“No, we have not,” said Wolfe. And now the tone of his voice began to change. “I do not understand you, Dr. Nagle. I am here to make a legitimate offer. I am here to ask you to name your price for a license to your patents.”
“Do you plan to go into the toy business?”
"Please, Dr. Nagle —”
“All right then. Listen to me: I have nothing to sell you. I have no patent that would be of any value to you whatever. Have you taken the trouble to read the patent issued on the Nagle Rocket?”
The engineer nodded. “Practically committed it to memory.”
“Then you have observed that the patent specifically details the precise mechanism that I have incorporated into my rocket toy. Nothing else. Is that clear? My patent covers nothing but that toy, and if you are not interested in toys, I have nothing to sell. I haven't anyway, because we're doing very nicely, thank you, with the present sale of the Nagle Rocket.”
Wolfe moved his hands rather helplessly. “But antigravity, it —”
“It should be able to power airplanes — and even spaceships.”
“Of course. You referred to a new Law of Nature in your patent. Obviously —”
“Yes. Obviously that is what you are interested in. But I'm afraid I can’t sell you a Law of Nature. Nobody gets patents on such things. Unfortunately, that has to come under the classification of Trade Secret.”