“No luck with the electric company?” Bud asked.
Tom shook his head. “Looks as though I’ll have to go out to the Citadel if I want to continue my experiments.” The Citadel was the Swifts’ great atomic research center in the Southwest. “With our new generating plant out there, I should have all the power I need.”
“That might be your best bet, son,” Mr. Swift said. “By the way, why not take Ted Spring along?”
“Good idea, Dad. If he’s going to accompany us on future space flights, he may as well familiarize himself with this project. I’ll phone him.”
A few minutes later Ted Spring reported to the laboratory. Twenty-two years old, he was tall and athletic with light-blond hair. After graduating from an aeronautical engineering school, he had taken special training as a space pilot before joining Swift Enterprises.
“Hello, Mr. Swift. Hi, fellows!” he greeted them. “What’s up? Do I get my first space cruise soon?”
“I’d say you’re about ready for it.” Mr. Swift smiled warmly. “But first we’d like you to go out to the Citadel with Tom to work on a new project.”
There was a warm feeling of closeness between
8 SPACE SOLARTRON
Mr. Swift and the young engineer-pilot. Ted’s father had been not only an old friend but a crack test pilot for the Swift Construction Company. He had lost his life on a recent test flight, and since then Mr. Swift had taken a fatherly interest in young Ted.
“I’m trying to develop a machine which will convert energy into matter,” Tom explained. “My test rig here looks promising, but I’ll need a tremendous amount of energy to perfect the real model. That’s why it’s necessary to continue my experiments at the Citadel.”