"What? Blackmailing the nations! And you a professional Liberal like myself! No! It wouldn't be straight. I can't have a partner—you'll see that before I get through. But now I suppose that you will admit that I could get any amount of money out of the thing?"
"You have thought it all out wonderfully, Adam."
"Wish I could stop thinking about it. I'm only taking you gradually over the field—not telling my conclusions yet—but only some of my thoughts by the way. In fact it's years since I gave up the notion of opening the secret to any nation, or to all nations. For one thing I couldn't get into any nation's possession if I wanted to. Suppose, for instance, I offered it to the Washington Administration. Naturally the President orders experts to report on it—say six army engineers. I show them how. What happens? Why, those six men are bosses of the Administration, the nation and all the world. They can't but see that right away if they've got any gumption. Will they abstain from using the power? Scarcely. Will they stick together and boss? They won't, because they can't. It is not in human nature. Common sense, common logic, would compel each one to try to get his private Odistor going first, for fear each of the others might be for blowing him and the other four away in order to boss alone. Fact is, the moment I showed the process to any other man—and this is why I can't take you in as partner—I'd have to blow him straight away out beyond Cape Cod, for fear he would send me flying soon as he saw universal Bossdom in his hands."
"That seems inevitable," I admitted.
"Certainly. I can't risk the human race under any Boss except myself—or somebody that I am sure means as well as I do."
"Our political principles are in many respects the same," I suggested, hopefully.
"Will you—will any man except me—would even Laurier stay Liberal if he had absolute power? What would you do with the Odistor anyway?"
"Get a fortune out of it."
"How?"
"Well, we might try this scheme—detain ocean liners in port until the Companies agreed to pay what the traffic will bear."