 Why did Kalvin commit to Piltdon’s unreasonable deadline?
"But Mr. Piltdon," remonstrated Feetch unsteadily under his employer's glare, "don't you remember? I want it completely developed, engineered and tooled-up, ready for production. "But Mr. Piltdon, four months is hardly time enough for development, even with an adequate staff. He had always wanted to devote all his time to research, but Piltdon Opener had not given him that opportunity. Twenty-five years of close supervision, dead-lines, production headaches, inadequate facilities and assistance. Twenty-five years of your life you put in with Piltdon, and he'd fire you just like that if you don't do the impossible. The Piltdon Company is built upon your designs and you get handed this deal!"
 He didn’t want to lose his job.
 He felt challenged to develop creative solutions.  He didn’t want to lose his job.  He wanted to earn recognition.  He was able to hire more staff.