The Engineer

"The Engineer" by Frederik Pohl is a science fiction story set in a time when engineers are pushing the boundaries of deep-sea oil drilling. The story follows Muhlenhoff, an engineer overseeing a risky underwater oil project who grapples with technical disasters and a spiraling crew. As he tries to hold everything together, he begins to see his role as more of a symbol of leadership than a true problem-solver. The narrative explores themes of corporate excess, mistakes made by humans, and the difficult meeting point between ambition and reality, building to a climax where Muhlenhoff's sense of order is shattered by the project's inevitable downfall.