Page 16 - Psychoceramics and the Test of Fire
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Black Pinhole Nanofurnace
out of it! Royalties: royalties, do you hear me? You’d better not be
here to trick me, Mr. Sellers. I’m no fool.”
“Certainly not, Dr. Aitkens.” I had determined that a calm,
buttoned-down approach was best. “My principals understand the
value of your work, and are prepared to offer you extremely generous
terms.”
“Really?” He stopped abruptly. “How do you know what I’m
doing?” He scrutinized the peeling ceiling. Perhaps spies had oozed
through the drain and planted a miniature video camera in the water-
stained panels. I suppose I simply could have handed him a bankroll
and run out the door, but he would have smelled a rat. How he
would have distinguished it within the rich bouquet of organic decay
and chemical residue bathing the interior of the structure I could not
guess.
“To be honest, sir, we do not know the exact developmental stage
of your project. The last published report, from a scientific journal
dating from your tenure at Delenda Dynamics, was rather theoretical.
Given your security precautions, we can only conjecture at your
progress; by the same token, we hope to be the first to provide you
with adequate seed money. The information we have assembled is
available to all: no doubt you have had other offers. But you will find
ours to be the most advantageous to your goals.”
Lalo Aitkens digested this plate of tripe and his fabric visibly
softened. There was hope for my cause, at least in the short run.
After I had carried out my commission all the starch could go back
into him, and then some, for all I cared. No sane person would have
given this character carfare, much less a major grant. I began to
doubt that Al Magnus was playing with a full deck.
“Well, now, Mr.—” he looked at my card. “Mr. Sellers. Just what
do you know about the black pinhole nanofurnace?”
Time to look informed, I told myself. Adopting a thoughtful
expression, I recited a well-rehearsed speech.
“I do not know enough to say that it will work; that is the affair of
my employers. From my limited perspective, I must say that your
invention clearly has the potential to pull the planet back from the
brink of ecological disaster. Fossil fuels will be left in the ground only
when a much cheaper, cleaner alternative is available. Nuclear fusion
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