"No, there was not. I have it here," and Newton tossed a lump of stuff on the desk.
"Carnotite ore," said Mangler picking it up and looking at it through a jeweler's loupe that he took from his vest pocket. "Or at least what appears to be."
"I put my own mark on it," said Newton complacently.
Mangler eyed Newton coldly. He started to say something but stopped before he began.
Newton smiled serenely and went on: "This is merely a pilot model," he said. "With a bit of development, the device can be made to work on a large scale. We can decontaminate our by-products; we can render safe any radioactive area. Why, the value of machinery we toss out every month will pay for it in a short time. Time and time again something in the hot-cave breaks down. Last week it was five hundred dollars worth of analytical balance, discarded because of a broken bearing worth about a dollar and a half. It wouldn't work right, and it was so hot that no one could repair it safely. Think of it!"
"As you said before, such a machine would be worth billions. But no such machine can possibly exist."
"You're certain of this?"
"Of course I'm certain."
"Which means, naturally, that you know all there is to know."
"I know what is the common knowledge of the topmost scientists of the world."