input: Text: RETIEF OF THE RED-TAPE MOUNTAIN by KEITH LAUMER Retief knew the importance of sealed orders—and the need to keep them that way! "It's true," Consul Passwyn said, "I requested assignment as principal officer at a small post. But I had in mind one of those charming resort worlds, with only an occasional visa problem, or perhaps a distressed spaceman or two a year. Instead, I'm zoo-keeper to these confounded settlers. And not for one world, mind you, but eight!" He stared glumly at Vice-Consul Retief. "Still," Retief said, "it gives an opportunity to travel—" "Travel!" the consul barked. "I hate travel. Here in this backwater system particularly—" He paused, blinked at Retief and cleared his throat. "Not that a bit of travel isn't an excellent thing for a junior officer. Marvelous experience." He turned to the wall-screen and pressed a button. A system triagram appeared: eight luminous green dots arranged around a
  Question: Did Retief follow the sealed orders given him by Passwyn?
  
   (A) Retief was a skilled but unimaginitive diplomat. His boss, Passwyn, provided the highly specific orders because Retief was not very good at improvising. Therefore, we can infer that Retief would have followed the orders meticulously.
   (B) Since Retief was ordered not to open the sealed packet of orders until he reached Adobe, and he left the ship on a skiff  with only a pistol before he ever got to Adobe. Thus, we can infer that he neither read nor followed the orders.
   (C) Retief knew that there would be at least one or two useful ideas in the packet of orders developed by Headquarters, because the writers had all visited Adobe, and could be considered experts on the planet. Thus, we can infer that he read the orders carefully and followed them as best practices.
   (D) From the unexpected way that Retief reached the surface of Adobe and Retief's obvious penchant for impulsive action, we can infer that although the mission goal was met, the meticulous procedures in the orders were not followed.
  Answer:
output: From the unexpected way that Retief reached the surface of Adobe and Retief's obvious penchant for impulsive action, we can infer that although the mission goal was met, the meticulous procedures in the orders were not followed.