Part 3 (1/2)
There'd been a girl in his third-year biophysics class; he'd found out that she was a great-granddaughter of Force General Travis It had taken hile an invitation to the dome-house on Luna After that, it had been easy As soon as Foxx Travis had learned that one of his great-granddaughter's guests was fro to him
”What did he tell you?”
The old ravitation, his life would have gone out like a blown match Even at one-sixth G, it had cost hierof seventy-odd; he had been worried, and excused hione out
”Mike Shanlee; my aide-de-camp on Poictesme Now he thinks he's my keeper He'll have a squad of doctors and a platoon of nurses in here as soon as you're gone, so take your tis are on Poictesme”
”Just about that,” he told his father ”I finally end people still talked about I was ashahed, and said, 'Great Ghu, is that thing still around? Well, I suppose so; it was all through the Third Force during the War Lord only kno these ruood for ain, and were out on the Mall; the sky was flaht
They stopped by a dry fountain, perhaps the one fro Rodney Maxwell sat down on the edge of the basin and got out two cigars, handing one to Conn, who produced his lighter
”Conn, they wouldn't have believed you _and_ Foxx Travis,” he said
”Merlin's a religion with those people Merlin's a robot God, so they can shove all their problems onto As soon as they find Merlin, everybody will be rich and happy, the Government bonds will be redeemed at face value plus interest, the paper money'll be worth a hundred Federation centisols to the sol, and the leaves and wastepaper will be raked off the Mall, all by hed bitterly
”I didn't know you were the village atheist, Father”
”In a religious coe atheist keeps his doubts to himself I have to do business with these Merlinolators It's all I can do to keep Flora fro them at school”
Flora was a teacher; now she was assistant principal of the grade schools Professor Kellton was also school superintendent He could see how that would be
”Flora's not a True Believer, then?”
Rodney Maxwell shook his head ”That's largely Wade Lucas's influence, I'd say You know about him”
Just froone off-planet as soon as he'd gotten his MD Evidently the professional situation there was the same as on Terra; plenty of opportunities, and fifty competitors for each one On Poictesme, there were few opportunities, but nobody co, not even to find Merlin
”He'd never heard of Merlin till he came here, and when he did, he just couldn't believe in it I don't blame him I've heard about it all in with, I suppose, because it's just another of these things everybody believes Then, I've had to do so on the Third Force occupation of Poictes, and I never found any official, or even reliably unofficial,time to keep a secret, you know
And I can't see why they didn't coet the troops home was off, or why they didn't build a dozen Merlins
This isn't the only planet that has problems they can't solve for themselves”
”What's Mother's attitude on Merlin?”
”She's against it She thinks it isn't right to ree It's scientifically i to tell her Conn, I noticed that after Kurt Fawzi started talking about how long it would take to get to the Ga up a shi+p
Did you think that if you got them started on that it would take theirup in Fawzi's office? Nifflhei Merlin till they die But I was serious about the shi+p An idea hit ave it to me; you and Klem Zareff”
”Why, I didn't say a word ”
”Down on the shi+pping floor, before ent up You were talking about selling arms and ammunition at a profit of two hundred sols a ton, and Kleh a bumper crop orse than a Green Death epidemic If we had a hypershi+p, look e could do How e or Irood rifle and a thousand rounds? How much would he pay for his life?--that's what it would colass of Poictesme brandy sells for on Terra? One sol; Federation money I'll admit it costs like Nifflheim to run a hypershi+p, but look at the difference bethat these traet”