Weinbaum shot to his feet, eyes wide. “You old buc-caneer! You know damned well that I can’t spend my entire appropriation on a single civilian service! Did it ever occur to you that most of the civilian outfits working for us are on cost-plus contracts, and that our civilian executives are being paid just a credit a year, by their own choice? You’re demanding nearly two thousand credits an hour from your own government, and claiming the legal protection that the government affords you at the same time, in order to let those fanatics on Erskine run up a higher bid!”
“The price is not unreasonable,” Stevens said. “The service is worth the price.”
“That’s where you’re wrong! We have the discoverer of the machine working for us. For less than half the sum you’re asking, we can find the application of the device that you’re trading onof that you can be damned sure.”
“A dangerous gamble. Captain.”
“Perhaps. We’ll soon see!” Weinbaum glared at the placid face. “I’m forced to tell you that you’re a free man, Mr.
Stevens. We’ve been unable to show that you came by your information by any illegal method. You had classified facts in your possession, but no classified documents, and it’s your privilege as a citizen to make guesses, no matter how educated.
“But we’ll catch up with you sooner or later. Had you been reasonable, you might have found yourself in a very good position with us, your income as assured as any political income can be, and your person respected to the hilt. Now, however, you’re subject to censorshipyou have no idea how humiliating that can be, but I’m going to see to it that you find out. There‘11 be no more newsbeats for Dana Lje, or for anyone else. I want to see every word of copy that you file with any client outside the bureau. Every word that is of use to me will be used, and you’ll be paid the statutory one cent a word for itthe same rate that the FBI pays for anonymous gossip. Everything I don’t find useful will be killed without clearance. Eventually we’ll have the modification of the Dirac that you’re using, and when that happens, you’ll be so flat broke that a pancake with a harelip could spit right over you.”