Jasons

In its 42-year history, no Jason press conference has ever been called. Tape recorders are banned from its sessions. Window blinds are drawn. The (Broken link for CIA) has been among Jason's sponsors. The mood seems akin to the mountain fastness of (Broken link for Los Alamos), N.M., where some of these scientists haved worked. On rare occasions there have been leaks about hearty laughter, as when one Nobel laureate arrived in La Jolla with his foot in a cast, explaining that when his trash compactor broke down, he decided the scientific solution was to kick it.

Jasons named themselves for the mythological Greek who captured the Golden Fleece. Their roster descends from the ultrasecret Manhattan Project of World War II, within which scientists built the Atomic Bomb and forced the surrender of Japan.