“I cannot reveal to you these basic Laws of Nature which I have discovered without forfeiting all claim to financial benefit from my work!”
Dr. Goodman made a noise as if appalled by some enormous sacrilege. “Of course you can’t patent a Law of Nature! It’s unthinkable! That’s something that’s just there — for everybody to use.”
“Fine. Let them use it then.”
It had grown quite dark but they had not turned on the lights. The only illumination came from the glow over the city. From the darkness by the window they heard a low chuckle and Jennings said, “If we understand your Volcano properly, what you are saying is equivalent to saying that you would like to patent the atom.”
“Yes, you might put it that way,” Mart agreed reflectively. “I wish to take out a patent on the atom.”
“You’re making fun of us,” said Goodman stiffly. “At the moment it seems to be in particularly poor taste. The Government is most certainly in need of your work. I am sure there would be no question of proper remuneration.”
“You are, huh? A lab and two assistants and seventy-two hundred a year. I made almost a hundred thousand on the Nagle Rocket alone.” Mart turned and paced halfway across the room in a motion of sudden irritation. In the dim light he faced the AEC scientist directly.
“Dr. Goodman, you have been the first to have the honor of understanding the Volcano symbology, but you seem to have great difficulty in understanding what I have said. I want you to understand it. I want you to carry it back to the Commission’s laboratories. Whenever my name comes up among your fellow workers I want you to get this straight and report it correctly: Martin Nagle has discovered some of the most important and basic Laws of Nature that we can presently conceive.
“They are of immense importance to Government, industry, and the military, but unless Martin Nagle can obtain a patent on his work and get proper remuneration for it, he is going to do nothing with it except make trinkets, gadgets and gimcracks.
“And you may further tell them that Martin Nagle has not gone off his rocker. Quote me on it.”