Johnson's Current Problem
As Sturdivant moved into the stage of testing the computer, Bill Eden reviewed Al Abrams's
work. Abrams had finished the operating system a few days earlier and had submitted it to Eden.
In the course of his review, Eden found that Abrams's design of the operating system
differed from the approved government specifications. When asked about it, Abrams replied that he
was aware of the discrepancy but that it would make no difference in the end result. Eden discussed
the matter with Charlie Small, another computer engineer for Sturdivant, and they agreed that the
program was not acceptable as presented. When Abrams met with Eden and Small, Eden told him to
correct the discrepancy. Abrams became enraged and made some caustic comments about their
ability to pass judgments on his work. His closing comments were:
I'm not going to have my work checked by everyone! I've been working on
this system a long time and I'm the only one who can say whether or not it is okay!
You guys have made my life miserable from the start! You sneak around behind my
back and pull all sorts of stunts. I deserve to know what's going on around here.
Eden, you've driven me like a common laborer since you were assigned to this job.
You've never given me any help-I've been all alone on this job. I don' t know what
to expect next! As far as I'm concerned this is the finish. I quit!
With that he stormed out of the computer room. Johnson, who had heard the last part of the
conversation, caught up with him at the outer exit. Abrams tried to turn in his security pass.
Johnson: I won't take your pass now. Take a minute to relax and calm down.