Spell_my_name_with_an_s

In a state of desperation, he consults a numerologist who suggests a simple change: change the "Z" in his surname to an "S," becoming Marshall Sebatinsky . The Chain Reaction:

Marshall Zebatinsky, a Polish-American nuclear physicist, feels his career has stalled. spell_my_name_with_an_s

To keep Zebatinsky away from classified work without arousing suspicion, the government rewards him with a prestigious professorial post—exactly the career boost he originally wanted. In a state of desperation, he consults a

This discovery leads the U.S. to uncover Soviet work on a gamma-ray defense shield, prompting a massive American counter-research effort. This discovery leads the U

Security agencies find the name change suspicious, suspecting he is trying to hide his background.

The story ends by revealing that the entire sequence was orchestrated by two powerful aliens making a bet on whether they could prevent a nuclear war on Earth with a single, tiny change. Real-Life Inspiration

While investigating him, they discover he has a distant cousin in the Soviet Union who is also a physicist.