What's in a Name

 

Flip Hansen was good at his job.  He’d always known what he wanted to do for a living, ever since his school days, when he heard Mr. Wayman explaining the job in some detail.  Before that day he had never heard of anyone being a products tester.  It was the perfect job for Flip.

He had started his career working for a manufacturer but eventually went out on his own, becoming very good at paying attention to the details of a product.  By the time Flip had put a product through its paces, the company that made it knew exactly what they could expect.  They knew what parts would fail, how long the thing would last and how safe or unsafe it was.  They knew if it were flammable and if any parts could possibly break off and become choking hazards.

Over the years Flip had saved companies millions of dollars in liability and court costs.  His services were in great demand.  Through an exhaustive demonstration, Flip proved to a jury that the portable heater in question could not have tipped over on its own.  The business owner was ultimately charged with arson.

Due to the nature of his job, Flip traveled a great deal.  He would go wherever he was needed, and that is how he had found himself in Texas, being escorted down the long hall leading to a heavily guarded door.

 

The first thing he noticed was that everyone on this particular job had a very serious demeanor about them.  There was no small talk.  It was all business and one of the few times that Flip had accepted a job on a flat rate.

With product testing he never knew, until he was well into it, just how extensive it was going to be.  This job, however, was unique.  This was the state’s electric chair.  The warden, the governor and two people that had not been introduced to him were there with him and indicated they would all be watching his process, including filming and creating written documentation of everything he examined.  They couldn’t afford to be wrong.

The only thing that Flip insisted on was that during his inspection, no one was to say his name out loud.