"You—!"
"Nah," he warned her blithely. "Mustn't swear!"
"Oh damn!"
"Now look, Miss Ward," said Barden quietly, "we've had our snarling-session twice. Once when you laughed me out of the Terran Physical Society's big meeting and now when I tell you that I am big enough so that you'll not stop me by merely expressing a personal opinion. Since I'm now big enough to command a little respect in my own right, supposing you give me some of yours and I'll see if I can find any in me to show you. Take the previous as a partial apology if you must. But I'm wanting to know by what basis you state that pursuing this job is dangerous—or say more dangerous than working on high-tension lines or space travel as it now exists."
"The theory you present has one danger factor. According to my own interpretation of your theory, the fields you require in your spacecraft to achieve superspeed are powerful enough to cause a magnetostriction in nonmagnetic materials. This magnetostriction is an atomic magnetostriction which causes the alignment of the planetary planes of the electron orbits. The result is a minor chain fission reaction that becomes major after the first nineteen microseconds."
"My theory is that nothing of that nature will take place," said Barden.
"Remember," she said, "despite your dislike of me personally, that I am trained in physics. Therefore my interpretation of physical phenomena and my predictions of such are more—"
"I agree," interrupted Barden. "But again do not forget that this is a field that is new to all scientists."
"Agreed again," she said with a slight smile. "But I've had several trained men working on your theory. They agree with me."
"Don't believe that anyone can formulate an opinion on the material that you have available."