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“Admittedly I have no glands.” Sven said. “But static discharges disrupt in the same manner from time to time.”

“That is not true, Sven,” Brian said coldly.

“You are correct — I was attempting a small joke.”

Snaresbrook looked at them in silence. For an instant there Sven had seemed the more human of the two. As the MI was learning humanity — was Brian losing it? She brushed the terrible thought away. “You said that you were conferencing. You no longer need the physical optic-fiber connection?”

“No.” Brian touched the back of his neck. “A slight modification and communication is accomplished by modulating infrared signals.” He stood and stretched, attempted a weak smile. “Sorry if I was rude. Sven and I are onto something so big that it is frightening.”

“What?”

“Not sure yet — I mean not sure if we can do it. And we are pushing like crazy because we want to get it done before the next meeting of the Megalobe board. It would be great to spring it there. But I’m being a bad host—”

“You certainly are!” Sven said. “But I hurry to make amends. Sir, madam, the sitting room is this way. Cool drinks, soft music, we are very hospitable when we but try.”

Sven’s hand flicked lightly in Brian’s direction, a slight movement that suggested apology — perhaps resignation.

Brian and Woody had soft drinks but Snaresbrook, who rarely drank save at social functions, felt the sudden need for something different.

“Bombay martini on the rocks with a twist — and no vermouth. Can you manage that, Sven?”

“Well within my powers, Doctor. A moment if you please.”

She sat in a deep and comfortable chair, folded her hands on her purse, and held her anger at bay. The martini would help. “How have you been keeping, Brian?”

“Very well. I work out when I can.”

“And your head? Any negative symptoms, pains, anything at all?”

“Perfectly fine.”

She nodded her thanks to Sven, sipped the drink. It did help. “It’s been a long time since we have had a session with the connection machine.”

“I know. I feel there is no need for that anymore. The CPU is integrated and I can access it at will. No problems.”

“That’s nice. Did you ever think of telling me about it? I never published more than a general description of the operation, since I was waiting for final results before I did.”

There was a cold edge to her voice now. Brian was aware of it, flushed slightly.

“That’s an oversight on my part. I’m sorry. Look, I’ll write up everything and get the material to you.”

“That would be nice. I’ve talked to Shelly a few times—”

“That is of no interest to me. Part of the past that I have forgotten.”

“Fine. But just on general humanitarian terms I thought that you would like to know that her father had the bypass operation and is doing fine. She didn’t take to civilian life and reenlisted.”

Brian sipped his drink, looked out of the window, said nothing.

They left a half hour later when Brian said that he had to go back to work. Snaresbrook drove in silence until they were through the gate.

“I don’t like it,” she said.

“He promised to come to the gym more regularly, didn’t he?”

“Wonderful. So that takes care of his social life. You heard his answers. Theaters, concerts — he has the best DAT and CD equipment here. Parties? Never was partying type. And girls, I was most unhappy at the way he slid away from that discussion at all. What do you think, Woody? You’re his friend.”

“I think — sometimes, looking at the two of them together. At times, if not all the time, it’s like you said. Sven is the more human of the two.”

ENVOI

The meeting of the board of directors of Megalobe began promptly at ten in the morning. Kyle Rohart was Chairman now, had grown with the years of responsibility that had been thrust upon nun. He motioned for silence.

“I think that we had better get started because there is a lot of ground to cover. Our annual report to the stockholders is due in a month and we are going to have difficulty in getting it together in time. The way production has grown on the new MI-directed assembly lines is almost unbelievable. But before we begin I would like you to all meet our new board member. Sven, I want to introduce you to the other members.”

“Thank you, Mr. Rohart, but that will not be necessary. I recognize them from their photographs, know them well from their histories and records. Gentlemen, it is my pleasure to serve beside you. Please call upon me for any specialized information you might need. Remember that I have been with machine intelligence from, you might truthfully say, the very beginning.”

There were murmurs of appreciation, even a few looks of blank astonishment from members not closely acquainted with MI. Rohart looked at his notes.

“We will begin with new products. Brian has something of importance to tell you. But before he does I must let you know that the first MI ship ever built has just sailed from Yokohama. The MI is both captain and crew, but at the insistence of the Japanese government a mechanic and an electrician will also be aboard. I know they will enjoy the voyage since they will have absolutely nothing to do.” There was an appreciative laugh.

“Another thing you will want to hear about,” Kyle said. “Our NanoCorp Division’s new molecular microscope is now working almost perfectly. As you probably know it resembles a medical ultrasound scanner — but it is a million times smaller because we are using the latest nanotechniques. It operates by sending mechanical vibrations to nearby molecules and then analyses the resulting echoes. When we insert its probe into the nucleus of a cell we can find and explore the chromosomes, read that individual’s entire genome in only a few minutes. Eventually this data will be used to reconstruct the full story of how every animal evolved. With this kind of knowledge we should be able to build from scratch virtually any kind of creature we want. For example, one of our geneticists sees no great problem to making a cow that gives maple syrup.” There were a few appreciative laughs, and some other murmurs of concern. “Brian, you have the floor.”

“Thanks Kyle. Gentlemen, I am being a little premature in telling you about a new product, but the prospects are so exciting that I felt you should know what we are working on. All credit goes to Sven for this one. It is his discovery and he worked out all of the details of how to make it into a practical process even before he brought me into the picture.”

Brian took a deep breath. “If the math is correct and the new material, called SupereX, can be fabricated — it should change the whole picture of how we use energy. It will change the entire world!”

He waited until the room had quieted down before he went on. “This all has to do with the quantum theory in physics, of what the Nobel laureate Tsunami Huang called ‘anisotropic phonon resonance’. But until now that theory has never been put into practical use. Sven has shown how to do just that. You’ve all heard of superconductors that transmit electricity without any loss. Now Sven has done the same for heat. His new material conducts heat almost perfectly, in one direction. In the opposite direction SupereX should be an almost perfect insulator. As you know the expensive modern insulations in our walls have R-values in the hundreds. According to the new theory, SupereX should have an R value of approximately one hundred million. And it can easily be sprayed on in the form of a paint — applied with a polarizing field.”

He waited for a reaction, but no one knew what to say. Businessmen, he sighed to himself.

“An example — if a very thin film of SupereX is applied to a beer can, that can will keep the beer cold for years. We can throw away all the refrigerators in the country, eliminate our heating costs entirely. Electrical superconductors were never very practical because they did not work at normal temperatures. But now SupereX insulation will enable superconducting cables to transmit power without any loss — even between distant continents. The possibilities are incredible. Longitudinally polarized SupereX thermal-conducting cables will bring heat from the deserts and cold from the poles. To generate virtually cost-free thermo-electricity anywhere in between!”