[KennyBlanken]

What's more likely is that HPE/Cray have so much padding in the contract that paying someone $200/hour to implement the function and appropriate tests and it would be a rounding error on the contract.

I think they would do that, except Mr. Master Engineer with 25 years FORTRAN experience and 20 years as a principal member of a FORTRAN committee would have to explain to his employers why he can't handle this himself.

Either that or he sold himself to HPE as being able to throw his weight around because of his committee membership ("hire me and you'll get what you want from FORTRAN"), and we're seeing narcissistic entitlement when it turns out that's not the case and now his job is at risk.