Reversion - A Novel Part 21

Behind us Cleaver said haltingly, aI really canat a let you run like this. We need to go over a Go over what?a Rosalind leaned against me, gesturing upward with her chin. aHeas the guy who grabbed me.a At the foot of the stairs I growled up at him, aGet out of the way.a aMake me,a he responded with a sneer.

aStand back,a I told Rosalind.

G.o.d, Iam fast these days! My hand flicked out, caught one of his widespread ankles and pulled it toward me off the edge of the deck. Down he came, his back striking the companionway rails. I stepped back, shoving the slowly reacting girl with my shoulder, and let him collapse on the well deck with a whoosh of expelled air.

While he got falteringly to his feet, I propelled Ros up the companionway by her well-padded b.u.t.tocks. I turned to face him. aDo we need to discuss this any further?a Apparently we did. He took a swing. I saw the whole buildup as if in slow motion and let his arm pa.s.s over my shoulder. Bracing a leg behind me, I sank my fist into his belly a" not very far; this was a muscular specimen in good shape. But he had swung precipitously without recovering his balance. He back-pedaled into the open-mouthed Cleaver. Both of them disappeared into the relatively dark salon.

I was up the companionway in two steps. aCome on.a I herded my woman up the gangway. The man in the forward well watched me but didnat rise. I took Rosalindas hand and we walked up the dock toward the ramp. The limousine had disappeared. Large yachts were moored on either side, some with crews working at one task or another. No one paid us any attention.

aTim a What happened back there?a aYou saw it.a aWill they a just let us go?a aIf they donat theyall wish they had.a We reached the ramp without incident. At the top I looked around among the many parked cars. aCome on out to the street. Weall flag a taxi.a aTim,a she murmured, now holding to my hand as we walked, adid Harrison forget what we did last night? What did you tell him?a aI answered all his questions without lying. But itas all right. Heas forgotten everything that happened in the last 24 hours.a aBecause I kissed him?a aBecause you shoved my saliva into his mouth. Thank you, dear. You were quick on the uptake.a aBut why didnat it make me forget?a aIt was tuned to recognize your DNA but not his, of course.a I chuckled. aBe careful whom you kiss until you take a good long drink.a aMy a DNA? Whatas that?a aItas the code that determines who you are. Even by my time they had mostly figured it out. Claraas people have it cold.a aaThe code that aaa Her voice faltered.

I explained the basics of cellular DNA, ending with, aEach person has the same unique code in each of his cells. It identifies him absolutely, among other attributes.a She sighed. aHe laughed when I mentioned time travel. But you truly are from the future, arenat you, Tim a" and Alice and Clara?a aPartly. Itas complicated, Rosalind. Your computer will be activated next week. Then youall begin to understand.a aMy computer? Alice mentioned that. What is it?a aWe each have one built into us. It will make a big difference to you. Youall see. For the time being, please stay away from Cleaver, will you?a aYou see him as dangerous?a aPresumptuous and overbearing. Yes, he would have become dangerous.a I flagged down a taxi. On the way home Rosalind dropped her bombsh.e.l.l.

aDo you know about wire recorders?a aYes, of course. Tape recorders will soon replace them.a aHereas something I think you ought to hear. I didnat know about the lavatory on my stateroom, so when I woke up about nine oaclock, I went across the hall to Cleaveras. He had two wire recorders in his stateroom and one of them was recording a" I mean, the reels were turning. I heard his voice clearly through the machine, talking to someone in the salon.a I straightened up in alarm. aGood G.o.d!a aSo he wonat forget everything after all,a she continued, studying me.

I leaned forward, hand on the front seat, preparing to order the driver to return. But destroying those recorders would probably result in someoneas death. What had I actually admitted? Too much, of course. But hadnat he a.s.sumed that the government was sponsoring my s.p.a.ceship factory? I resolved to wait for Claraas record.

aAt least he wonat remember what he did to you,a I mused.

aWell, I remember it, up until I got dizzy.a She twisted in the seat uncomfortably. aMy bottom really remembers.a * * *

Clara copied my record out into a viewer and I went over it a few times. Apparently my memory was good. Fernworks was not at hazard, not so long as Cleaver believed Truman to be my sponsor. But my implicit admission that Claraas medical programs might be effective for the whole world a" in particular for him, would cause us future grief, I felt confident, as he aged and lost confidence in mid-century medicine. His realization that I had made him forget his meeting with Rosalind and myself would only add to his appreciation of it.

The answer to him and the government was the same: a full disconnect. We would have to move it up.

Chapter 16: New Lives, New Goals.

aHereas the last c.h.i.n.k,a said Clara, pa.s.sing me a sheet of paper. It turned out to be a bill-of-sale for a Ford delivery van, eight-cylinder, half-ton cargo, 148 cubic feet capacity, heater but no radio, delivered in Stall 1641 at 201 Crenshaw Place, repainted as owned by Ace Deliveries, Inc.

ac.h.i.n.k in what?a I asked.

aOur disconnect armor. We can leave Chicago any time youare ready, Tim.a I crossed my fingers to turn off my computer, which reminded me. aRosalind hasnat been told how to activate her computer yet. Shouldnat we do that here?a aItas not quite ready. Retinal cells are slower to modify than neurons. As to that, itas true if she were fully aware, she might better appreciate the importance of this. Without the knowledge I think sheall just look upon it as a great lark. But, Tim, I donat think we should hesitate. Truman will soon be after you about the Chinese threats, and Cleaver is likely to try another kidnapping, probably of Alice.a I sniffed. aHead be lucky to survive it!a aWhich contains its own hazards. The trouble with exercising 24th Century powers is that people learn we have them.a I nodded, regarding her with admiration. aClara, once again Iam overcome by the monumental restraint youave imposed on yourself all these years.a She sighed. aThank you, Tim. It takes great care.a aYes, it does.a I held up the bill-of-sale. aHereas an example. Howad you receive it, ah, Mrs. Everest? Through the mail? Not at 245D Crenshaw Place, presumably. You are Mrs. Everest, arenat you?a She smiled. aAmong many other people. Yes, it arrived in the mail slot at 245D Crenshaw. Mrs. Everest happens to rent an apartment there.a aAn apartment! Whenever did you arrange that?a She smiled slightly. aTim, Iam a lot more paranoid about governments than you realize. My own government enacted social regulations that in effect took control of everyoneas reproductive organs.a She shrugged. aIf they hadnat gone so far as to limit restoration of youthful health, I probably wouldnat be here now.a aThen hooray for your repressive government!a aIt was a fascist state. I learned that freedom might be obtained only by planning ahead. So when we moved here in 1947, I disguised myself and rented that apartment because I knew the FBI would find us sooner or later, and I wanted a conduit to the outside that was beyond their ken.a I stared at her in growing astonishment and shook my head. aClara, youare always several steps ahead of me. Iam amazed! But a how could you maintain contact with an apartment without them finding out? Do you have a confederate living there?a Her eyes sparkled. aFive four-legged ones and about 40,000 others with six legs each.a I thought about it. aAnd your link to them is aa aRadio, using pseudorandom modulation spread in the UHF spectrum, a technique that hasnat been invented yet. The signal is strong enough for complete reliability but looks like noise on a spectrum a.n.a.lyzer, if the FBI should ever choose to use one. In the apartment I have a combination scanner and printer that resembles a hot plate. It transmits scans of received mail and real-time views so that I can direct the capuchins a to mail the right letter in the right envelope, for example. I rarely have to go there, but when I do, the nan.o.biots can disguise me completely.a She chuckled at my expression. aThe way it works is for me to enter the restroom at a department store with a large shoulder bag and exit looking 40 years older in different clothing. I reverse the process on the way home, using another store, of course. Typically I find the a.s.signed FBI agent lounging near my car when I finally return to it.a I shook my head in awe. aAnd youave used your persona in this apartment to buy a van, by mail?a aOh, thatas nothing, Tim. Last month I bought a house in Cleveland by mail. Pick up that viewer and you can see a picture of it.a * * *

Claraas Packard had a large trunk, as we had occasion to note once before. Loading it up in the garage, we were safe from observation, fortunately because the capuchins and the wasps in hibernation just about exactly filled it. Our menagerie had grown in three years! Otherwise we took only a single change of clothing and a few toilet articles, all in two suitcases placed in the rear floorboards. I sat beside Clara with the two young women in the back seat, as we backed out of the driveway on Kellidrawn Avenue for the last time. While talking flippantly with the girls, I watched behind us. As expected a nondescript dark sedan pulled out of the line of parked cars.

201 Crenshaw Place turned out to be a three-story parking garage serving the multistory apartment houses that surrounded it. Clara nosed into it from a side street, waving a pa.s.s at the guard. He motioned her to advance. She wove through several twisty intersections among the parked cars, finally pulling to a stop in Stall 1642 beside a Ford van that was longer and taller than the Packard a" and claimed to be operated by Ace Deliveries, Inc.

aQuickly now!a she ordered, jumping out of the Packard, unlocking and opening the sliding doors on the side of the van, thoughtfully parked heading outwards. We had been drilled. We threw the suitcases into the van. In the Packard trunk Rosalind and I caught the furry elbows left protruding as handles for the tangled monkeys. 20 overweight capuchins at an average of ten pounds each is a strain, but we trotted the bundle into the van just as Alice and Clara delivered the cloth bags of wasps.

With a lot of door slamming we took seats in the van. Clara handed me a workingmanas cap with crown sagging over bill. The van with keys in the ignition started shortly after I stomped the floor-mounted switch. I doubt 15 seconds had pa.s.sed since our exit from the Packard. The FBI car was probably still waiting for the guard to approve an ID. I noted nearby doors marked Stairs. Perhaps our trackers would a.s.sume that was how we had left the scene.

aTake a right,a advised Clara, ducking low in the seat beside me, aand another right at the first intersection. You can go straight out onto the street.a aDo I have to show anything?a aNo. The man I talked to said they donat check departures.a I turned out into the street as directed. The dark sedan had not appeared in either side mirror. Behind me the girls were using the cargo straps to restrain the large parallelepiped of monkeys.

aTake a left at the light,a Clara advised. aThen itas on to Cleveland!a aWhat about your friends upstairs?a aTheyall continue as before. All they have to do is reorient the Yagi antenna concealed in the bedroom light fixture. I mean to keep my pied--terre in Chicago.a Something troubled me about that. aDidnat you say your radio uses UHF? Thatas line-of-sight. Cleveland is 300 miles from Chicago. How can you expect a reliable signal?a She chuckled. aYouall accuse me of being ahead of you again. It so happens that a Mr. Upchurch has rented s.p.a.ce for an experimental antenna in the weather observatory at Fort Wayne. His two Yagis are located 120 feet up a tower. Theyare already relaying bi-directionally in the UHF spectrum.a aI see. Do we know this Mr. Upchurch?a aHeas sitting beside you. If you should happen to put your hand between his legs, though, you might be surprised.a aHmm. Mr. Upchurch seems to be missing a thing or three.a aBetter keep your attention on the road.a She sighed. aYou donat know how I hate to say that.a Alice, crouched behind my seat, called, aPull in up there at that furniture store and buy a couple of mattresses. Then you can investigate Mr. Upchurch while Rosalind gets us out of town.a * * *

Clara had bought what might be termed a mini-mansion in a suburb not far from Clevelandas downtown. It was a three-story brick structure with the full bas.e.m.e.nt I would need later, situated on a large lot in a neighborhood of similar houses. We arrived just after dark on a Thursday night and parked the van sideways to the garage doors so that we could unload it without exposure to neighbors whose lights were visible in many directions through the trees.

Clara and her computers had planned well. In my workingmanas cap I drove the van to Johnsonas Pre-Owned Cars a" whose name surprised me because I had foolishly expected the Fifties to be above such euphemisms a" where I performed a pre-arranged swap, t.i.tle-for-t.i.tle, for a slightly used Oldsmobile. Its odometer recorded nearly a thousand miles more than the vanas, not that this meant anything particular in 1951. Clara got ripped but we could afford it. At least the t.i.tle looked genuine, although you couldnat read the notaryas name and signature, which is usually a reliable indicator of unreliability.

It was well that we had stopped to buy a couple of mattresses. They were our only beds for two nights. But it was summer next to Lake Erie. The nights were just about right for four naked bodies on bare mattresses, fanned by rotating teams of capuchins. On occasion a lot of fanning was required. On others we drifted off to sleep while tiny sharp nails gently scratched our backs.

The girls discovered new tricks to play in the dark. It seems the 24th century had developed techniques for nan.o.biots to flavor v.a.g.i.n.al and rectal exudates. They enjoyed having me declare by taste which of them I was licking, then in logical progression practiced deciding whom my d.i.c.k had last visited. The game progressed with much shoving and giggling until finally I demonstrated that nan.o.biots could also influence the taste of seminal fluid. Females, mine at least, turn out to be crazy about foaming peanut b.u.t.ter. Thatas what the computer recommended but whoadave guessed it?

Friday I helped Clara install the lock on the menagerie closet, after which we all sortied to buy furniture for delivery on Sat.u.r.day.

Arrival of so many furniture vans on Sat.u.r.day morning could not avoid notice. A woman who lived next door came into our yard to greet us.

aIam Sarah Wertheimer,a she said, extending her hand to me.

She was an overweight person in her late thirties or early forties, neatly but casually dressed, a conventional housewife whose s.e.xual allure, if any, would be determined more by att.i.tude than anything else. A thumb-sucking little boy hid behind her long skirt. Two other children, obviously belonging to the same woman, dodged the unloaders and raced into the house, which was evidently permitted in their minds so long as the furniture was not yet in place.

I shook her hand gently. aIam Timothy and Iam pleased to meet you. Weare the Whitmonds.a It was Claraas name in New Zealand, now adopted by us all in Cleveland. We had speculated that we might never again use our legal names, except of course on papers published by the PhD holders. aThatas one of my sisters inspecting that couch.a I raised my voice. aRosalind, come meet Mrs. Wertheimer, our new neighbor.a aMy husband is at the golf course,a the woman said after exchanging greetings with Rosalind and Clara, who had appeared providentially, abut Iam sure I can speak for him. Come on over for a cookout in our back yard this evening. Thereall be other neighbors to meet.a And questions to answer, I did not say. Clara thanked her and agreed to attend, understanding the event to be a hastily arranged welcoming affair.

aWhen the kids get in your hair, send them home,a Sarah concluded airily, turning away.

Clara sighed at me and shook her head. aMeeting the neighbors! Tim, Iam sorry I didnat properly antic.i.p.ate this. This is my first approximation to a housewarming.a aYouare doing all right,a I retorted. According to plan, she had announced herself as another sister, presumably the eldest. aTell them the history we agreed. Iall go with you and sniff out the young unmarrieds around here, if any.a aBut we hope to avoid entanglements!a aHavenat I proved that Iam no tomcat?a She grinned ruefully. aNot quite. All three of us canat seem to wear you out.a She sighed. aIf you break too many hearts, itall cause talk we canat afford.a aIam well aware of that, sweet one.a We had pa.s.sed into the foyer. A child yelled from the head of the stairs, aDid you know you have secret rooms, mister?a She was a scrawny, homely kid nearing p.u.b.erty, almost man-high. An equally unattractive boy perhaps a year younger, probably her brother, stood beside her.

aThatas where we keep the ghosts,a I called up to them.

The boyas mouth and eyes opened widely. He pulled on his sisteras shirt, wanting to hurry away. She appeared to be as startled, but only for a moment.

aYou canat fool me,a she announced in a voice of childish cynicism. aYou havenat moved in yet.a I grinned at her. aGhosts come first. They have to approve the house, you know.a She grinned back, eyes alight. aYou mean theyare in-specters?a I chuckled. aMust be. They donat hang around outside.a aThen Iam getting out!a declared the boy, clattering down the stairs. If we entertain children we should carpet that staircase. He dashed past me but the girl held her place. aYou didnat answer me.a aWhat do you mean, aSecret rooms?aa aCome on and Iall show you.a The women were busy placing furniture, which is not a job that a man exempt from hauling wishes to perturb. With a shrug I climbed the stairs. The girl scampered ahead of me down the upstairs hall. She looked better from the rear despite a dirty yellow dress whose seat was black-smudged as if she had sat in a coalbunker a" probably the exact case. But tangled curls danced behind her and her slim legs held the promise of future shapeliness. She stopped at the last door on the right and waited for me. Apparently my movements had achieved Claraas adeliberation.a aWhatas your name,a I asked her.

aPetty.a aBecause youare someoneas pet?a Her lip curled. aBecause Iam a petunia.a aReally?a I c.o.c.ked an eyebrow at her. aThey named you that?a aPetunia Alrose Wertheimer.a I a.s.sumed a contemplative expression. aYou think thatas worse than Timothy Jehosephat Whitmond?a She shook her head and asked sympathetically, aCouldnat they have used Joseph?a Of course I hadnat a.s.signed anything to the J until that moment. I smiled at her. aJust be glad youare not Icelandic. Then your name would be Petunia Wertheimersdottir.a She studied me. aHow do you know?a aHow do you know about Santa Claus?a Apparently my response was a disappointment to her. She heaved a sigh. aYou want to know about your secret rooms or not?a aPlease.a She pulled open the door to a shallow walk-in coat closet, an odd thing to find at the end of a hall of bedrooms.

aLook here,a she said, pulling me by the arm into the closet behind her. aIs it too dark? Feel this nail. Do you feel it?a aYes.a aThen push it.a Something clicked and the side wall of the closet swung away, exposing a large black s.p.a.ce. She reached into it. Another click turned on a light. I found myself staring into a a By G.o.d, into a secret room!

It was windowless, probably six by twelve feet, walled only by studs except for what was probably the outer wall of the house. Lathing and plaster for other rooms were visible between the studs. An old-fashioned rotary wall switch controlled the single dangling light bulb. A wooden box sat at one end of the room, an open whisky bottle atop it.

aWhatas this room, Petty? Howad you know about it?a aJerry and I played in here. They moved away last year. He said the people who built it were rumrunners.a aWhatas in the box?a aNothing. We pretended it was a bar.a aYour secret place, was it?a aNot really. Everybody knew about it.a aYou said, aRooms.aa aYeah. Thereas a smaller one in a bedroom closet.a She grinned reminiscently. aJerryas little brother didnat know about that one.a Her eyes flashed up at me. aJerry put an old crib mattress in it.a aDid you pretend it was a magic carpet?a aHuh!a she sneered. aI thought you were a grown man.a aIave put that in doubt, have I?a The principle apparent change from teenage to manhood is muscularity and width of shoulders. No one had presumed me a teenager in quite a while.

aGhosts, Santa Claus and magic carpets!a she continued. aDonat you even know about s.e.x?a aWhy donat you a"a tell me, I started to say. But the bible is right about several things, one being that a man needs to put aside childish playmates. aa" show me how to pull this door closed behind us.a Returning to the hall, she paused at another door to study me. aItas in this bedroom.a aOkay. Thanks, Petty. I can find it.a Her eyes narrowed with purpose. aAre you ticklish?a aEh? No, not really.a aI am.a She raised her arms straight out from her sides. aOn the ribs.a At that tender moment Aliceas voice sounded, mounting the stairs. aThat goes in the first bedroom on the right. Whoas your friend, Tim? Is that a stickup in progress?a aThis is Petty, ah, Werta"a I began, but the girl growled and darted up the hall, head down, dashing past Alice to descend the stairs.

Alice leered. aDid I interrupt something?a Clara was right behind her. She looked from the departing child back to me and shook her head. aIsnat she a little too unmarried, Timmy?a * * *

Clara and I attended the Wertheimeras barbecue, where we met representatives of three other families. Would you believe we Whitmonds have moved to Cleveland from the District of Columbia, post-war Washington having become just too-too noisy and crowded with riff-raff, donat you know? We seek the local peace and quiet upon which so many of our friends had remarked.

They were too polite to ask us what we did in D.C. or what we planned in Cleveland or what happened to our parents or how it is that four adult siblings choose to live together in a big house a" which disappointed me because I was ready with a whole set of equally impudent answers. They did offer us c.o.c.ktails, beef ribs with potato salad and fried beans, invitations to church and the country club, their full life histories and references for several businesses that supply services and servants. We thanked them graciously, seemed to make copious notes and departed early. The idea was to minimize the future gossip. Who knows if it worked?

aAll rested up and ready to do business?a Clara smiled around at us after the last took her seat at the kitchen table.

aWh.o.a.re you talking to?a asked Rosalind with a yawn. aTimas the one who just flew in last night.a Alice sniffed at Clara. aSince he slept with you, you should already know the answer. Surely you didnat wear out our superstud!a Rosalind chuckled and said thoughtfully, aWeare like that, arenat we? a" mares in the stallionas herd.a Alice c.o.c.ked her head at me. aThatas an interesting point. Such a slight enhancement had so p.r.o.nounced an effect on him. I wonder if at some point in human genetic history the males were like bulls.a aThey wish!a declared Rosalind. aI spent some time on a farm. Did you ever see a bullas equipment?a aSlight enhancement?a I gawked.

Clara chuckled and raised both hands. aPlease, children. Letas do business.a Alice sniffed again. aSpoken like a woman who got enough last night.a aIs there such a woman?a I asked aggrievedly, then frowned. aShould we do this formally? You all know I came home to report progress. In effect this is the first Fernworks board meeting. Clara is chairman and demands that the board come to order.a Rosalind asked sweetly, aDonat you mean chairwoman?a Alice sniffed again and muttered something that sounded like abedwoman.a aIf there is no other pressing business,a I began with a glare at my physicist-in-arms, alet me report first on real-estate. As you know, a general records search of the continental U. S., both in s.p.a.ce and time, revealed southern Appalachia as the area of poorest radar coverage well into the 21st Century. Your inquiries in that area were highly productive, Rosalind. I checked out that hill in North Carolina and itas perfect. The hills around it are taller in the strategic directions. They bar it from the view of scanners at all the commercial airports around it. My survey revealed the air above it safe from routine surveillance for at least 500 feet.

aSo I talked to the agent you met. You impressed him, by the way. He wants to know when youall come back to Asheville.a aUgh!a was her response.

I grinned. aYou might need to b.u.t.ter him up again.a aHeas too easy,a she said with a sniff.

aAnyway I made the deal with him: the hill and the adjacent valley, slightly over 4000 acres altogether, for $210,000, just about $50 per acre.a I had to chuckle. aHe thinks he got the best of me, of course. The land, even in the valley, is too rocky to farm.a aWhy did you buy the valley too?a asked Clara. aI thought you wanted your factory to be as high as you could get it.a aI wanted height only to make sure no nearby structure could interfere. The reason for the valley is the fast little creek in the bottom of it. Iall use the top of the hill to build a dam that can deliver nearly half a megawatt of electrical power.a aOh, I see.a Her eyes sparkled. aThat will be even more reliable than my solar cells all over the hill.a aAnd cause a lot less questions,a I agreed. aI found an architectural firm in Charlotte thatas accustomed to building factories in the area. Their people are working on a steel and concrete design that can withstand the weight of earth put back over it.a Their eyes widened. Alice demanded, aDo what? Youare supposed to build s.p.a.ceships, Tim, not flower pots!a aGive me a little credit, please. I specified roof doors, lightly camouflaged with gra.s.s, wide enough for a 150-foot ship.a Clara grinned. aHow did they like that requirement?a I grinned back. aItas to let untrammeled sunlight in, donat you know. They think I represent either the government or a very eccentric rich man with peculiar theories about ferns. Despite the Vanderbilt precedent, I think Iall let them go with the first idea.a Clara pretended to huffiness. aOh? Couldnat I be an eccentric rich man with peculiar theories?a I shook my head. aNo way can you be any kind of a man, you sweetheart.a The girls chimed together, aStick to business!a Clara and I laughed. I could see both girlsa fingers moving. Doubtlessly they were looking up Vanderbilt. aOh!a murmured Alice. aBiltmore Estate.a aOn the other side of Asheville,a I explained, anot a problem. I have to iron out a few more details with my architects before the bulldozers arrive. Fortunately Buncombe County does not require building permits, but the sheriff or somebody official is certain to ask the contractors what theyare doing. Hereas where we have to make a tough decision.a I looked around at their attentive faces. aDo we tell the county government that Fernworks is a private outfit, headquartered in Cleveland?a aDo what?a demanded Alice, glaring at me.

I chuckled but played it out. aTell me why not.a aYouad let a Southern sheriff of the Fifties, with his carefully maintained good-old-boy ignorance and racial prejudices, pa.s.s on everything we do on our hill?a aAside from the personal issues, whatas your objection?a aSuppose it turns out that a group of Blacks are the best sheet metal workers. Will you let a hillbilly sheriff keep them out?a I shook my head. aI didnat know you were so down on Southerners.a aOh, the South finally turned out all right,a she answered impatiently, abut itas not all right in 1951. Iam surprised at you, Tim! a" and disappointed. Any means to the end, eh?a I chuckled hollowly. aThough your reasons are valid, my sweet flaming liberal, theyare insufficient, a drop in the bucket.a Her eyebrows rose. aInsufficient!a aOh, yes.a I took a breath. aIf we admit to private ownership, weall be constantly hara.s.sed. When the size of the operation is appreciated, the county government, maybe the state government, will pa.s.s new regulations just for us, the effect of which would be to hamstring our operations and bleed us unnecessarily. Weall have to install whole departments of bureaucrats to deal with the governments. Compared to that, racial and cultural prejudices are of little account, so far as Fernworks is concerned. And this is true anywhere we choose to locate.a Alice stared at me. aThen why are we arguing?a I grinned. aBecause I touched your liberal nerve.a She grimaced. aBut whatas the alternative?a I took a breath. aThe federal government.a Her brow knitted in thought. aHow?a aI donat mean in fact. Fernworks becomes a project name a" well, a little more than that; Fernworks will issue paychecks. Weall tell the Buncombe County sheriff that we represent the federal government, that Fernworks is a secret operation along the lines of Oak Ridge, over in Tennessee. That should take care of the local governments.

aRosalind, I want you to open a hole-in-the-wall office in D. C. and hire a couple of women to staff it. Theyall receive mail and answer the telephone as aFernworks, Main Switchboard.a Youall train them to be the first line interface, but theyall have enough of a PBX to relay calls to one of us. Of course weall all choose aliases to disclose to them and to outsiders. I have mine already: John Maple. What do you think?a Their eyes grew thoughtful. I continued, aClara, you should have some of your holding companies open a few accounts as Fernworks. I donat have to tell you to employ maximum obfuscation.a aAs always.a She grinned. aMr. Upchurch shall ride again.a With fingers on the tabletop I called up my notes. aThat seems to be most of my report. Alice, howas it coming with the trained capuchins?a aTheyave made 24 d.i.c.ks. Two of them will store energy.a Rosalind blinked. ad.i.c.ks?a Alice sniffed. aTimas field generators. He wanted to call them Margeries.a aI did not!a I declared huffily. aThe Margery Effect is obtained by combining them.a Rosalind shrugged. aIf you say so. Is there an official name? I take it they enable your vic.a aMy what? Are you trying to get my goat too?a aYour goat, Tim?a she asked innocently.

aThey enable Virtual Inertia Detachment,a I declared, rather fiercely, aand the proper name is field gena" No. By G.o.d, youare right! They do need a name that better reflects how they work.a Alice grinned. ad.i.c.ks.a aWhy is that?a asked Rosalind. aDo they spew?a Alice opened her mouth but I was first. aShe calls them that because theyare the same size my c.o.c.k used to be, in case you can bring yourself to remember.a aOh, I remember!a Her eyes twinkled.

aDonat tell me you preferred it!a I roared.

Clara murmured reproachfully, aChildren aa I took a calming breath. aFor now theyare VID field generators, able to charge matter. Iall think up a catchy name later, but a"a ad.i.c.ks,a Alice insisted.

aBut the important thing,a I continued, ais that we need 10,000 of them per s.p.a.ceship. I hope, Alice, itas the last two that work!a aYes.a She smiled. aI think Alazar has about got the hang of it.a aCan he teach others?a aThat remains to be seen.a Clara inserted, aI believe he can.a I said, aHeas got two years to build 20,000 of them a" that work.a Rosalindas expression showed puzzlement. aWhy are you having monkeys build them? Arenat they the most critical parts?a aExactly. Without them everything in Fernworks will make no sense. They shall be the most closely held secret of all. Fortunately itas easy to test whether they work a" although on such a repet.i.tive a.s.sembly line semi-intelligent monkeys may turn out to be the most reliable workers.a aSpeaking of workers,a said Rosalind, ahow soon do you expect to begin hiring?a aWell, you should install those two women in Washington immediately. I propose next to begin with a purchasing office whose initial function will be finding sources for our materials, but we wonat need them for another six months or so. After that will come the production designers, and somewhere in there we must hire a technical director. Iave been looking at the archives. Walter Dornberger was the general in charge of Peenemunde, where Wernher Von Braun developed the V2 rocket. All his top men are in this country now, mostly idle at the moment down in Huntsville. The army is holding them in limbo without doc.u.mentation. They have got to be feeling most disaffected, not knowing whether theyare heroes or jailbirds. Dornberger himself has become a consultant for a helicopter company. I plan to cultivate him.a The women regarded me speculatively. I said, aBelievers in s.p.a.ce flight are not that common in the Fifties. Dornberger and his crowd certainly are. The Gestapo arrested Von Braun because he was foolish enough to claim he was developing s.p.a.ceships, not weapons of war.a Alice said thoughtfully, aOur director will be a key man. Good luck, Tim.a aThank you. Okay, thatas about all a"a aOne moment, please.a Clara raised a hand. aIave got something more that should interest all of you.a She turned around, took three viewers out of a cabinet and laid them before us. aThis is the report from a meeting that occurred last week in the Chicago office of the FBI. I may not have told you, but Iave kept it supplied with insects by bird relays out of the Crenshaw apartment. Mostly what I learn is of no interest to us, but this time a Well, youall see.a We took up the earpieces and viewers. I turned mine to the morning sunlight in a window and saw the same room where we had been adebriefeda after the near-kidnapping. It was lit by daylight through the windows. People were entering. Big Avery, still sporting a buzz-cut and a red necktie, took his seat at the opposite head of the table, followed by several others on either side. Raimer sat on Averyas right. I recognized two or three of our erstwhile protectors. Behind me I heard Alice squeal, aOoo, thereas Davy!a The stenographer, Vi, entered last, closing the door behind her. She swung past the others and sat just below my vantage point. She had gained considerable weight. I wondered if Raimer still enjoyed her squat on the job.

aWhatas the word on Stoker?a asked Avery of a man on his left.

aItas just a flesh wound,a was the answer. aTheyare only keeping him to make sure he has no infection.a aGood. All right, everybodyas here. Vi, record the time. And Operation U.G.H. has restarted with a bang!a A few murmurs pa.s.sed around the table. Avery took a deep breath and continued. aPlease note for the record that yesterday Agent Stoker was wounded and two civilians killed in a shootout at the Edgeworth residence, which has been uninhabited now for almost a year. And youad better include some background. Refer to the report on the condition of the house as noted one week after all four of our subjects disappeared together at the Crenshaw parking garage. Note also that no complaint appeared last month when the garage sold their Packard at auction to recover the cost of parking and storage.a aDead or kidnapped,a said someone to Averyas right.

aProbably not dead.a He shuffled some papers in front of him. aThe real-estate taxes on the house, along with monthly utility bills, are being paid by illegibly signed money-orders drawn on banks all over the country. In the first two weeks we posted fruitless missing-persons notices in Chicago-area post offices. The director would not permit a national posting, and the local ones were withdrawn when we discovered that our geniusesa relatives were receiving letters. Some of them. To date the Kimball ladas parents have received three and the Cannell girlas mother five. We have unlimited samples of the handwriting of those two from their recent school attendance. Our experts declare these letters to be genuine.a He chuckled grimly. aThe letters are singularly unhelpful in locating our subjects, consisting mainly of a.s.surances of good health and interest in life. They were post-marked in the strangest cities, one in Honolulu, I believe.a Someone asked, aHave we interviewed the parents?a aYes. They profess ignorance of the childrenas whereabouts. The girlas mother, from her att.i.tude, would be the most helpful if she knew.a Avery cleared his throat. aWe are constantly monitoring the relevant periodicals for published papers but so far without results except for the three doctorial theses. Of those Alice Edgeworthas comments about the statistics of galaxies seems to be stirring up the most controversy. Several other papers have been published, both affirming and disputing her claims about galactic populations, whatever that means. The common thread of all seems to be, aHow could she have known?a Many people want to talk to our geniuses.

aYou all know about the directoras recent memo. The president is putting a lot of pressure on him to produce at least the boy. They a"a aHeas no boy!a declared someone on the left. The head and torso were behind another guy who had propped his elbows on the table, but I recognized the voice. It was my old friend, Smith!

aIs it possible to settle that?a asked Avery, looking around at Raimer. aThe last photograph we have of Kimball, taken in his cap and gown, certainly resembles a 15-year-old in my view!a Raimer shook his head. aSmith claims he saw Kimball naked, and the kid had as much beef as an Atlas ad. Apparently no one else studied him close-up after his graduation, but Campbell reports a stocky figure, estimated at 170 pounds, considerably taller than the Cannell woman, who is five-seven. Campbell first thought a strange man was living in the Edgeworth house. Also it was Campbell who observed Kimballas visit to the Cleaver yacht. Kimball led the Cannell woman back off the dock like a man, not a boy.a Averyas eyes narrowed further down the table. aDavy, I noticed that line in your report. What exactly did it mean?a aI was watching through binoculars from the parking lot,a replied Campbell. aKimball a" if that was Kimball, and it did resemble his face a" pulled that girl by the arm right up the dock and out to the street. She mightave been hanging back, but he had an expression that brooked no nonsense. He hailed a taxi and they returned to the Edgeworth house. As you know, after that incident Dr. Cannell was included in our protective surveillance.a aYou reported that Kimball was transported to the yacht in Cleaveras limousine yet departed in a taxi a" implying a disagreement with Cleaver.a aYes, it did. I recommended we follow-up by interviewing Cleaver.a aI decided against it,a Avery admitted, awhich in retrospect may have been a mistake. Davy, you followed the kids to Cleaveras party, where the Secret Service interfered. How would you describe Kimball then?a aFive-seven and 130 pounds. He was just about exactly the same height as Rosa" ah, Dr. Cannell.a aThat was toward the end of June, and yet only two months later, Davy, you claim heas six feet and 170 pounds. Did you ever hear of anyone changing that much in two months?a aNo, sir.a Smith spoke up in a voice of conviction. aBut he was the same wise-a.s.s Timmy, the same kid that got away from me in 1948.a Raimer leaned forward. His eyes twinkled. aDid you leave something out of your 1950 report, Smitty?a The blocker had leaned back in his chair. I clearly saw Smith blush. He didnat answer otherwise and Raimer didnat press. Apparently Truman had not ordered him fired after all.

aWhich brings us up to the present,a said Avery, awith nothing, not the slightest clue to locate our four unnatural geniuses, except that we may possibly have a new lead. Raimer, did you get a verbal report from Stoker?a aYes, sir.a The field supervisor took a notepad from his breast pocket. aLast night at 9:10 p.m. he observed a 1950 Plymouth sedan pull into the Edgeworth driveway. He immediately radioed in a report. The car sat there with the lights off for ten minutes. Three men got out, took something from the trunk and proceeded to the front door, where one of them knelt down. Stoker conjectured he was picking the lock. Stoker again radioed us. Reached at home, Raimer ordered out the backup squad. Then the three men opened the door and entered the house. Stoker reported that and left his car to follow them.

aWhile he waited outside for backup, the house lights came on. Maybe the intruders were surprised that power had been maintained; anyway they immediately turned the lights off. Thereafter he saw only the dim glow of flashlights behind the curtains.

aThe backup squad arrived at 9:38 and four agents entered the house.a Raimer fell silent. Avery waited, then asked, aAny details on the shooting?a aWe have all that in Minorraas report.a aIave read the report. Anything about it from Stoker?a Raimer shrugged. aHe chased the one that crashed through the side window, but the man shot him in the hip. Fortunately the bullet pa.s.sed just above the joint. Stoker returned fire but complained of blurred vision. He thinks the man vaulted the backyard fence and escaped.a Avery shuffled through his papers again. aVi, note that we have identified the two intruders who were shot dead. Pa.s.s this to her, Smitty. Itas their rap sheet. One of them was a trained locksmith who has picked his last lock.

aThough professional enough, these guys were ordinary hoods. The locksmith had a notebook. Weare running out all the phone numbers. One of them is a lawyer who wonat talk to us. The question of course is who hired our intruders and what were they after? Oddly enough, they seem to have been on a fact-finding mission. The last entry in the notebook was to the effect that the house was fully furnished with clothing in the closets.a He straightened up and said seriously, aRaimer, weall maintain surveillance on that house.a He chuckled wryly. aAnd tell your guys to look out for the contractor who repairs that window sash. By order of the director, weare the ones hiring him.a His gaze swept the room. aKeep your eyes peeled, gentlemen. The director is under a lot of pressure to produce those kids.a Somebody asked, aCouldnat the Russians have taken them, sir?a The big man sighed. aI have to admit, itas possible. The Soviets are certainly capable of paying their bills and making them produce innocuous letters of rea.s.surance. But Iall tell you this much: I donat think so. The lawyer who wonat talk to us, whose number was in the locksmithas notebook, has recently indulged in several calls to the Soviet consulate here. He has also represented several mobsters in recent years. Weare making application for warrants as we speak. Weall get that guy in here and sweat him in a day or two. Then weall see if the Soviets ordered this intrusion.

aUntil then itas back to work.a They all rose and filed out of the room. I lowered my viewer and looked at Clara. aDo you have a later report?a aNo,a she answered.

Alice complained, aOur house has been burglarized!a Clara grinned. aBut you heard Avery. The FBI will fix it.a Rosalind looked worried. aThey think the Russians are after you a" us a" again?a I shrugged. aWho else could it be?a Her eyes glowed. aHow about Harrison Cleaver?a * * *

I recognized him as soon as he entered the waiting room from the runway: tall, blond sideburns peeking out from under the gray fedora, wearing a green necktie with white handkerchief tips in the breast pocket of his suit coat, as ordered. More than that, he was identical to the snapshot Dornberger had furnished.

His instructions had been to take the seat closest to the column marked N-20. I watched him hesitate, studying the seating pattern, and sympathized with his problem. Three open seats were equally s.p.a.ced from the column. He took the one that ended a row, having the advantage of the least neighbors, and sat with his long legs crossed and his hands in his lap, slowly looking around the moderately crowded hall.

I made no attempt either to dodge or fix his eye when it approached me. Presumably he had been told to expect my necktie of red and black stripes. My attention had turned to the other arriving pa.s.sengers. Did any of them seem to study my man? Did any linger in the waiting room? Yes. A suited man actually walked out into the concourse, turned around, returned and leaned against Column N-20! But he spent his time staring down the concourse. Would the FBI be guilty of such ostentatious surveillance?

If so he was the only one. In the Fifties few domestic flights were crowded. All the other pa.s.sengers either hurried away without looking back or cheerfully, sometimes pa.s.sionately, embraced waiting greeters before likewise turning away a" which was what finally happened to my leaner. A large woman swept down on him from the anonymous crowd on the concourse and fell into his arms. Shortly they moved away.

Everyone off the plane had departed except my quarry. I stood up, throwing my newspaper aside, and advanced towards him. He looked up, looked away. Nearing him, I jerked my chin in a slight, follow-me gesture, and proceeded on out into the concourse without looking back. I walked slowly to the exit stairs, paused to let a party of women precede me and saw him following a hundred feet back.

On the street I waited at the curb. In the parking lot across the street Rosalind started up the car. Shortly it rolled to a stop just beyond the lane of waiting taxis. I turned around. My man stood just behind me, apparently looking for a taxi.

aFolgen Sie mir,a I muttered, darting between the parked cars. I pulled open the back door of the rental and held it for him to clamber inside, closing it behind him before taking my own seat beside Rosalind in the front. She immediately put the car in motion.

I grinned at him over the seat back. aWie gut knnen Sie Englisch?a He answered in a clipped, British voice, though without a responding grin, aAbout as well as you know Deutsch.a aThen letas negotiate in English so I can hear where you need improvement.a aVery well, sir.a For this meeting my nan.o.biots had erected a lush, Hitler-style cookie duster on my upper lip, also blond, and embedded wrinkles in the erstwhile smooth skin at the corners of my eyes. I looked the way Hitler had wished he did when he was 40. My guest, said to be 29 years old this year, would have no problem calling me sir.

aFirst, letas make sure we are who we think we are. My name is John Maple and yours is?a He blinked, then answered, aKarl-Heinz Studer.a aI am pleased to meet you, Karl. Our driver is Ann.a aHi, Karl,a intoned Rosalind, turning her head momentarily to flash him a smile. aI hope you stick around long enough to learn our real names.a aThe name is Karl-Heinz. How do you a"a he began a formal response but froze up, blinking again.

I chuckled indulgently. aNow, Ann. Is he so pretty as that?a She giggled. aI meant what I said.a 29 or not, Mr. Studer was young enough to blush slightly. But he smiled for the first time and said fervently, aI hope so too.a aGood,a I agreed. aSecondly is the matter of expectations. What did Dornberger tell you?a He thought a minute, obviously marshalling his response. aMany things. We had a long talk. Did he truly come to Huntsville only to find me?a I grinned. aWhatever gave you that idea?a aBecause of Wernheras comments. He wondered why the general bothered.a aSo what did the general say to you?a aHe said he knew I was ambitious, but that Wernher Von Braun would garner all the credit from the American governmentas s.p.a.ce efforts.a He took a deep breath. aHe said that I should find another, more impatient sponsor for my ambitions, where I might make a real difference and be fully appreciated.a aInteresting. Was that enough to put you on the plane from Huntsville?a He grinned. aThe trip had the sound of fun. The special necktie, slipping off from the other Germans through the baras restroom, the hundred mile taxi ride to Birmingham, the waiting ticket at the airport in the name Peter Walther, and now our ride with a lovely Fraulein. Are you with the CIA, perhaps?a aNo. I ask you to believe that I have no connection whatsoever with the American government or any other government. These precautions to shake off your tails are as much a"a aTails?a aSurely youare aware that you guys on Von Braunas team have been under close FBI surveillance ever since you arrived in America.a aTails!a he repeated with a chuckle before again becoming solemn. aThey hardly try to conceal it. Just to make sure you understand, sir: I have no papers.a He said that glumly, as if he were admitting to being broke in a wh.o.r.ehouse.

I laughed. aNeither have I, at least not any that a government issued. Donat worry about papers. We can furnish everything you need. I suspect you also have little in the way of personal effects. Is that true?a He shrugged. aNothing I couldnat abandon.a aExcellent. It wonat pay you to return to Huntsville now, whether we come to an agreement or not.a He sighed. aI a.s.sumed as much, but the general was confident that you shall be first in s.p.a.ce.a aYes, I shall be. Or perhaps the three of us. How would you like personally to go to the moon?a His face tightened. aI would a die a to see the earth from orbit.a I studied his earnest mien. Beside me Rosalind snorted. aMen: always ready to die for some abstraction!a aItas not exactly an abstraction,a I protested. aDo you know of some better reason to pack it in?a aSure! Protecting your women.a aShe has a point,a I admitted, grinning at the young man in the back seat. He looked away rather than disagree. I recalled that Europeans, whoave never been short of women, place a lower value on them.

The car pulled into a parking s.p.a.ce behind a large hotel. aKarl-Heinz, come with us up to the room. I have something to show you before we go to lunch.a I had already registered, of course, so we went directly to the room, actually a small suite with bedroom separate from its lounge, containing a table that seated four. Rosalind went to the telephone and ordered peach schnaps, which according to Dornberger was Karlas favorite. The young man himself disappeared into the bathroom. I stood at the window. The fourth floor was just about even with the tops of the surrounding trees.

The room service waiter was quick. Karl-Heinz had hardly returned from the bathroom, indeed looking refreshed, before the drinks arrived. We sat around the table and sipped them appreciatively.

aHowas the schnaps?a I asked.

He smiled at me. aThank you. Very nice. The general told you, did he?a aYes. He has a high regard for you.a aAnd I for him.a aIall tell you what he said about you in a moment. First Iad like to show you this.a I stood to lift the leather bag onto the table, having practiced to avoid revealing the strain, and with both hands removed the painfully constructed demonstrator, a cube eight inches on the side, to a position on the table before the young man. The d.a.m.ned table creaked, and well it should! This small cube of carefully fitted sheet metal weighed 120 pounds.

Karl regarded it with interest: a cube of satiny natural aluminum with wooden handles secured by strongly bolted iron brackets. He grinned at me. aI gather itas heavier than one first a.s.sumes.a aYes, it is. Heft it and guess its weight.a aHeft? Ah, you mean lift it.a I had forgotten that Heft is handle in German.

He took a handle in each hand, but his first effort didnat budge the cube. aMein Gott!a he exclaimed, eyes popping. Bracing himself, he managed at last to raise the thing a few inches before letting it fall back with a thud. aHow can it be so heavy? It must weigh 50 kilograms.a aMore than that.a aIs it solid metal?a aNo, only half of it, which is lead.a aLead?a aElementares Blei,a I explained.

aAh, so!a aWatch this.a I took a small screwdriver from my pocket and thrust its blade into a hole drilled next to a handle bracket, producing a single click.

aNow lift it again,a I instructed, leaning back with arms crossed.

With a shrug his hands went again to the handles. Taking strong grips, he strained upwards powerfully, putting his back into it. Consequently he leapt upward from his chair and with a combination gasp and groan fell face-forward across the table. Expecting some such result, I caught the cube as it flew out of his hands.

He craned his neck, looking up dumbfounded at me holding the cube easily aloft. aMein Gott im Himmel!a he begged. But he remained unnerved only a second before pushing back to his seat. aExcuse me, Mr. Maple. I a But that is impossible!a I lowered the feather-light cube to the table before him and said with a smile, aHeft it again, more gingerly, if you please.a He did, gently using both hands, announcing, aNot more than 100 grams, perhaps not even ten.a He shook his head as if recovering from a shock, as no doubt he was. aIt causes me to doubt my own senses.a aYour senses are reliable, I a.s.sure you.a aThen what did you do with the Blei?a He ducked to peer under the table. aIs this some trick?a aNo trick, and the lead is still there, every gram of it.a aStill there?a He stared at me, eyes brightening with an idea. aCan you reduce its weight so far that it floats up into the air?a aNo. In fact I have not reduced its weight at all.a His eyes glazed in calculation. I could almost follow his thoughts. aHow would you describe what has happened to it?a aI greatly reduced its inertia. At this moment that cube, alone on Earth, encloses a volume to which Newtonas laws of motion do not instantaneously apply.a He licked his lips. aThen aa aThen I can lift a hundred-ton s.p.a.ceship to the moon by expelling a few thousand liters of water.a He stared, forgetting to breathe. Rosalind laughed, rising to her feet, and slipped a hand under his arm as if he might need support. aCome on, letas go to lunch, Karl-Heinz. May I call you simply Karl? Tim a" I mean, John a" will tell you how it works afterwards. He wonat tell you at lunch because rubbing knees with me will distract you too much.a * * *

aVirtual Inertia Detachment,a I explained over lunch despite Rosalindas knees, adepends on a principle that I call aCharged Matter.a The VID field turns all the atomic constructs within it into a kind of battery. You can store nearly limitless amounts of energy in the nuclear spin rate. I say anearly limitlessa though the math, which Iall show you when we return to the room, suggests that the capacity is actually infinite.a aA battery,a Karl repeated. aCan you get the energy back out?a aYes, as electricity, for example. More importantly, by rotating the field 90 degrees with respect to its orientation during capture, you can use the stored energy to counter inertial effects. Doing this bleeds off energy proportional to the inertial reduction.a His eyes narrowed thoughtfully. aMeaning you have to charge your ma.s.s before you can detach its inertia.a aExactly. And the charge is used up in proportion to the accelerations imposed. At some point, if you wish to continue to accelerate with detached inertia, you must restore the charge. Do you recognize the significance?a aI think so. Otherwise you would have invented a perpetual-motion machine.a I nodded. aA loophole in the Second Law of Thermodynamics still eludes me.a aBut a my G.o.d! This will cause a revolution in physics. The inventor will surely win the n.o.bel. Was that you?a aPartly. Charged matter was not my discovery. The effect of field rotation, that is, VID, is my contribution.a His eyes were aglow. aBoth ideas must be terribly new. Where are they published?a I purposefully made my face solemn. aThat arenat, Karl. And they wonat be for a long time.a His eyes widened. aWh-why not?a I waved a hand. aYou see how the world is. You have direct experience in what happens when you confer huge new powers upon a government. Can you imagine how the United States and the Soviet Union would use VID?a He blinked. aSurely they would open s.p.a.ce to mankind!a I nodded slowly. aPerhaps they would. But charged matter can hold an atomic bombas energy in a coin. Letting governments have that secret is not worth the risk. And as to opening s.p.a.ce, Karl, I shall do that a" with your help.a He sat silent, obviously in deep thought, slowly chewing his last bite of meat. Almost imperceptibly Rosalind shook her head at me. Had her knees failed of the desired effect?

aIam an engineer,a he said at last. aI know how to build liquid-fueled rockets. I can evaluate new designs. How might I be useful to you?a aYour liquid-fuel experience is not that important,a I admitted, athough I want you to improve upon my s.p.a.ceship design, especially in regard to endurance and reliability. Where you can be of greatest use is in managing the details of s.p.a.ceship construction and testing. Your engineering training in the properties and limits of materials would be essential for that. How about Technical Director for a t.i.tle, the same as Von Braunas at Peenemunde?a His eyes lit. aOh, I would like that.a In 1952, the portions were smaller in restaurants. We even had room for dessert, strengthened with more peach schnaps. At one point Karl laughed. aI trust my absolute amazement at your demonstration upstairs was gratifying.a I smiled indulgently. aYou did react well, I thought. Declaring impossible what your own senses had reported was amusing but understandable, given the present belief in inertia as a fixed property of ma.s.s.a Rosalind sniffed. aBut I outdid you.a aHow so?a She grinned hugely. aWhen Tim a" ah, John first showed it to me, I told him he was drunk.a * * *

Upstairs we again took seats around the table. Karl spent a few minutes playing with my cube, using the screwdriver to restore and rotate the VID field, marveling again at the incredibly differing heft.

When he put it reluctantly aside, I said, aI have formed a private company, Karl, called Fernworksa a" I p.r.o.nounced it fayrnworks a" ato be headquartered at a site about 20 miles northwest of Asheville, North Carolina.a aFern?a he asked. I could see he was thinking of the German word.

aYes. Far, distant. But weall p.r.o.nounce it furnworks from now on.a aIs fern an English word?a aYes. Die Farnpflanze. In this case, a bit of botanical misdirection.a Rosalind grinned. aWeall put flowers in the front windows.a He smiled at her in return. Perhaps the knee contact had not been wasted. But he asked me, aWhy North Carolina?a aAsheville is in the mountains, the Appalachians. They are small hills compared to the Rockies or the Alps, but land is cheap, rail transport is available and most importantly, radar coverage is poor.a aRadar!a aWe donat want to upset the new American air defense system, especially on our return flights.a aSurely radar is not completely absent there!a aNo, of course not. But the scanners are distant and probes attenuated.a I grinned. aAs you will see when we get deeper into detail, I have found a way to attenuate them even further. Our ship will be stealthed.a aIt will be what?a I waved my hand. aHold that question for now. Iave bought a hill and the adjacent valley not far from the village of Baylor. As we speak the upper half of the hill is being moved into the valley. A half-million square foot factory a" that is, almost 50,000 square meters a" will be constructed on the hill and covered with a retractable roof. The excavated hilltop is damming up a stream in that valley for a hydroelectric generator that will give us all the power we need.a He blinked. aHow can you possibly conceal such a project from the government?a aWell, in fact, I canat, not entirely. Itas too big. The sheriff of that county believes Fernworks is a cla.s.sified government project on the federal level. I have a girl working as a secretary in a Washington office who accepts mail and says the right things on the telephone when the sheriff calls. Misdirection is the key to dealing with governments. Fortunately they tend to be slow off the mark.a I delved again into the leather bag and produced a notepad and some pencils. After moving my chair around beside Karl, I wrote on the notepad, a = f / Dm aNewtonas Second Law with a kicker. D is the inertial detachment coefficient. It depends on the charge and the field displacement. In principle it can be made as near to zero as you wish. In that cube I have achieved 0.0017. For the s.p.a.ceship weall do far better.a Rosalind sighed and got to her feet. aNow heall explain the dependencies of the detachment coefficient and fill up several sheets of paper with boring equations. Thatas my cue to go shopping. Before that, let me mention a few things. This suite is yours for the next two days if you decide against us, for as long as you need it otherwise, although youall probably want to move to our temporary lodgings in Baylor. Your salary is ten thousand U. S. dollars per year, payable in any currency and to any bank. Your full maintenance is expensed to Fernworks. John has already outlined your major responsibilities. You have until tomorrow night to decide, yea or nay. Now, gentlemen, if youall excuse me, I noticed the most darling little hat in a millinery near the airport.a Of course we stood up. From the door she smiled at us. aIall be back in two hours.a As the door closed, Karl blinked at me, his mouth having fallen slightly open.

I chuckled. aYou seem surprised.a aI thought she was only your driver!a aAnd flunkey? But she is, except she is not only that. Sometimes I serve her in the same way.a aFor whom would I be working: you or her?a aThatas an interesting question. Letas talk about that.a We took our seats and I continued, aAt present Fernworks has four princ.i.p.als, two of whom you havenat met. Itas true that I have supplied key technical ideas for it, but I am not the source of the money. Youall meet her later, if you join with us. As to whom you work for a Karl, I hope youall so accept and adhere to our objectives that they become yours also, in which case youall be working for the same ends as the rest of us a" working for yourself.a He nodded rather impatiently. aThat sounds very fine. But suppose I tender a proposal with which you disagree?a aIt depends on the proposal. At first until we learn each otheras personalities, I would expect you to defer to my decisions. But in a yearas time I hope weall know each other well enough that such disagreements donat happen. Weall know before raising an issue how the others will react.a He blinked. aYou mean that Fernworks is run by a committee?a I let my eyes twinkle. aExcept I get my way most of the time.a He chuckled. aI can probably live with that. What does Ann do?a aIn addition to driving and goforing? In fact she is a"a aGophering?a I grinned. aGo for: go and fetch, act as a flunkey. But she is also the chief accountant for Fernworks, that is, the Chief Financial Officer. She can tell you how many million dollars we have disbursed in the past year. Itas starting to mount up.a He blinked again. I began to understand it as his gesture of a.s.similation. He asked, aHow is Fernworks financed?a aThatas very simple. One of the other princ.i.p.als is supplying all the money. I a.s.sure you the funding is entirely private and the money is clean.a I took a deep breath. aKarl, Fernworks has had a most unusual genesis, involving ideas and circ.u.mstances beyond anyoneas experience. I donat care to divulge all that without a commitment from you. But once youave taken the job, the whole story will be disclosed.a He blinked several times.