"Worth billions, but it can't be—"
"Exactly. Such a device would be worth billions."
"Trillions. Any number you want. It just ain't practical. In words of one syllable that even you can understand such a process does not exist—nor can such a device be made."
"This decision of yours is, I gather, final?"
"It is no decision of mine. It is the opinion of every scientist worthy of the name."
"Who, of course, know all there is to know?" sneered Newton.
"Extracting the radioactivity from a radioactive substance is impossible."
"Come, now, Doctor Mangler. There were learned gentlemen who proved conclusively that no vehicle heavier than air could ever get off the ground under its own power."
"Granted. Using the same mathematics it is possible to prove that the bumblebee is aerodynamically impossible. The half-life of a radioelement is set by the nuclear structure of the element. What you are stating is that the half-life of any radioelement can be cut down—"
"Not at all. I'm stating that I intend to purchase a machine that will completely remove radioactivity regardless of half-life."