‘Didn’t altitude have something to do with it?’ asked Dryden, remembering a piece he had read in a Sunday supplement. ‘They probably lived in the area of Mount Kenya.’
Serafin didn’t seem impressed. ‘It’s true that training is improved in quality if it is done in thinner air. Putting it simply, the heart and lungs have to work harder to provide oxygen for the muscles. Understandably, the coaches fastened on to this as the explanation for the Kenyans’ brilliant running on such a modest training mileage. Since that time, extensive research has confirmed the value of high-altitude training, but emphatically not to the degree that fifteen miles a week at 6000 feet is equivalent to 100 miles at sea level. No, Mr. Dryden, altitude is far from being the complete answer.’
‘Now we’re round to psychology.’
A thin smile confirmed it. ‘You see it, then? The Kenyans were able to run so well because they knew nothing about the technicalities of track or the big reputations of the men they were taking on. They treated their running as a straight competitive challenge, as simple as two boys racing each other to the candy store. You see, there is a danger of too much specialization in track. Athletes believe that by competing with top-class opposition, they will raise their standard, and that is probably true, but they only raise it to the level of the opposition, or slightly higher. By constantly competing with others of a similar standard, they undergo a conditioning process. Running a mile means lapping the track at a certain speed. They believe their training is bringing them to the limit of their physical potential, but really it isn’t. Otherwise, how can two Africans, untrained by our definition, stay in contention with them?’
‘You’re saying regular competition limits an athlete’s aspirations?’
‘Precisely,’ said Serafin. ‘If Goldengirl had joined a track club she would be no worse and not much better than scores of other girls with a talent for running who have rivaled each other on the track since kindergarten. To achieve what we have in mind she has to set her sights much higher. By deliberately keeping her out of track meets we have avoided the pitfall of mediocrity.’
‘Haven’t you denied her something else?’ said Dryden. ‘I thought track was all about tactics and competitive experience.’
Serafin made an equivocal sideways movement with his head. ‘One balances these things, Mr. Dryden. Tactics are unimportant in the sprint events. Quite simply, one girl generates more speed than the others. Experience of competition, I grant you, is not so easily dismissed. The stress of lining up for a genuine race cannot be simulated on the training track. But if she is short on meet experience, what has she gained? Like the Kenyans, she is unconstrained in her approach to running, she has been spared the harassment of being known to the press and public, and she is capable when the time is right of delivering a devastating blow at the morale of her more famous rivals.’ He brought his hands together. ‘I could say more about our training methods, but others are better qualified to explain them. Let me tell you instead how we propose utilizing the next two days. Tomorrow, if you are agreeable, we shall airlift you to the Sierra training camp, where you will meet Goldengirl and the other members of our team. They will work through the scheduled events of the training program, and I think you will find answers graphically provided to the questions you might otherwise put to me this evening. We shall spend the night in the mountains, and then on Saturday there is a small meet in San Diego, where you will have the opportunity of seeing Goldengirl’s first appearance before the public. We cannot keep her under wraps forever. She has to produce times good enough to qualify her for the American Olympic Trials in Oregon next month.’
‘Looks as if I came the right weekend,’ said Dryden brightly.
‘You don’t think that’s pure chance?’ said Serafin, insensitive to Dryden’s irony. ‘We want you to have the opportunity of making up your mind about the project.’
‘Thanks. When do you want my decision?’
‘By Sunday at the latest.’
‘And if I turn you down?’
Serafin stood up. ‘Shall we adjourn to the bar for a nightcap?’
In the cocktail lounge the party split. Melody Fryer stood at Dryden’s elbow with her back to the others, excluding them. He ordered her a crème de menthe.
‘You know why he didn’t answer your question?’ she said. ‘About what happens if you don’t accept the commission? It doesn’t arise. He’s a positive thinker. He knows you’re smart, or you wouldn’t have the clients you do.’
‘I could be smart enough to see snags,’ said Dryden.
She lifted her shoulders a fraction. ‘What can you lose? He isn’t asking for funds. You only do your bit if Goldengirl gets to be a merchandising proposition.’
‘It isn’t quite so simple. For a job as big as this you make plans, stake something out. There are any number of commercial tie-ins I can think of, but it takes more than three renderings of the Star-Spangled Banner to get them under way.’
She held the drink so high that a patch of green danced on her throat. ‘Explain.’
‘Okay. Let’s say you’re in cosmetics. The Miss Melody range. Perfumes, soaps, creams, the lot.’
‘That’s nice.’
‘I approach you with a suggestion.’
‘It’s getting better,’ she said, raising an eyebrow.
‘To launch a new line. I tell you about this girl who just won three events in the Olympics. I’m suggesting you have a Goldengirl promotion. A triple gold seal on every product she endorses. With heavy advertising, you could move a lot of perfume.’
‘Gallons. Niagara isn’t in it,’ Melody said.
‘We draw up a contract. You call in your admen and your market researchers and your design boys. It’s a big launch, so you want to get it right. But a campaign on this scale takes weeks, months, to set up. While your artists are creating beautiful packages, the public are forgetting about the Olympics. It’s all in the timing, you see? As this is a one-time thing, the launch wants to be reasonably soon after she hits the headlines, otherwise you’ve lost the impact.’
‘So it means selling the idea in advance,’ said Melody. ‘That’s no problem. To be realistic, we can’t keep this secret after the Olympic team is chosen.’
Dryden smiled into his glass. ‘To be realistic, it’s a secret nobody’s going to believe.’
She leaned toward him, chiding him with an exaggerated pout. ‘Come, Jack Dryden! You must have some commercial contacts who’ll take your word that this is for real. If you believe in it yourself, you can convince anyone.’ She flicked her eyes over him speculatively. ‘I figure you should know a little about the art of persuasion.’
He gave her a level look. ‘Thanks. I’m saving it for Dr. Serafin.’
She shook her head. ‘You won’t shake him, lover boy. Haven’t you noticed? He’s got a fixation. You’re the guy he needs for this operation, so you’re hired. Right now he could give you a rundown on every working part of your organization. He knows your clients, your contracts, your turnover, item by item. He knows exactly where the consortium can exert muscle if it needs to. Take my advice. You have two ways of handling this. You can take the job on his terms. Or you can move out of here tonight, sell out your business and get the hell out of America.’ She smiled and moved a strand of hair off her forehead. ‘I hope you won’t. I could use a little conversation now and then.’
Five
A lake several miles wide ended the symmetry of cabbages, olives and alfalfa. The Jet Ranger’s engine sounded a higher note, and a herringbone pattern was churned on the water twenty feet below. Ahead ranged the National Forest, where the westerlies of California are wrung dry by the towering Sierras. No more cabbages, railroad junctions, elevators, silver refrigeration plants. The San Joaquin Valley lay behind them.