"You mean haul power out of the sun?"
"That's the general idea. Barney, what do you think?"
"Could be—but it would take a redesign."
"Fine. And may we pray that the redesign is good enough to make a difference to the Interplanetary Patent Office." Channing called Joe, "The same. Three Moons all around. Scotch," he explained to the others, "synthesized in the Palanortis Country."
"Our favorite import," said Walt.
Joe grinned. "Another tablecloth session in progress?"
"Could be. As soon as we oil the think-tank, we'll know for sure."
"What does he mean?" asked Barney.
Joe smiled. "They all have laboratories and draftsmen and textbooks," he said. "But for real engineering, they use my tablecloths. Three more problems and I'll have a complete tablecloth course in astrophysics, with a sideline in cartooning and a minor degree in mechanical engineering."
"Oh?"