and there he recognized them: Einstein's energy formula, Planck's
quantum formulas, Nitsu Thansi's electron interference formulas,
Stebkowfski's proton interference, Williamson's electric field, and his
own formulas appeared, and others so abbreviated he could not recognize
them.

"Do you remember what Dad said about the way the Thessians made the
giant forts out in space--hauled matter from the moon and transformed it
to lux and relux. Remember, I said then I thought it might be a ray--but
found it wasn't what I thought? I want to to use the ray I was thinking
of. The only question in my mind is--what is going to happen to us when
I use it?"

"What's the ray?"

"Why is it, Morey, that an electron falls through the different quantum
energy levels, falls successively lower and lower till it reaches its
'lowest energy level,' and can radiate no more. Why can't it fill
another step, and reach the proton? Why has it no more quanta to
release? We know that electrons tend to fall always to lower energy
level orbits. Why do they stop?"

"And," said Morey, his own eyes dreamily bright now, "what would happen
if it did? If it fell all the way?"

"I cannot follow your thoughts, Earthmen, beyond a glimpse of an
explosion. And it seems it is Thett that is exploding, and that Thett is
exploding itself. Can you explain?" asked Stel Felso Theu.

"Perhaps--you know that electrons in their planetary orbits, so called,
tend to fall away to orbits of lower energy, till they reach the lowest
energy orbit, and remain fixed till more energy comes and is absorbed,
driving them out again. Now we want to know why they don't fall lower,
fall all the way? As a matter of fact, thanks to some work I did last
year with disintegrating lead, we do know. And thanks to the absolute
stability of artificial matter, we can handle such a condition.

"The thing we are interested in is this: Artificial matter has no
tendency to radiate, its electrons have no tendency to fall into the
proton, for the matter is created, and remains as it was created. But
natural matter does have a tendency to let the electron fall into the
proton. A force, the 'lowest energy wall,' over which no electron can
jump, caused by the enormous space distorting of the proton's mass and
electrical attraction, prevents it. What we want to do is to remove that
force, iron it out. Requires inconceivable power to do so in a mass the
size of Thett-but then--!

"And here's what wil