February 7, 1962

Dear Charles--

A couple of comments I have been hearing about Q/S lead 7e to reiterate
some points of philosophy about the enterprise.

1. We are not consultants at a functional level.

2» Most of us are alreaiy deeply involved in space work through university
and government consultative responsibilities. We should be extremely cautious
about leaving ourselves open to criticism on conflict-of-interest, which would
be most acute if we actively cona&st on R&D work of an established company for
defense contracts as a principal activity. In fact I am inclined to think
that we should actively avoid space research because of these conflicts, unless
we run into some particularly imaginative idea that could only be adequately
be developed through our leverage on an industrial enterprise. But this should
then be on the basis of a full-blown joint-venture, not the purchase of our
casual consultative (and influentive????) talents. I am afraid the jackals will
be after us from both sides af we don't look out here.

3e Let us not piddle with small potatoes, unless.... as abovel

 

I went back to the brochure, to pick it apart, and it is mainly impeccable,
But the footnote to the cover is confusing: what is meant by, and who cares
about "full participation by scientists". You surely don't mean to stress
participation in a financial sense to our clients! That should be scratched
without delag: it will do us far more harn than the cost of replacing it.
I would suggest some wording:
Quadri~Science, Incorporated

KXMBR XEHK PAREN

The application of the highest scientific talent to the

fundamental advances of American industry.

I realize that there is a lot of carryover here from previous thinking that

was SBIC-oriented. But I hope to have persudded you of a more ambitious approach,
and I hope it is not too late to have this reflected in this publicity. We should
afd a mode 5 on page 4: 5, Furnishing industrial organizations with unique talents
uppaxkunikkes to review and recast their operations to meet the demanis and
axpaxtuakkkasxaf opportunities of modern science and technology.

For my own part I would be quite disinterestei in consulting of the usual xind
that might be implied by mode 2,

These remarks are partly provoke’? by a conversation I had with Gil Levin of
Resources Research, Frankly I am not deeply impressed by the technical cor-
petence he represents, but I would not object to a reasonable investment of just
cash, His tone suggested to me that he is looking for some influence too, however,
and I would be very touchy about having any respoasibilities to hin, as I am
already too close to some of his provosals for planetary life-detection in other
connections. But altogether this is just piddling, and I don't think we should

be wasting much time with them. The big fish are uch more to the voint -- and

I am not convinced that a lot of advange .mblicity is a cositive benefit to help
land theml oO Joshua Lederber;