Читать книгу The New Adam - Stanley G. Weinbaum - Страница 7

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PERHAPS a fortnight after the forwarding of Edmond's tube, he received a reply from the concern.

'We have received and tested a vacuum tube submitted by you...'

'The device fulfills your claims to some extent, and there is a possibility that we might be interested in its manufacture.... Should you care to discuss the matter, we will be pleased to receive you at this office at ...'

Edmond smiled his ironic smile, and dropped the letter in his pocket.

'One of the axioms of a buyer is to appear only casually interested,' he thought. 'Let their dignities be satisfied; I'll go to them.'

Some three hours after the time designated, Edmond presented himself at the outer office of Stoddard & Co., and passed a card to the startled office girl. There ensued a delay of several minutes. Edmond guessed that the powers behind the door summoned an additional member. Then he was ushered in.

Four men rose as he entered, staring at him. He felt the instant dislike that was his common reception; it flooded the office with a tenseness, a chilly, unpleasant strain. He stared back unsmiling, and after a moment, the oldest of the group flushed and coughed apologetically.

'Mr. Hall?' he said. 'I am Mr. Stoddard and this is Mr. Thwaites, our secretary. These two gentlemen,' indicating a square-jawed, blue-eyed individual of forty, and a somewhat younger one with spectacles, 'are Bohn and Hoffman, our engineers.'

Edmond bowed slightly; the men nodded. Not one of the group had extended a hand. He seated himself.

The president interrupted another strained silence with a cough.

'We had expected you earlier,' he said.

'It was inconvenient,' said Edmond, and waited.

'Well, well, perhaps we had better get down to business. This vacuum tube of yours is—somewhat revolutionary. It seems to function satisfactorily, but would mean the discarding and altering of considerable machinery.'

Edmond nodded.

'You must realize that this entails great expense, and there is some doubt in my mind as to the value of the device.'

'Well?' said Edmond.

'What terms would you consider, if we should decide to acquire the rights to your tube?'

'I will require,' said Edmond, 'a five percent royalty on the selling price of the tube, and will permit you to manufacture the device under an exclusive contract with me. I will retain ownership of the patent, and the right to terminate the contract should your production fall below a minimum of two thousand per day. I will further require an initial payment of a nominal amount—ten thousand dollars will be satisfactory, and you may if you wish check this against future royalties. Finally, I will myself draw the contract.'

'Those terms are impossible!' exclaimed the president.

'Very well,' said Edmond, and waited.

'Are you a lawyer?' asked Mr. Thwaites.

"No,' said Edmond, 'nevertheless the contract will be binding.' He stared silently at the group before him, his incredible hands clasped over the handle of his cane. There was an aura of tension about the group. Each member felt an inexplicable aversion to this curious presence, and Edmond knew it. He smiled his saturnine and supremely irritating smile.

The president looked at him with a weary somberness.

'Will you listen to our offer?'

'I consider my terms equitable,' said Edmond. 'May I point out what you doubtless realize—that you have no choice? The concern to which I grant this tube will immediately possess a monopoly, since all other types are instantly obsolete. You are compelled to accept my proposal.'

The four stared silently back at him. Bohn opened his square jaw and inserted a pipe, He lit it, and puffed a moment.

'May I ask some questions?' he snapped.

'Yes.'

'What's the source of your electron flow?'

'It is a disintegration product. The energy used is atomic.'

'What's the material you use in your filament?'

'Radio-active lead.'

'There's no lead that active.'

'No,' said Edmond, 'I created it.'

'How?'

'That,' said Edmond, 'I will not answer.'

'Why not?' Bohn's voice crackled with enmity.

'Because the explanation is beyond your understanding.'

The engineer gave a contemptuous snort at the insult, and fell silent, eyeing Edmond coldly. Edmond turned to Hoffman, who seemed on the point of speech, by the blinking of his eyes behind their lenses.

'May I ask what is the life of your filament?' he queried mildly.

'It has a half-period of about eight thousand years.'

'What?'

'I say that it will dissipate half its activity in eight thousand years.'

'D'you mean the thing's eternal?'

Edmond gave again his irritating smile with its intolerable undertone of superiority and contempt.

Tou asked me the life of the filament. The useful life of the tube is very much shorter. Inasmuch as the emission is constant whether or not the device is in use, certain radiations other than the electronic, produce effects. There is a tendency for the plate and grid to become active under the influence of alpha and gamma rays; this sets up a secondary opposing electron stream from them which will gradually weaken the conductive effect of the primary flow from the filament. The loss of efficiency will become noticeable in about seven years.'

'But man, even that's too long!' exclaimed the president. 'It practically destroys the replacement market!'

'That need not worry a concern the size of yours. It will take many decades to saturate the market.'

Mr. Thwaites spoke for the second time. 'We are simply inviting legal trouble. The Corporation will never permit an independent to ruin its market without a fight.'

'I will trust you to carry though the courts,' said Edmond. 'You will win, for the principle and the process of manufacture are both basic and new.' He paused a moment, surveying the group. 'Should it appear necessary, you may call upon me.' His intonation implied contempt; the intolerable scathing smile returned to his lips. It amused him that none of the four had questioned his ability to oppose the rich and powerful Corporation, owner of most of the basic electrical patents. He noted Bohn's irritation and a certain tenseness in his jaw as he bit his pipe. 'Your confidence is a high compliment, Gentlemen. Is there anything further?'

'Yes!' snapped Bohn. 'I think this thing is a hoax!' He rose excitedly from his chair. 'This man has bought or stolen some radium from a hospital or laboratory, and he's alloyed it with lead to make his filament! He's selling you about fifteen hundred dollars worth of radium for the cash payment of ten thousand dollars. Pay him and he'll never show up again!'

The four were on their feet facing Edmond, who still sat smiling.

'Bohn's right!' said Hoffman. 'Radio-active lead—there isn't any such thing! It's a fraud!'

Thwaites opened his mouth, and then remained silent. The four angry men stood staring vindictively at the curious being who faced them still with his smile of cold contempt. There was a moment of pause bitter with hatred.

'I congratulate you, Mr. Bohn,' said Edmond, his voice and expression unaltered. 'Your deductions are admirable, but have the one flaw of being incorrect.' He drew from his pocket a little disc as large as a silver dollar, wrapped in a dull-glinting lead-foil; he tossed this before the group, where it dropped on the table with a leaden thump.

'There is a two-ounce disc of A-lead. If it contains radium, its value will be considerably greater than your ten thousand dollar payment. I leave it as a token of good faith, gentlemen; it cost me perhaps three dollars.'

He glanced at Bohn, who was unwrapping the foil about the piece with fury in his blue eyes.

'You may perform any tests you wish on this material, Mr. Bohn, but handle it gingerly. It burns—like radium!'

Edmond rose.

'I do not require your check at once, but will expect it within a week, at which time I will submit my contract for your signatures. During the interim Mr. Bohn and Mr. Hoffman may call at my home.' He indicated his card, which still lay on the table, 'for instructions in the method and some of the principles underlying the preparation of activated lead. They will perceive that the cost of manufacture is surprisingly low.'

'Why only some of the principles?' asked Bohn, glowering.

'Those that you can comprehend,' said Edmond, turning I to the door. 'Good afternoon, gentlemen.'

He departed, hearing with amusement the crescendo of excited and angry voices issuing from the closing door. The voice of the president—'What was that man? Did you see his hands?'