  Optimal control theory has been employed to populate separately two dark
states of the acetylene polyad $N_s=1$, $N_r=5$ by indirect coupling via the
ground state. Relevant level energies and transition dipole moments are
extracted from the experimental literature. The optimal pulses are rather
simple. The evolution of the populations is shown for the duration of the
control process and also for the field free-evolution that follows the control.
One of the dark states appears to be a potential target for realistic
experimental investigation because the average population of the Rabi
oscillation remains high and decoherence is expected to be weak.
