so kind as to order a stratocab for me — ”
“You’ve nothing more to suggest?”
“No. You had better turn your psychological staff loose on means of
alleviation; they’re able men, all of them.”
King pressed a switch and spoke briefly to Steinke. Turning back to Lentz,
he said, “You’ll wait here until your car is ready?”
Lentz judged correctly that King desired it And agreed.
Presently the tube delivery on King’s desk went ping! The Superintendent
removed a small white pasteboard, a calling card. he studied it with
surprise and passed it over to Lentz. “I can’t imagine why he should be
calling on me,” he observed, and added, “Would you like to meet him?”
Lentz read:
THOMAS P. HARRINGTON
CAPTAIN (MATHEMATICS)
UNITED STATES NAVY
DIRECTOR,
U.S. NAVAL OBSERVATORY
“But I do know him,” he said. “I’d be very pleased to see him.”
Harrington was a man with something on his mind. He seemed relieved when
Steinke had finished ushering him in, and had returned to the outer office.
He commenced to speak at once, turning to Lentz, who was nearer to him than
King. “You’re King? . . . Why, Dr. Lentz! What are you doing here?”
“Visiting,” answered Lentz, accurately but incompletely, as he shook hands.
“This is Superintendent King over here. Superintendent King — Captain
Harrington.”
“How do you do, Captain — it’s a pleasure to have you here.
“It’s an honor to be here, sir.”
“Sit down?”
“Thanks.” He accepted a chair and laid a briefcase on a corner of King’s
desk. “Superintendent, you are entitled to an explanation as to why I have
broken in on you like this — ”
“Glad to have you.” In fact, the routine of formal politeness was an
anodyne to Kings frayed nerves.
“That’s kind of you, but — That secretary chap, the one that brought me in
here, would it be too much to
ask you to tell him to forget my name? I know it seems strange — ”
“Not at all.” King was mystified, but willing to grant any reasonable
request of a distinguished colleague in science. He summoned Steinke to the
interoffice visiphone and gave him his orders.
Lentz stood up and indicated that he was about to leave. He caught
Harrington’s eye. “I think you want a private palaver, Captain”
King looked from Harrington to Lentz and back to Harrington. The astronomer
showed momentary indecision, then protested: “I have no objection at all
myself; it’s up to Dr. King. As a matter of fact,” he added, “It might be a
very good thing if you did sit in on it.”
“I don’t know what it is, Captain,” observed King, “that you want to see me
about, but Dr. Lentz is already here in a confidential capacity.”
“Good! Then that’s settled. I’ll get right down to business. Dr. King, you
know Destry’s mechanics of infinitesimals?”
“Naturally.” Lentz cocked a brow at King, who chose to ignore it.
“Yes, of course. Do you remember theorem six and the transformation between
equations thirteen and fourteen?”
“I think so, but I’d want to see them.” King got up and went over to a
bookcase. Harrington stayed him with a hand.
“Don’t bother. I have them here.” He hauled out a key, unlocked his
briefcase, and drew out a large, much-thumbed, loose-leaf notebook. “Here.
You, too, Dr. Lentz. Are you familiar with this development?”
Lentz nodded. “I’ve had occasion to look into them”
“Good — I think it’s agreed that the step between thirteen and fourteen is
the key to the whole matter. Now, the change from thirteen to fourteen
looks perfectly valid — and would be, in some fields. But suppose we expand
it to show every possible phase of the matter, every link in the chain of
reasoning.”
He turned a page and showed them the same two equations broken down into
nine intermediate equations. He placed a finger under an associated group
of mathematical symbols. “Do you see that? Do you see what that implies?”
He peered anxiously at their faces.
King studied it, his lips moving. “Yes . . . I believe I do see. Odd . . .
I never looked at it just that way before — yet I’ve studied those