Tern stared at him quizzically and leaned back in the cushioned chair behind his desk.
"That's encouraging," Tern said with a wry smile. "The second generation?"
"The probabilities are high. The most likely father is a man named Lao Protik, a psycho-artist living in Nuyork."
"The mother?"
Jasso grinned, a flashing grin in a dark face. He sank into a chair, pulled out a cigarette pack and offered one to Tern. The older man shook his head, fishing in his pocket for an old-fashioned pipe. Jasso clicked out a cigarette and drew deeply on it.
"That's one of the fascinating angles about dealing with the Calculator," he said. "We combined the fifty most probable fathers, including Lao, with the fifty most probable mothers. Believe it or not, we drew an absolute blank. They just don't jibe at all."
"Not too surprising," said Tern. "It's happened before. But I gather you've already decided to work with this psycho-artist. Why?"
"Lao's so far ahead of the rest, both men and women, it's the only thing to do. And, since life is full of little surprises, we found the probability highest if Lao marries a woman whose own separate probability rating is close to zero." Jasso consulted his notes and added: "She's a language teacher named Grida Mattin, living in Southgate, Tennessee."
"You're pretty sure these results are right?" asked Tern.
"I've checked every angle I could think of," replied Jasso carefully. "Of course, there's always the possibility that two near-zero probabilities would add up better, when combined. But the probability rating for marriage between these two is very high—you can see for yourself when you check the figures. I think it's the best we'll find."