‘Well,’ he said, almost belligerently, ‘we’re all here. Who’s got the cards? Do we cut for deal?
Harkness looked faintly distressed by the impropriety; Rambeau seemed too sunk in some personal gloom to pay any attention to wisecracks in bad taste. Gleason ignored it. ‘We’ve been trying to figure a way out of our troubles, James. I left word for you on the chance that you might not have left.
‘I stopped by simply to see if I had any personal mail,’ Stevens said bitterly. ‘Otherwise I’d be on the beach at Miami, turning sunshine into vitamin D.
‘I know,’ said Gleason, ‘and I’m sorry. You deserve that vacation, Jimmie. But the situation has gotten worse instead of better. Any ideas?
‘What does Dr Rambeau say?
Rambeau looked up momentarily. ‘The deKalb receptors can’t fail,’ he stated
‘But they do
’‘They can’t. You’ve operated them improperly.’ He sunk back into his personal prison
Stevens turned back to Gleason and spread his hands. ‘So far as I know, Dr Rambeau is right, but if the fault lies in the engineering department, I haven’t been able to locate it. You can have my resignation.
‘I don’t want your resignation,’ Gleason said gently. ‘What I want is results. We have a responsibility to the public.
‘And to the stockholders,’ Harkness put in
‘That will take care of itself if we solve the other,’ Gleason observed. ‘How about it, Jimmie? Any suggestions?
Stevens bit his lip. ‘Just one,’ he announced, ‘and one I don’t like to make. Then I look for a job peddling magazine subscriptions.
‘So? Well, what is it?
‘We’ve got to consult Waldo.
Rambeau suddenly snapped out of his apathy. ‘What! That charlatan? This is a matter of science.
Harkness said, ‘Really, Dr Stevens-
Gleason held up a hand. ‘Dr Stevens’s suggestion is logicaL But I’m afraid it’s a little late, Jimmie. I talked with him last week.
Harkness looked surprised; Stevens looked annoyed as well. ‘Without letting me know?
‘Sorry, Jimmie. I was just feeling him out. But it’s no good. His terms, to us, amount to confiscation.
‘Still sore over the Hathaway patents?
‘Still nursing his grudge.
‘You should have let me handle the matter,’ Harkness put in. ‘He can’t do this to us – There is public interest involved. Retain him, if need be, and let the fee be adjudicated in equity. I’ll arrange the details.
‘I’m afraid you would,’ Gleason said dryly. ‘Do you think a court order will make a hen lay an egg?
Harkness looked indignant, but shut up
Stevens continued, ‘I would not have suggested going to Waldo if I had not had an idea as to how to approach him. I know a friend of his-
‘A friend of Waldo? I didn’t know he had any.
‘This man is sort of an uncle to him, his first physician. With his help I might get on Waldo’s good side.
Dr Rambeau stood up. ‘This is intolerable,’ he announced. ‘I must ask you to excuse me.’ He did not wait for an answer, but strode out, hardly giving the door time to open in front of him
Gleason followed his departure with worried eyes. ‘Why does he take it so hard, Jimmie? You would think he hated Waldo personally.
‘Probably he does, in a way. But it’s more than that; his whole universe is toppling. For the last twenty years, ever since Pryor’s reformulation of the General Field Theory did away with Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle, physics has been considered an exact science. The power failures and transmission failures we have been suffering are a terrific nuisance to you and to me, but to Dr Rambeau they amount to an attack on his faith. Better keep an eye on him.
‘Why?
‘Because he might come unstuck entirely. It’s a pretty serious matter for a man’s religion to fail him.
‘Hm-m-m. How about yourself? Doesn’t it hit you just as hard?
‘Not quite. I’m an engineer- From Rambeau’s point of view just a high-priced tinker. Difference in orientation. Not but what I’m pretty upset.
The audio circuit of the communicator on Gleason’s desk came to life. ‘Calling Chief Engineer Stevens – calling Chief Engineer Stevens.’ Gleason flipped the tab