for nothing. He said that Enrico Fermi was the prime example of what
happened when the Government got hold of something like that when the
individual couldn't argue."

"Fermi?" Winstein asked puzzledly. "Wasn't he a physicist or something,
back in the Forties?"

"Right. He's the boy who figured out how to make the atomic bomb
practical. But the United States Government latched onto it, and it took
him years to get any compensation. He never did get the money that he
was entitled to.

"Porter says he wants to make sure that the same thing doesn't happen to
him. He wants to prove that he's got something and then let the
Government pay him what it's worth and give him the recognition he
deserves. He says he has discovered a new natural law and devised a
machine that utilizes that law. He isn't going to let go of his
invention until he gets credit for everything."

There was a long silence from the other end. After a minute, Elshawe
said: "Ole? You there?"

"Oh. Yeah ... sure. Just thinking. Terry, what do you think of this
whole thing? Does Porter have something?"

"Damned if I know. If I were in New York, I'd say he was a complete nut,
but when I talk to him, I'm halfway convinced that he knows what he's
talking about."

There was another long pause. This time, Elshawe waited. Finally, Oler
Winstein said: "You think Porter's likely to do something drastic?"

"Looks like it. The CAA has already forbidden him to lift that ship. The
Space Force flatly told him that he couldn't take off without
permission, and they said he wouldn't get permission unless he let them
look over his gizmo ... whatever it is."

"And he refused?"

"Well, he did let Colonel Manetti look it over, but the colonel said
that, whatever the drive principle was, it wouldn't operate a ship. He
said the engines didn't make any sense. What it boils down to is that
the CAA thinks Porter has rockets in the ship, and the Space Force
does, too. So they've both forbidden him to take off."

"_Are_ there any rocket motors in the ship?" Winstein asked.

"Not as far as I can see," Elshawe said. "He's got two big
atomic-powered DC generators aboard--says they have to be DC to avoid
electromagnetic effects. But the drive engines don't make any more sense
to me than they do to Colonel Manetti."

Another pause. Then: "O.K., Terry; you stick with it. If Porter tries to
buck the Government, we've got a hell of a story if his gadget works the
way he says i