Not at all. He need only lean back in his chair, sip his favourite beverage, and scroll through the possibilities offered to him, here, at his own website, and a couple of other on-line locales where similar discussions are under consideration.
Should they not offer him an easy answer, they'll at least provide samples for quick rejection, and maybe, some inspiration for a final choice.
But if I was Simmons, I'd have an answer for those who privately bug me for the answer, promising eternal secrecy should I confide. In fact, I'd have a different answer for each of them....
[You ever see the ending of the film version of H.G. Wells' The Time Machine? That'd be the 1960 George Pal version, starring Rod Taylor.]
Yup.
With a good puzzle like this one, why ruin it with a solution?