Avery drew his hand across his forehead, but did not reply.
"Is that true, Avery?" asked MacPherson. "Did you make a report okaying Rothman's calculations and then withdraw it?"
"Well, what if I did? The report didn't seem to make me much more popular than Rothman was. What if some very influential people in Government explained to Prexy, and he explained to me, just how unpopular that first report might make me? Or suppose they didn't. Maybe I simply didn't find the mistakes in the math until later." Avery kept looking at his cards as he spoke.
"Oh, great," said MacPherson. "Rothman gets put away here, Neill and I lose our jobs, and there's hell to pay in Washington, all because Avery says Rothman's math is full of holes. Now it turns out he wasn't sure and maybe was pressured into it. Grand. Between a screwball and a skunk, I'll choose the screwball. Maybe if Avery had stuck to his guns, there wouldn't have been any test."
"It doesn't matter," said Rothman. "Avery was probably warned to mend his ways. I was. Or maybe he couldn't face the truth. I'm sure he's been much happier, the last few months, believing I'm crazy. Anyway, I don't blame him any more. Maybe my math will soon speak for itself. For your benefit—" he turned to Avery—"I may point out that the errors you said you found affect only the velocity of the wave of disintegration. So what if that isn't quite right? The proof that the reaction will be self-sustaining is independent of that."
Avery was white with rage. "The proof, as you called it, that the reaction will be self-sustaining and will consume the entire substance of the Earth doesn't make sense, either. You used D as an operator where it should have been a constant. That's what finally made them certain that you were insane."
There was a rap at the door and Joe poked his head in. "Lunch, Professors! Twelve o'clock, high noon, like they say. How about some turkey sandwiches?"
MacPherson began to sweat; the thought of food made him feel sick.
Was it possible, he wondered, that in spite of everything, he was not quite sure? He looked at Neill and Avery, but they had turned their heads away.