Tom waited for a reply from the radio, but only the hissing and crackling of electrical disturbances answered him.
"Jason, those cities hold what's left of a world-wide civilization. We can't begin to rebuild unless we reopen that knowledge. We need it, we need it desperately!"
"It's either destroyed or radioactive, and to think anything else is self-delusion. Besides, we have enough intelligence right here at the settlement to build a new civilization, better than the old one, once the satellite is ready."
"But you don't!" Tom shouted. "You poor damned fool, you don't even realize how much you don't know."
"This is a waste of time," Jason snapped. "Get outside and finish your work."
"I'm still cold, dammit," Tom said. He glanced at the thermometer on the control console. "Jason! It's below freezing in here!"
"What?"
"The heating unit isn't working at all!"
"Impossible. You must have turned it off instead of on."