Maculay looked at the controls that projected side by side on the polished black panel labelled Upper and Lower.
"Dunno," said Maculay thickly.
Hanson watched him carefully. "Cliff," he said quietly, "you knew about the streak of energy, too. If that were the answer, you'd have come out of your mental tizzy."
Maculay turned to Redmond. "What means have you to prevent the sustained reaction?"
Redmond shook his head. "We don't need any. If another race can do it—"
"Don't be an idiot! Just because one race makes iron steamships it is no sign that iron floats on water."
"But it stands to reason—"
"You'd bank your life on it?"
"Yes."
Cliff Maculay took the two handles, one in each hand. His eyes glazed a bit, and he laughed uncertainly. "Maybe the creation of the universe was started by some fool who created negative space," he said thickly. "You simple idiot, this is exactly the danger that almost drove me nuts; you haven't solved a thing!"