with uniquely dynamic levels of change levels of change that our predecessors didn't have to confront I Personally think that that distorts reality a bit. I I instead look at it as an enduring Change imperative that's going on all the time for people and organizations I think it's the concept of remaining static That's an illusion as we're sometimes reminded even if you think you're standing still The earth is moving so you're actually in in in movement yourself So I think our commitment to to ongoing change or a better word would be a commitment to ongoing adaptation as people and as organizations That commitment needs to be deep and enduring in my mind and I appreciate that Victor McCree made some reference to this this morning He said long after we stopped referring to project aim as project aim and call it something else I think what Victor was talking about was this change imperative this adaptation imperative that we have I think anything less than a deep commitment to that and acknowledgment of it is a disservice to those we serve and Those we lead. I think that a commitment to continuous learning and change is Reflected in the nuclear technology professions in NRC as an organization It's our commitment to continuous improvement and a learning environment In other words, sometimes you're just in it for the long haul whether you wish it or not whether you expected to be or not Whether you want project aim to be one and done It's going to be followed by the next necessary change and the next adaptation and the one after that and the one after that In her article entitled the long haul the journalist Amy Schoen writes. I have a confession to make I've been reading the same book for nine years in my defense. It's really long I don't know if it makes it better or worse that it's an obscure book I'm in no particular hurry to finish for one thing. There's not much of a plot So it's not as if I've been on the edge of my seat for a decade and for another Reading this book has become part of who I am in In this article she goes on to examine what she terms the mystical appeal of the long haul Why do people stay at something for a long period of time? She concludes that the appeal lies in quote being and staying open to the possibilities It lies in enjoying the slowness of a worthy complex endeavor in Surrounding yourself with people with positive people of a like mind and Remembering to laugh even through the moments that aren't fun Even when you look in front of you and see hundreds more miles to walk Even when life takes over and you need to put away your project and come back to it later These are all part of the process. They are all in fact what makes the long haul so very worthy And in the end by pushing ourselves by digging deep We will get a little closer to knowing what we are made of This week we mourned the passing of a I was going to say a large figure in American political life Very small woman, but a very significant figure in American political life Nancy Reagan passed away a couple of days ago Now she will be in a few days laid to rest next to her husband President Ronald Reagan in California at the site of his presidential library at the dedication of that presidential library in 1991 President Reagan spoke these words the last part of which is actually engraved on his tomb Just the last part of the quote. I'm going to give he said in my 80 years I've seen what men can do for each other and to each other I've seen war and peace feast and famine Depression and prosperity sickness and health I've seen the depths of suffering and the peaks of triumph and I know in my heart that man is good That what is right will always eventually triumph and that there is purpose and worth to each and every life Thank you So commissioner. We have a handful of questions This first one actually I think is a pretty good one Based on your experiences as a congressional staffer and a commissioner Are there any legislative innovations that the commission could recommend or pursue? For example at a past commission hearing David Lockebaum of the UCS suggested there be financial incentives for safety enhancements The commission our commission of course has the opportunity to propose legislative changes and fixes to the Congress I Don't know that I've sat and thought hard about this in recent time but I I I think my reaction would be more that I marvel at the wisdom of the Atomic Energy Act I think that in its form and as subsequently amended rather modestly over the years I think it provided a very forward-looking and fulsome structure for the United States of America To harness the power of the atom for good and civilian and for various civilian uses And I think within that framework it is up to the NRC To take that legal framework and craft this body of regulation which we've done That I think is is very robust and I'm hard-pressed there might be ways that we could further improve our regulations themselves But I don't think that I would say that I find the law itself lacking So here's a question related to your expression of your role as an internal skeptic Thanks for honoring the role of the internal skeptic. It's indeed important How do you view the role of the external skeptic including those who believe the NRC? Does not fully endorse adequate safety? I'm very sincere in stating that I Love that we get a diversity of public comment chairman Burns was asked a question along these lines earlier and he said I think it was a you know, how do you feel about getting? Public comment that is on the maybe extremes of the continuum of perspectives that the public holds I think that that's very valuable in reference to my statement about asking Ten questions nine of which fall pretty flat, but the tenth one is the one that everybody forgot to ask I think that it is useful to have the far extremes of public comment I spend a good bit of time looking at public comment records that we receive not just the staff's Synthesis and response to those. I think that that's where you're going to discover Things that might otherwise fall through the gaps now You don't always agree with the far extremes of Perspectives that are presented to you, but I think that there's there's real value in spending some time Considering those things that might seem a little bit out there but really make you step back and I will say that as a commissioner it's a tremendous privilege, but It's an awesome responsibility and not awesome like young people say as in it awesome as an inspiring awe Maybe a little bit scary at times to have this kind of public Responsibility to balance all of these perspectives and arrive at a decision or judgment is great I think to serve on a commission where my individual view then gets balanced against people who have very different resumes than me And so at the end of the day when I talk to friends and family about the safety of nuclear in the United States It's not just my wisdom. It's that whole system of making sure that We thought about it from every angle and I know it seems tedious and ponderous at times And it it takes a lot of time to go through those procedural steps But as a result, I think that's where you can reside all your confidence. It's not in the wisdom of any man or woman It's this collective ability to make sure that we've looked at it hard and from every angle So I think that the people who have views on the mark believe you me There's days that I cast a vote on our commission that I feel maybe just as extreme as any external skeptic feels I won't crawl under my car and check the brake lines before I drive. No, that's a horrible thing to say But some days we we kind of you know, it's like we cast that vote and it's like the missiles are flying, Hallelujah I know that I upset people. I do I maybe I but it's a I have tremendous respect for the NRC staff and and People are not shy about sharing their view with me I know that there's a lot of concern about why did people differ from other people? Maybe it's coming from Capitol Hill I'm bothered by that at all what I don't like is people not being respectful and not being civil I'm I wish we could all do a little bit better. It's why closed with the the remarks of Ronald Reagan because I mean He had a pretty rough political career and I know that politics can be rough business But I I do think that it's possible to have very different views and and come together And I think sometimes that my strong dissents or no votes or yes votes that are maybe for something else other than What was proposed? I think that they they play an important role and I struggle with dissents on adjudicatory Orders between the view that you don't want to shine a spotlight on the fact that you're dissenting because that means that others didn't agree with you But after the passing of Justice Scalia who I had tremendous respect for I thought about he was known for zingy Dissents now. I'm not prepared to to you know be in any way mentioned in the same sentence with Justice Scalia but you know he was very smart and someone I have a lot of respect for and He didn't pull his punches and so I think there's room for that as long as respect is there So the next next question is actually in an area that that You have expressed some skepticism with the staff on on the new reactor licensing process And the question is what lessons has the NRC learn from initial application of part 52? I think the concept is good and we're of I'm sorry Complete my thoughts the concept is good of segmented You know licensing for new reactors But I do continue to believe that for large light water reactors the strength of part 52 Is in the one-step licensing my understanding is and I guess is getting to be what 20 25 years ago now When people were trying to look at ways to get better stability and predictability into the reactor licensing process That was the core learning that is now reflected in part 52 It is interesting that we're now looking at maybe step-wise or segmented licensing for different types of reactors Now that might cause one to say well that invalidates the learning of part 52, but I don't agree with that I think you need a tailored application of process depending on what you're trying to do I was reading some remarks of Former deputy secretary Dan Poneman the other day and he had a great Nietzsche quote in there Which was the most common Form of human stupidity is to forget what we were trying to do in the first place So that's a great quote. I couldn't fit that into my remarks, but now I fit it into the Q&A But I think that you need to the processes are just processes They're tools we shouldn't be a servant of something it should serve us And I think that that is something that gives me a lot of comfort about the way that the NRC applies It's regulatory framework both as it exists I think the staff uses a lot of discernment and judgment in terms of applying the regulatory framework That's there you mentioned the shine technology, you know, we talk about that or people aren't close to it I can't describe to you how weird the shine technology is it was unlike Really anything we do on a day-to-day basis and and it does give me confidence that the NRC staff could take this Regulation and not regulation and say this applies and that doesn't apply or this applies to a certain extent or You know, how can the safety case be made here now? We are just at the construction permit stage and we'll get when we get to an operating license That'll that'll tell the larger tale there, but I think that that we do have the wisdom to go ahead and apply These processes I do think there are things in part 50 and 52 that just don't fit for small modular reactors and advanced reactors whatever form they might take and I'm Confident that even if we don't have a part xx. That's just for this exotic reactor We have the discernment and judgment to apply the basic safety and security fundamentals and emergency preparedness We can do that if we're allowed to exercise that judgment and I think We do have a lot of critics who are uncomfortable with the use of exemptions I I I don't have an issue with exemptions if you can force people to do something if you if you have the power under Law to compel you have to have a commensurate power to exempt or excuse or offer relief those two things Absolutely go hand in hand And so Anyone granted an exemption by the NRC I think would testify to the rigor with which they have had to demonstrate their ability to qualify for that exemption So I I think that if we're allowed to use the tools we have available I think 50 52 or however we might approach advanced reactors The basics are there to do just fine So here's a question related to Storage of high-level waste will the approval of interim storage be contingent on approval of the yucca mountain if the question refers to the Potential applications that the NRC might receive for consolidated storage facilities. These are the ones that have been much talked about in the trade press There is not any linkage we have regulations that would allow us to license Consolidated interim storage facilities. So unless I'm missing something about the question. There isn't any legal or regulatory nexus with disposal So one more question and then Sort of a coda at the end The statement of considerations for 10 CFR part 73 refers to high assurance Is this a term of art that means the same thing as reasonable assurance? Or does it support and ensure that we can maintain reasonable assurance of adequate protection of safety? I Haven't looked at 73 Particularly in some years. I'd have to go back and look at the context of the reference to high assurance Just from the English language standpoint. I don't it sounds different So I would need to look at the SOC the statement of considerations and I'd need to understand Maybe a distinction was being drawn with reasonable assurance there But that in and of itself would be odd to me and I'd want to understand that a little bit better There isn't anything in the Atomic Energy Act about security that calls for high assurance So I don't know sometimes we just get literary and and that's another reason I know people You know my votes. I'm such a stickler for just speaking with clarity and saying what you mean It's because 10 years from now 20 years from now your phrase ology that you thought was a rhetorical flourish becomes a career for a lawyer and a technical person's worse than I know so You know, that's why if you want to NRC has had Wonderful poetry slams. We actually have a spoken word poetry Contests inside the building and so people have other outlets for creative vague terminology that they want to use And it shouldn't be in regulations and it shouldn't be in guidance Yeah, matter of fact one of my staff Tonya Hood won that competition this year. It's amazing I went to one. I was out of town for the last one that was held this year Just NRC's creativity really the end in at least in spoken word poetry really blew me away It was amazing. So to NRC staff that can go to future ones. It's it's really great So the last one here is really not a question, but I think it's something that perhaps you and I have engendered And it's a joke for the commissioner How many nuclear engineers does it take to change a light bulb? The answer is two one to change the light bulb and one to find a place to store the old one for a hundred thousand years Hey, that's good Ladies and gentlemen Commissioner Christine


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Lecture 37, As-Salaam-Alaikum. Welcome to the virtual university's course on business and technical communication. In today's lecture, we are going to continue our language review and continue looking at sentences. We are going to look at sentence problems, which are caused due to lack of parallelism, problems because of choppy sentences. We are going to look at misplaced modifiers, how they can interrupt sentence structure. We are going to look at modifiers of nouns and adverb modifiers and see how we can use them effectively. We are also going to look at dangling modifiers. Another common error in sentences is the use of double negatives and we are going to look at how we can improve that. We are also going to look at inappropriate shifts within sentences. These shifts could be intense, mood, person or voice. We will learn about the correct use of sequence of tenses and pronoun reference. Pronoun reference problems could be caused because of unclear pronoun reference or broad pronoun reference and we will see what these two mean. We will also look at pronoun case. Let us have a look first at problems in sentences which are caused because of lack of parallelism. What do we mean by parallelism? Parallelism refers to the principle that parts of a sentence that are the same in function should be the same in structure. Words or phrases joined by a coordinating conjunction should have the same form. Basically, this means that the sentences should be parallel in whatever clauses that they have. All the clauses, all the phrases in a sentence should be parallel if they are performing a parallel function. Let us have a look at a few examples. An unacceptable sentence would be an important consideration in orthopedic surgery and how to implant prostheses is the possibility of infection. Now, in this example as you see there are two different phrases that are not parallel in structure. An important consideration in orthopedic surgery is one, the other is how to plant prostheses is the other and they are not in parallel structure. The improved version would be an important consideration in orthopedic surgery and prosthesis implants is the possibility of infection. Similarly, it would be unacceptable to say the comparison will cover possible mechanisms of change. This is a noun phrase how the fissures widen because of regional tectonic stress. This is a noun clause and are there changes in permeability from increased microcracking this is a question. Now, when you are listing three different things then again you will need to make sure that all the three different elements are parallel in structure. You cannot have one noun phrase, one as a noun clause and one as a question. Let us see how to improve this. It would be better to say the comparison will cover possible mechanisms of change, noun phrase hogya, fissures widening from regional tectonic stress, ye bhi noun phrase hogya and permeability from increased microcracking ye bhi noun phrase hogya. So, now all three are in have the same structure and they are performing the same function as in they are part of a list. When you are attempting to write sentences that are parallel make sure that all headings and subheadings are parallel with other headings and subheadings of the same level. Make sure all entries of the same level in an outline are parallel as well. Let us work on an example. It would be unacceptable to say three strategies for developing tooling systems for high speed machining and then the subheadings being how chemically stable materials are made, the other subheading being diffusion limited wear regimes. The first was a noun clause, second is a noun phrase and the third heading being isolate the tool from the workplace which is an imperative. Agar aap kye rahe hain aapki main heading has strategies for developing tooling systems aap hai aap teen different strategies batah rahe hain to aapki teeno different strategies yo hain wo different type ki nahi ho sakti. You cannot have one strategy phrased as a noun clause, one strategy phrased as a noun phrase and one strategy phrased as an imperative. Aapko teeno ko hi ek hi form mein deena padega. It would be more acceptable to say something like a main heading, aap deen strategies for developing tooling systems for high speed machining aap hai aap teeno strategies yo hain wo noun phrase ke toar pe deen, yaani aap kye hain chemically stable materials, diffusion limited wear regimes, aapne jo ke pehile noun phrase, noun clause tha, how chemically stable materials are made, isko aapne noun phrase kar diya, chemically stable materials bana diya, dosra to aap ka noun phrase tha hi, diffusion limited wear regimes aur tisra jo imperative tha isolate the tool from the workplace, isko bhi aap noun phrase banainge aur aap kahinge isolated tools from the workplace. Also you need to avoid choppy sentences, avoid using too many sentences that will create a choppy prose or a choppy effect in your prose. Choppy effect ka matlab ki aap hume pannai wale ko yeh lagin ki baar baar aapki baat kat rahi hai, vary your sentence types and combine short related sentences by making some elements dependent clauses or phrases. agar aapke sentences baat short short sentences sath sath aarein to kuch sentences ko aap combine ki jaye, kuch short sentences ko dependent clause ki jaye aur kuch ko independent ki jaye, ta ke aapke sentences me joh hai variety aasake, compare the following choppy sentences and their improved version. The weak version is on the screen in front of you, let us have a look at how this is improved. As you can see the short sentences have been combined to form slightly longer sentences and this gives much more cohesion and a much more effective impression of the sentence. Another problems with sentences in English is misplaced modifiers. This means that modifiers are not in the place where they should be, they are at some other place in the sentence. To ensure clarity place your modifiers clearly, make sure that your placement of modifiers does not interrupt the sentence structure or create ambiguity. If your modifier is not placed properly then it can do two things, it can either interrupt the sentence structure or it can create ambiguity which will mean that the sentence will not be very clear. Placing a modifier between the subject and the verb or between the verb and the direct object can weaken the structure of the sentence and it can make the sentence difficult to interpret. So try not to have your modifier between the subject and the verb. Also try not to have your modifier between the verb and the direct object because this will make your subject and verb continuity break or if your verb or direct object is unmodified then their connection will break or it will be difficult to interpret the sentence. In general the longer and more complicated the modifier the more it weakens the sentence. If your modifier is small then it will be difficult to interpret the sentence as much as it is complicated. As we have seen in the last lecture, we have seen stacked modifiers with the same modifier. Similarly, if your modifier is very long then it will have the same effect that it will not be clear what they are modifying and what it means. Although you can often get away with interrupting the structure of the sentence with a short one word modifier, adding a longer modifier significantly worsens the sentence. I had already told you in the lecture that you can use the modifier between the sentence but then the modifier should be small. If there is a long modifier between a sentence then the effect of the sentence will be broken. Modifiers of nouns should be placed either immediately before or immediately after the noun. If another phrase is allowed to separate the noun and its modifier, the modifier may be misinterpreted as applying to a noun in the separating phrase rather than to the original noun. So, try not to put any other phrase between the noun and the modifier. The modifier that is modifying the noun is close to the noun because if there is another phrase in the middle then the reader will not be able to know whether the modifier is modifying the original noun or modifying the noun in the phrase. Let us have a look at some examples. A weak sentence would be more than 750 metric tons of lead ingots were examined by the quality control inspectors that circled the base of the tower. This sentence says that ingots circled the base of the tower or quality control inspectors circled the base of the tower because when you say that so many ingots were examined by the inspectors that circled the base of the tower, it is the impression that the inspectors were circling the base of the tower. The improved version would be more than 750 metric tons of lead ingots that circled the base of the tower were examined by the quality control inspectors. Let us look at another example. For the most part, we considered computer simulations that mimic the lamprey's neural activity only. This sentence suggests that of more than one feature of the lamprey's behavior or more than one kind of activity, the investigation singled out neural activity. Again, possibly true, but that is not what the author wished to communicate. A core example, the Heron, Egret and Stork colonies in Everglades National Park that once each contained tens of thousands of birds whose bustling extravagance helped inspire the founding in 1905 of the National Association of Audubon Societies, later the National Audubon Society, have shrunk by 95% since the 1930s. Now, the improved version would be the bird colonies in Everglades National Park once each contained tens of thousands of birds whose bustling extravagance helped inspire the founding in 1905 of the National Association of Audubon Societies later the National Audubon Society, full stop. These colonies of Heron's Egrets and Stork have shrunk by 95% since the 1930s. Similarly, a weak sentence would be where you say, inventors unlocked more than a century ago the secrets of turning the sun's rays into mechanical power. Now, the improved way of saying this sentence would be, inventors unlocked the secrets of turning the sun's rays into mechanical power more than a century ago. Similarly, saying the ability to assemble structures at the atomic scale will require the development of molecular assemblers, tiny programmable robots able to precisely provide positional chemical bonding. The improved version would be the ability to assemble structures at the atomic scale will require the development of molecular assemblers, tiny programmable robots able to provide precise positional chemical bonding. To precisely provide chemical bonding, to provide precise positional chemical bonding, this made the sentence clearer. Now, adverb modifiers. We had talked about the nouns when we talked about modifiers. Now, let's talk about adverb modifiers. Adverbs should be placed as close as possible to the words or phrases that they modify. Adverbs, we know that adverbs are helping words which are used with some of the words to give additional meaning. They should be placed as close as possible to the words or phrases that they modify. If you allow an adverb to be separated from the word or phrase that it modifies, the interpretation of the adverb may become ambiguous. Just like when we modify a noun or something, it should be placed as close as possible to the words or phrases. Similarly, when we add an adverb to a phrase, it should be placed as close as possible to the words or phrases. Always place a quantity adverb immediately before the word that it modifies. Let's see the example of adverb modifiers. For all its richness, today's Everglades is a drastically diminished place. Now, drastically means to a great extent. Now, this is an adverb of quantity and it should be, as you see here, placed right before diminished. Be especially careful with the placement of adverbs only and just. These two adverbs are very important to keep in mind where you have placed them and used them. Because using them can change the meaning of the entire sentence. It can also make the meaning of the sentence ambiguous and change it to a great extent. Let's have a look at some examples where we are using only in different places in the same sentence. And let's see how that movement of that single adverb changes the complete meaning of the sentence. For the most part, we consider only computer simulations that mimic the lamprey's neural activity. This sentence suggests that of various simulations the investigators might have considered, they focused on just one, just of a certain sort. This is perhaps true, but not what the author wished to communicate. For the most part, we consider computer simulations that only mimic the lamprey's neural activity. This sentence suggests that some computer simulations might do more than mimic. This is nonsense, since all simulations just mimic the process that they are simulating. Similarly, changing the place of only again, for the most part, we consider computer simulations that mimic only the lamprey's neural activity. This is in fact how the author wrote the sentence. Though out of context, the sentence is still ambiguous. The point is that the neural activity only of the lamprey but not of other animals was the focus of the investigation or that only neural activity was to be simulated. As you can see, the only difference is that there is a special meaning and a special ambiguity. This is why we use it very carefully. When we talk of dangling modifiers, we have talked about misplaced modifiers. Now, when we talk of dangling modifiers, let's see what we mean by that. A dangling modifier or a modifier whose connection to the sentence is implied or intended but not actually made explicit is said to dangle. When a modifier whose connection to the sentence is implied or the writer has a connection to that modifier but the reader is not able to clear that connection. Then that modifier is dangling because it is not clearly visible in it. Dangling modifiers detract from the clarity of your writing. They take away from the clarity of your writing. So, you should make sure that your modifiers are properly connected to the words that they modify. To repair a dangling modifier, add a noun or phrase that the modifier was intended to modify in the first place and then rephrase the sentence accordingly. Whatever noun or phrase was intended to write as a writer, it was intended to modify this noun or phrase. Use that noun or phrase clearly in the sentence so that the reader knows what you are modifying. Let's have a look at an example where if the writer says when travelling at the speed of sound, the moon is approximately 320 hours away. Now this implies that the moon travels at the sound of speed whereas the moon does not travel at the sound of speed. The improved version would be an object travelling at the speed of sound will reach the moon in approximately 320 hours because when travelling at the sound of speed they don't know what is travelling. The moon is travelling. Also, try not to use double negatives. In fact, you should never use double negatives in your sentences. Use only one negative word to express a negative idea. In English, if you use two negatives, it makes a positive. Let's consider an example. It would be unacceptable to say the water management model simulated how water would flow through today's Everglades if all the pumps, gates and other water control devices had not never been built. Now, not never means at some time. So these two negatives made a positive. The acceptable sentence would be the water management model simulated how water would flow through today's Everglades if all the pumps, gates and other water control devices had never been built. Another commonly found mistake with sentences is that of faulty comparison. Where comparing one item with another can be a very powerful way of describing an object or a process. You need to be sure that what you are comparing is actually comparable with its counterpart. So all the things that are being compared need to be of the same type. To make your comparison effective, you must maintain parallelism in your comparison and include the basis of your comparison and ensure that your comparison is not ambiguous. When you construct a comparison, you must make the two items being compared parallel in structure. We just talked about parallelism at the beginning of this lecture. Whatever things are in one sentence whose function is one, their structure is one. Similarly, when we are comparing two items, the two items that are being compared should also be parallel. It would be unacceptable to say ecological modeling, which is a noun phrase, is even more difficult than to construct a hydrological model, which is an infinitive phrase. It would be more acceptable to say ecological modeling, which is a noun phrase, is even more difficult than hydrological modeling. This is also a noun phrase. Also, incomplete comparison detracts from the clarity of the writing. If your comparisons are not complete, then your writing is not clear. To be complete, a comparison must include both the item being compared and the item with which it is being compared. If you want your comparison to be complete, then you will include that item which you are comparing, but you have to keep in mind that that item is also included with which it is being compared. If both items are not included, then your comparison will be incomplete. If you leave out the main item being compared with, the reader will not understand your intended meaning. For example, it would be unacceptable to say ecological modeling is more difficult. More difficult than what? You have not explained what is more difficult than this. It would be acceptable to say ecological modeling is more difficult than hydrological modeling. Now, here you are comparing the two types of modeling. Similarly, it would be unacceptable to say ever since the early 1960s when the course of engineers completed the central and southern Florida flood control project. The area's fresh water has been shunted through 1,400 miles of canals and levees, 150 gates and spillways and 16 of the largest pumping stations. Now, the last one is the largest pumping stations where? Largest pumping stations in the project largest pumping stations in the area, largest pumping stations in the world. What are you comparing them with largest? Acceptable version would be ever since the early 1960s when the course of engineers completed the central and southern Florida flood control project. The area's fresh water has been shunted through 1,400 miles of canals and levees, 150 gates and spillways and 16 of the largest pumping stations in the world. Similarly, an unacceptable version would be the symposium revealed that more was known than realized. What are you trying to say here? Are you trying to say more was known than was accomplished or more was known than was thought? Are you taking the meaning of realize or the meaning of thought? Accepted way would be the symposium revealed that more was known than we realized. Also, von Neumann took a very different approach towards artificial intelligence, AI, than other computer scientists. Now here what are you trying to say? Are you trying to say that his approach towards AI was different from his approach towards other computer scientists or are you trying to say that his approach was different from the approach of other computer scientists? Are you trying to clarify what you are comparing with? Are you comparing von Neumann's approach towards other computer scientists or are you comparing his approach to other computer scientists? The acceptable form would be von Neumann took a very different approach towards AI than other computer scientists did. Are you comparing his approach to other computer scientists? So, this was when we talked about comparisons and how to make sure that the comparisons in your sentences were correct and that you were not missing out on what was being compared with and also that your comparisons were parallel in structure. Another common error is that of inappropriate in the tense of the sentence. You need to be consistent in your choice of tense, mood, person and voice. Shifting any of these categories without good reason will detract from the clarity of your writing again. As a general rule, verb tenses within a sentence of paragraph should be consistent. A shift in tense without reason distorts the sequence of events being described and will confuse your reader. If you shift your verb without any reason or tense then your readers will be confused about what was before and what was after. If you use past tense, then stay in past tense without any reason do not present tense or future tense. For example, let's have a look at a piece of writing where the tenses have shifted. It says, surgery made critical advances in the 19th century. The discovery of anesthesia by Crawford Long in 1842 gave doctors greater freedom to put their new anatomical knowledge to practical use. After Louis Pasteur discovered that microorganisms caused infections, Joseph Lister 1827 to 1912, a young Scottish surgeon realized that antiseptic surgical techniques would allow surgeons to suture wounds and avoid infection. Finally, Rwengen reports his discovery of X-rays in 1895 which is immediately put to practical use in surgical diagnosis. Now here, in the last sentence, present tense was used and present tense is not appropriate because what is mentioned are the past tense which should be present tense. Let's have a look at the improved version. Apart from being consistent in tense, you also need to be consistent in your choice of mood. A shift in mood without reason will confuse your readers. For example, do not combine an imperative clause with an indicative clause in the same sentence. We are going to have a look at an example which will make this clearer. It would be unacceptable to say read the instructions carefully which is imperative mood and then to continue the sentence in the indicative mood by saying and you must assemble the equipment completely before beginning the procedure. Here you have combined imperative or indicative. Now let's have a look at the acceptable version. It would be better to say read the instructions carefully and assemble the equipment completely. It would be better to say read the instructions carefully before beginning the procedure. Let's have a look at another example in which the mood is shifted and then let's have a look at the improved version of how the mood is the same. One use for van Neumann machines proposes a single space seed self-replicating factory that could be sent to another world where upon landing it will collect raw materials and build more copies of itself to accomplish some enormous engineering project. The acceptable version which does not shift is one use for van Neumann machines proposes a single space seed self-replicating factory that could be sent to another world where upon landing it would collect raw materials and build more copies of itself to accomplish some enormous engineering project. As you have seen here there is a parallelism between how the mood was shifting in the previous sentence. When you are choosing your tenses you need to choose the tenses of your verbs accurately to express the timing or the sequence of events that you are describing. Often the particular sequence of events that you are describing will require you to use several different verb phrases and verb tenses within a single sentence or paragraph. And then it is absolutely alright to shift your tenses because you have a particular reason. If what you are describing is a sequence of events in the past present or future then you can shift your tenses but if everything is in the past tense and you are shifting your tenses then that is wrong. You can shift your tenses although it is appropriate to vary your tenses in accordance with the actual timing of the events you should avoid shifting tenses unnecessarily. Be very clear in your mind that it is actually necessary to shift the tense here. If you cannot see a good reason to shift the tense then stick to the tense that you have been using. Pay special attention to how you express the sequence of events or the sequence of tenses when you are describing the timing of events or when you are paraphrasing ideas so that you are not shifting tenses at the wrong place so that your tense shifting is not irrelevant. Let us have a look at some examples where tense shifts are used incorrectly. Here it says on the screen before the development of anesthesia techniques surgeons would prepare their patients for surgery by getting them drunk. A better version, improved version would be before the development of anesthesia techniques, surgeons prepared their patients for surgery by getting them drunk. Similarly, at tomorrow's meeting she will officially announce she will be chosen yesterday to lead the government research project. Now here obviously the tense will be chosen does not match the word yesterday which is supposed to be in the past. So it would be acceptable to say at tomorrow's meeting she will officially announce she was chosen yesterday to lead the government research project. It would be similarly unacceptable to say the engineer informed us that she is not able to field test the device yesterday because it is raining. Here the tenses both the tenses used in the present but the sequence of events that is being talked about is in the past. So the tenses are not corresponding with the sequence of events. It would be more acceptable to say the engineer informed us that she was not able to field test the device yesterday because it was raining. If a previously spoken idea is a general fact that is always true or concerns a future event that has not yet occurred then you can either maintain the original verb tense of the idea or shift them to past tense to match the tense of the verb you used to introduce the idea. If you have already spoken about an idea and that is a general fact that is always true or something that concerns a future event but has not yet occurred then you can either use the tense of the verb or shift it to past tense so that the verb tense matches the original idea of the tense. Maintaining the original tense emphasizes the continuing validity of the idea whereas shifting the verb tense emphasizes the narrative quality of the paraphrase. As we will see in the next slide when the original tense is kept then the idea's validity is a continuation and when it is shifted then the narrative quality of the paraphrase has come. Now coming to pronoun reference pronoun reference refers to the identification of a pronoun with which with its intended antecedent the thing referring to matches the pronoun can identify with its antecedent or not. We call this pronoun reference. Two common problems in pronoun reference are unclear pronoun reference and broad pronoun reference. You need to make sure that all your pronouns are easily identified because if they are unclear or if they are too broad then the meaning will be lost. If your pronouns are unclear or are not matching with antecedent or are so broad that they can refer more than one thing in a sentence or paragraph then the meaning will not be so clear. Instead of a noun only if the connection with the intended antecedent is very clear. If you are using a pronoun then keep in mind that the place of the noun you are using then the reader will know clearly which pronoun is being mentioned. For example, if you are talking about someone's name you are talking about then keep in mind that the reader will also know which pronoun is being mentioned. Also make sure that no other nouns with the same gender and number appear between your pronoun and its intended antecedent. If between your pronoun and antecedent there is another type of pronoun whose gender or number is the same the pronoun you are giving then the reader will not know which pronoun is being mentioned. For example, as I said earlier you are talking about Salim and you are talking about him but if you are saying Salim went to the market he bought apples but if you are talking about Salim went to the market then someone else comes and then you are saying he bought apples then it will not be clear if you are saying Salim went to the market Altaf rode a bicycle he bought apples then he will not know if Salim bought a shape or Altaf bought it. So you need to be clear who it is that the pronoun is referring to. Similarly with number if you are using a the same paragraph or even within the same sentence then make sure that no other noun with the same number appears between those two because otherwise your pronoun reference will be unclear. Let us have a look at some examples which will make this concept clearer when a second character arrives at the port before the first character has been unloaded the port stores the second character in the same register overwriting it Now here you are using the pronoun of it but it is not clear what it is referring to a clear way would be when a second character arrives at the port before the first character has been unloaded the port stores the second character in the same register as the first one overwriting the first character here we have replaced it by the first character to make it clear that referring to. One main problem with the pronoun reference is also that the reference can be too broad. You will use a demonstrative pronoun only if the connection to the intended antecedent of the pronoun is quite strong. Otherwise, your pronouns reference will be too broad and thus become unclear. Let us have a look at what we mean by this and what we mean when we say demonstrative pronouns. The weak sentence is the sophisticated computer sound system lets the user input pitch and duration from the M-I-D-I keyboard. This facilitates musical transcription. Now, does the word this refer to the sophisticated computer sound system or does it refer to letting the user or does it refer to the inputting of pitch and duration? This is a demonstrative pronoun. The improved version would be sophisticated computer sound systems let the user input pitch and duration from the M-I-D-I keyboard. This direct input facilitates musical transcription. Now coming to pronoun case. A pronoun can appear in one of three cases. It can be subjective in which the pronoun functions as a subject. It can be objective in which the pronoun functions as an object and it can be possessive in which the pronoun functions as a possessor. We are going to have a look at a list which shows the subjective, objective and possessive forms of the personal pronouns. Subjective pronouns are I, you, he, she, it, we, they, who, whoever.  My, your, his, her, it's, our, their, whose, whosoever. You need to be careful that you use these three different types of pronouns in the correct case and that you use them where they are appropriate. Otherwise you will be writing sentences which are unclear and the reference will not be effective. In this lecture we have learned how to improve our sentences by improving lack of parallelism, how to improve them by changing choppy sentences into better structured sentences, how to avoid misplaced modifiers which could be either because they are interrupting the sentence structure. Also we looked at modifiers of nouns and adverb modifiers. We also looked at dangling modifiers and how they can make for unclear sentences. We also looked at how to avoid the use of double negatives because two negatives or a double negative in a sentence actually leads to a positive meaning. We looked at inappropriate shifts in tense, mood, person and voice and also we looked at the sequence of tenses and how to make sure that we actually talk about the tenses at the same time in which they occur. We also looked at pronoun reference and how the incorrect use of pronouns can lead to unclear sentences. We talked of two basic reasons why pronouns could be used in a wrong manner. It could either be because of unclear pronoun reference or because of broad pronoun reference and then we looked at the different pronoun cases, the three types of pronoun cases, subjective, objective and possessive and we talked of how to use those in the appropriate way. With this we come to the end of our session on reviewing this language of sentences. In the next lecture we will go down to the micro level and looked at words and phrases and how we can employ those better to improve our language in our business and technical communication. Until then, Allah Hafiz.


In just a moment, X minus one. But first, when you hear the hearty laugh and familiar voice of the Great Giller Sleeve tomorrow night, you know you're in for some hilarious adventures. Because wherever a guilty is around, why somehow things never seem to go as planned. It might be his impulsive nature, or maybe it's his incurable weakness for the fairer sex. But whatever it is, the Great Giller Sleeve is bound to keep you laughing for a full 30 minutes. Tune in tomorrow night and meet Judge Hooker, Nephew LeRoy, Housekeeper Birdie, and all the rest of the friendly people from Somerville as they join the Great Giller Sleeve. And I'll stay tuned for X minus one on NBC. Countdown for Blastoff, X minus five, four, three, two, X minus one, fire. From the far horizons of the unknown come transcribed tales of new dimensions in time and space. These are stories of the future. Adventures in which you'll live in a million could be years on a thousand maybe worlds. The National Broadcasting Company in cooperation with Galaxy Science Fiction Magazine presents X minus one. Tonight's story, Junkyard by Clifford D. Simack. The funny thing about the whole thing was the fact that we had never intended to land on Planet Nine. We circled it and decided it was strictly a low grade affair. It wouldn't amount to anything for a billion years or so. As commander of the galactic survey team, I couldn't waste my time on it. Then my exec saw this junkyard through the telescope. And it took a look at a load of alien machine parts discarded by some other spaceship and then prepared to take off for Earth. It had all been a waste of time. This is Commander Warren. All secure? Yes, sir. Very well. Countdown for Blastoff. Engine room ready, sir. X minus five, minus four, minus three, minus two, minus one, fire. Mac, what's wrong down there? Well, I don't know, sir. Brady, get the data analyzed already. We'll have to correct for a new takeoff time. That's the first time I ever heard of engine failure before takeoff. Well, better before than after. Engine room? Yes, sir. What's happening?  No, sir. Well, burn it, man. Get going. I want those engines started. Sir. What is it? What to say? Well, say something or I'll have you busted. We can't start the engines, Commander. At least I can. Well, why not? I don't know. Klein, what Klein on? Lieutenant Klein, sir. Lieutenant, what is going on down there? Is there something wrong with the engines? No, sir. I've double-checked them. Well, then let's get them heated up or we'll be on this God-forsaken planet the rest of our lives. We can't do it, sir. Klein, suppose you tell me exactly why you can't start the engines. Can you do that? Yes, sir. All right, why? Because, sir, we can't remember how. What? Yes, sir. We've forgotten how to start the engines. Lieutenant, report up here in one minute. Bring Dr. Spencer with you. Yes, sir. All right, Brady. What have you got it? Got what, Iron? Don't play innocent. You and I have been doing planet surveys together for 15 years. You carry enough dead weight and grain alcohol on every trip to keep you happy for a million light years. Now, obviously, the boys in the engine room have gotten into it. Impossible. Where is it? I got a few fists in my locker, but nobody's touched it. I checked a few minutes ago. Well, then somebody has got some in the engine room. Come in. Lieutenant Klein, sir. I brought Dr. Spencer's audit. Hello, doc. Did Klein here tell you what's going on? He did. How long will it take you to get these guys sobered up? I can't. Why not? Because they're not drunk. I tested Klein in my office. Now, wait a minute, doc. Are you trying to get me to actually believe that these men, intergalactic engineers with years of hyperfission experience, have forgotten how to start the engines of this ship? That's right. You... you're serious? Dead serious, Ira. Something somehow has caused these men to forget how to start the engines. There it was. It fit in perfectly with a lot of other annoying little things that have been happening to us ever since we put down on Planet Nine. It was to have been a routine exploration of a low-grade uninhabited planet. Some routine exploration. All right, Klein. Now, listen to me. Do you have manuals aboard? Engineering manuals. Yes, sir.  They'll tell you how to start the ship, won't they? Yes, sir. Okay, get going. Doc, I'd like you to stay here with me and Brad. Okay. Report back to me, Klein. Yes, sir. Okay, Doc, you're supposed to be an expert on space medicine. What is it? I've never seen anything like it, Ira. Brady? Search me, Captain. I've seen them with space blues, alien psychoses, the works. But I've never seen a disease that could make a crew forget how to start the engines. Maybe it isn't a disease. Okay, what then? Maybe it's a deliberate thing. You mean they're faking? No, I know Klein and the others too well for that. I mean, maybe there's some outside influence. Doc, we've surveyed this planet from top to bottom. We know there isn't a living cell on it. What about the junkyard? What junkyard? Well, he means that pile of rusty space engine parts we found. The boys nicknamed it the junkyard. He's right. Somebody put it there. Well, we know that another spaceship landed here. We know that from the blast marks on the rock. We know that for some unexplained reason, they took their engine apart and tried to put it together again. We know they succeeded in building a much simpler engine, leaving a lot of spare parts, and we know that they took off. The blast off marks tell us that too. What we don't know is whether or not they left somebody behind or something. What about that stone tower, Ira? The boys looked it over.  They probably threw them together as a shelter while they were rebuilding their engine. Oh, that sounds too simple. I don't like that tower, Ira. Why not? I don't know. It was scary. It had that black look about it. The smell of death. I felt it when I walked past with Klein and MacGyver. Well, that's the selt in you, banshees and spooks. I still don't like it. I need a drink. We should be ready to blast off in a few minutes. Engine room. Engine room. What's going on down there? Engine room. Lieutenant Klein. Daddy? Is that you, Daddy? Did you bring me a present? Daddy, I'm scared. Holy mackerel, that's Klein. He's gone up his rocker. Klein. Doc, I think we'd better get down to that engine room. When Doc examined Klein, he found him to have the mind and memory of a six-year-old. That's it, Ira. Something drained Klein of his memory. And that's as much as I can tell you. That's a big help. Here's the manual he was reading. Well, at least we can follow this manual and get off this stinking planet. Right here. Anything wrong, Ira? Is it all there? It's all here, Doc. This is the engine manual that tells all about the engines. How they operate, how to locate trouble, how to fix them, how to start them. What is it then?  All of a sudden, I can't remember the symbols. Doc, I've forgotten how to read. I left the engine room and went out through the lock to stand on the outside platform of the ship. I looked over the junkyard where the metal of the rusted engine parts gleamed. There was a riddle there. A riddle we hadn't been able to figure out. Why had an alien spaceship landed here, ripped out its engines and then put together a simple, less efficient engine and taken off again? And they had worked in an awful hurry judging by the mess they left. Why? Why? Mind if I join you, Ira? No, help yourself, Doc. How's Klein? We've made him some toys. He's playing with them. I've assigned Mac to see that he doesn't hurt himself. Doc. Yes? Have you got any ideas on what's happening to us? Well, man experiences incidents, gathers knowledge, knows emotions. Then, as he grows older, he begins to forget those experiences. Forget that knowledge. That's what life is. A long series of forgettings. Here, on nine, in some impossible way, the forgetting is speeded up. It happens overnight. Ah, there's more to it than that. Well, I'm going back to my cabin and try to get some rest. That's me, Batters. What gives? We're in a jam. There's been planets I wouldn't mind being marooned on, you know, but this ain't one of them. There's something here, Ira. I can feel it. Yes, I can feel it myself. Maybe we should have looked around more. Klein looked around. Klein was the one found that tower. Birdie, that's right. He did. He said he didn't like it. He said it scared him. In the morning, bad ears, we'll go and see that tower. In the morning, I took Doc and MacIver and Brady with me, and we walked across the valley to the stone tower. It wasn't much of a tower. Maybe eight or nine feet high, made of rocks piled one on top of the other. Pretty solid, well built, and odd. Type F culture, I'd say. Did anybody bother to look inside this thing? MacIver, you were here with Klein yesterday. Yes, sir. We couldn't find a way in, Captain. Klein poked around but gave up. We'll make a way in. Stand back. I think I can shoot the top off it. That should be big enough for a man to lower himself into. Okay, pass a rope around my shoulder. Captain. Yes? In case there's anything, well, dangerous, maybe I ought to go. After all, I'm Survey Engineer. MacIver's right, Ira. Okay, Mac, your responsibility. Yes, sir. Just fasten the rope under my arms. That's it. Now, I'll climb up and lower myself in. If I pull twice, haul me out. One pull means okay. Give me a hand, Brady. How about a quick shot of whiskey first? Never touch it. Ready? Yep. Can you see inside? Black is a tomb. I'm going to lower myself. Pay out a little rope. It's been lovely. Here we go. One tug. He's on the ground inside. I wonder what he's found. I still don't like it. Oh, Brady, there's probably another thing in there except a few. There's two tugs. Three, come on, haul him out. He's just... Brady, carry him through the top. Right. Easy now, Mac.  Mac. Dad, Dad. Dad, Dad. Holy jumping asteroids. Doc, he's flipped. No, he hasn't lost his mind. He's just reverted to babyhood. We stood there at the foot of the tower stunned. Mac Iver sat on the ground happy as a clam playing with his fingers and talking happy little nonsense syllables. Doc, take a look at him. Make sure that he's okay physically. Check. If it's right, his pulse will be way up.  That's a good fellow. Now. Good heavens. What is it? I've forgotten what the normal pulse rate is. Pulse. Pulse? Doc, let's get out of here. Brady, pick up Mac Iver and bring him back to the ship. Come on. Let's get away from this tower. A few minutes later, Brady and I sat in the captain's quarters. He didn't do much talking. Just sat and tipped his bottle to his lips ever so often. Well, at least we know in a general way what we're up against. Do we? We know there's been knowledge lost, important information forgotten. Check. Now that memory, that lost skill, that knowledge went somewhere. Maybe there's something in that tower that takes it away. And I have a silly feeling we might even get it back. Have a drink. That is, get a couple of men. Volunteers. Now. What for? We're going to find out what's inside that tower. We lowered a rotating infrared movie camera into the tower, took some pictures and went back to the ship for a look. There was something in there, all right. Now, as far as we can determine, this thing we photographed is shaped like a watermelon standing on end. The movement of the hairs all over it suggests vibrations, such as an antenna of an insect. Underneath are wires leading to terminals that seemed plugged right into the thing. You think it's a form of life? My guess is a combination of living organism and machine. After all, man and machines work together. The difference is that man retains his individual identity. Well, since it doesn't locomote, somebody or something must have put it there. Exactly. It looks like some kind of communication organism. If it is, it's a communication machine that is built to take in information rather than pass it along. Doc, do you really think that egg in there has been stealing our memory? Why not? Because it's too, too wild. That's why not. It's no wilder than a lot of other things we found. I see that that egg is a device for gathering knowledge. But there's no knowledge here to gather. I mean, how often does a ship land on and out of the way melding like this? Wait a minute, Brady. Who says that knowledge has to be collected here? What? I said, why do we assume that knowledge has to be collected right here on Planet Nine? We forget things back on Earth, don't we? Good Lord. Suppose you were some race setting out fish traps for knowledge, and you had plenty of time to gather it. Where would you put your traps? On a planet swarming with intelligent beings where the traps would be found and destroyed or their secrets snatched away? Or would you put them out on some second-rate world where nobody would ever bother them? Good heavens, I'd pick a spot just like this. Let me fill in this picture, Doc. I think that some unknown race is bent on trapping knowledge throughout the galaxy. Ira, if what you say is true, if it is, then every time someone on Earth forgets something, it's because one of these eggs has drained it out of him. Well, it's too fantastic. Have you got a better guess? No. The question is, what do we do next?  You were pretty near it that first day. Did you forget anything? How should I know? I was too pleasantly lit up on grain spirits to know the difference. Well, the question is still, what now? I'm going outside to think. Ira, yes? There is one thing to keep in mind. What is that, Doc? If those are memory traps, then there must be a way for somebody to empty them. And if we are ever going to get away from here, what's gone in has got to come out. I stood out on the platform of the ship and tried to make some sort of pattern of it. Forgetfulness, that was the key word. All through the galaxy, in every culture, there was forgetfulness. There were lots of learned theories, of course, kinks in the brain, roses, data processing. But suppose they were wrong. Might it not be that forgetfulness was caused by thousands upon thousands of these memory traps planted throughout the galaxy, nibbling away at the conscious memory of all the sentient beings that lived among the stars? On earth, a man forgets slowly because the traps are far away. But here, in their very shadow, a man forgets suddenly. And then another thought ended my mind. What kind of race had set these traps? How did they empty them? How? How? Brady. Huh? Where do you keep your liquor? Not cheap. Come on, where? It's in my locker. Get it out of there, all of it. Ira. That's a direct order. Okay. All of it. That it? Yeah. I thought I'd see the day when you pulled rank on me, Ira. If you confiscate this stuff, so help me, I'll never forget it. Who said anything about confiscating? That is, have you ever really hung one on? I mean, just got pie-eyed drunk. Well, let's see. Yeah, there was once on Mars. Was that the worst? It was beautiful. It took me three days to sober up. They say I fought off the whole galactic patrol for hours. Well, do you think you got enough here to get that polluted again? I got a pretty good supply, Ira. Well, that's good, because in one minute, I'm gonna give you a direct order to hang on the biggest, most monstrous drunk in the entire history of the universe. But first, you have to volunteer. I volunteer. No, no, no, not until I explain why I'm doing this. Ira, this sort of project don't need reasons. It's a pleasure. Let me finish. You know that egg up in the tower? Yeah. The minute you get near it, it grabs your mind, wipes it clean, right? Yeah. And a lead-space helmet doesn't shield you as we saw with MacIver. Right. Now, Doc thinks this egg is a kind of communications thing. It must be. Okay, you're a communications man. What do you do when you can't shield a communication? Well, that's easy. You scramble it. Any fool knows... Holy mackerel. Exactly. Are you still game? You think it'll work? I don't know. I think it might. Well, suppose it doesn't.  If we don't stop that thing, it'll happen anyway. Unless we can remember how to start the engines. Okay, Ira. I'll do it. When do I start? Right now. Well, Ira, here's mud and your ever-loving intergalactic eyeballs. You know something? I'm beginning to like this mission already. Well, that kills the last bottle. How am I doing, old buddy? You're not drunk enough. I should have picked somebody like Doc, except he'd probably pass out. I'm not drunk enough, huh? Old buddy, pal? Not yet. Well, and in which case, old buddy, I'm gonna have to do something I never like to have to do. What's that? I'm gonna have to go into my extra-special emergency reserve supply. It's a little supply I keep in case I get marooned on a planet, you know? I don't like to go into it, but in this case, it's my duty. Right from Georgia Tech, got a heck of an engineer. Ramblin' right from Georgia Tech, got a heck of an engineer. Whoo! Blast off! Okay, I guess you're ready. What do you think, Doc? Most amazing thing I've ever seen. Is he drunk enough? What I want to know is what's keeping him conscious. Okay, Bat-Ears on your feet. Help him up, Doc. Right. Ramblin' right from Georgia Tech. Let's go, Bat-Ears. Right. Ramblin' right from Georgia Tech. Somehow, we pushed, hauled, and stumbled Bat-Ears Brady out of the ship and up to the rocks to the egg tower.  There, he swung like some overstuffed pig, singing rockously under the eerie moonlight. Ramblin' right from Georgia Tech. Well, what do you say, Ira? Got the earphones on him so they can't slip off. I guess we're ready to lower him. Ira. You sure?  I'm not sure, Doc, but as commander of this expedition, I sometimes have to risk the lives of my men. Okay, Ira. Lower away before I start to get sober. Lower away. Flash off. Fire one up. Good luck, Brady. Good luck. He's at the bottom, Ira. That is, can you hear me? Raise your hands under my hair. Something's got its hands in my hair, Ira. Well, the thing must be picking at his brain. Brady, Brady, listen to me. Do you see the egg? Yeah, this is my buddy, Ira, my little old egghead buddy. You and me's buddy's egghead, right? Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha. Oh, good Lord, he's got a bottle with him. He's pouring it on the egg. Brady, Brady, listen to me. The wires. Wires? The lead wires you took in with you. Yeah. Pull out the studs on the egg and hook your wires to it. You got that? Ah, yes, sir, ma'am. We an egghead's gotta have a drink. Oh, good heavens. It's no use, Ira. He's too drunk to know what he's doing. I'll try again. Brady, listen. Your friend, the egg, can't hear you, see? He can't have a drink until you hook your wires into him. You got that? Sure. That's an awful thing. That's dreadful. Okay, okay. What's he doing? Doc, you getting any impulses? Not a thing. Maybe we better haul him out if he starts to sober up. Maybe we'd better... Okay, one, two... Wait a minute, wait, wait. I'm getting something, Ira. Well, this is fantastic. Oh, I'm getting something. All right, haul him out quick. Come on. A ramblin' wreck from Georgia Tech. A ramblin' wreck. Brady, Brady, you all right? Doc, help me. Take a look at him. Is he okay? Yes, he's okay. Just passed out. Let's get him back to the ship. Right. You know what, Ira? What? Tomorrow, about 9 a.m., we're going to be in on the most colossal hangover in the history of mornings after. We were in on more than Doc Spencer had bargained for. More than any human being had any business being in on. Oh! Well, Brady, how do you feel? Shoot me. You turned the trick. Trick? The tower. You hooked into the egg. The stuff is rolling out now.  The stuff they're listening in on is enough to set your teeth on edge. What stuff? The information that mine trap has been collecting for hundreds of years. It'll take us years to sort it out, but we're getting some of it straight already. Any of our own stuff? Plenty. Anything on engines? Well, not on our engines. So? We got the dope on the junkyard engine. Mac and the boys are hoping to get it assembled. We're ripping out our own engines and just keeping some of the parts. Another junkyard, huh? Another junkyard. The engine we're building now is superior to anything ever built. Pretty handy little gadget, that egg. Only one thing. What's that? Tell Doc if he comes across a good hangover remedy to let me know, huh? Oh! It took us about six days to assemble new engines using some of our parts and some of the advanced designs from the junkyard. During most of that time, Doc Spencer sat down at the tower with a set of headphones monitoring the information from the egg. It was like a man possessed. I didn't think anything unnatural was happening until the night of the sixth day. Well, that does it. The boys have got the engines ready for blast-off. There's a full moon, too. We should be able to lift you by tomorrow morning, huh? We're blasting off in exactly one minute. That is... What? In exactly one minute. Doc and some of the techno boys are down monitoring that egg. I know it. Well, it'll take them 20 minutes to get back into the ship with all that equipment. They're not getting back. Huh? I said they're not getting back. Ira, are you nuts? Come here, that is. I want you to take a look through this field scope. You can get a good close-up of Doc and the boys who have been monitoring that egg. Now, where do I get it focused? You got them? Yeah. Take a close-up. Mother in heaven. You see why we have to leave them here? Those faces, they're like... like some kind of beast. What is it, Ira? What's happened to us? The same thing that must have happened to the crew of the last ship that touched here. The same thing that made them blast out of here in such a tearing hurry. What? That is... there isn't only knowledge in that thing. Those boys are monitoring something else. Something else? Personality, that is. They're not human anymore. They're turning alien. They were still there when the ship roared up the way from Planet Nine and pointed her silver nose toward Earth. We could see them in the scopes. A group of tiny figures crouched over the recording equipment. Their earphones plugged into the egg. They didn't even look up when we blasted off. They were no longer human now. They were something else. Something a million light years old. And of another world. And with most surprising results. Galaxy Magazine on your newsstand today. Tonight by transcription, X-1 has brought you Junkyard. A story from the pages of Galaxy written by Clifford D. Simac and adapted for radio by George Lefferts. Featured in the cast were John Larkin, Bob Hastings, Mercer MacLeod, Stan Early, and Jack Orison. Your announcer, Fred Collins. X-1 was directed by Daniel Sutter and is an NBC Radio Network production. Let's visit Fibromiggy and Molly tonight on the NBC Radio Network.