Lentz nodded. "It's my fault, gentlemen," he admitted ruefully. "I came in and disturbed your routine, and both of you charged the receiver. I know Harper did, for I saw him do it — with Isotope V. I'm sorry."
Understanding broke over Harper's face, and he slapped the older man on the shoulder. "Don't be sorry," he laughed; "you can come around to our lab and help us make mistakes any time you feel in the mood. Can't he, Gus? This is the answer, Dr. Lentz; this is it!"
"But," the psychiatrist pointed out, "you don't know which isotope blew up."
"Nor care," Harper supplemented. "Maybe it was both, taken together. But we will know — this business is cracked now; we'll soon have it open." He gazed happily around at the wreckage.
* * *
In spite of Superintendent King's anxiety, Lentz refused to be hurried in passing judgment on the situation. Consequently, when he did present himself at King's office, and announced that he was ready to report, King was pleasantly surprised as well as relieved. "Well, I'm delighted," he said. "Sit down, Doctor, sit down. Have a cigar. What do we do about it?"
But Lentz stuck to his perennial cigarette and refused to be hurried. "I must have some information first. How important," he demanded, "is the power from your plant?"
King understood the implication at once. "If you are thinking about shutting down the bomb for more than a limited period, it can't be done."
"Why not? If the figures supplied me are correct, your output is less than thirteen percent of the total power used in the country."
"Yes, that is true, but you haven't considered the items that go into making up the total. A lot of it is domestic power, which householders get from sunscreens located on their own roofs. Another big slice is power for the moving roadways — that's sunpower again. The portion we provide here is the main power source for most of the heavy industries — steel, plastics, lithics, all kinds of manufacturing and processing. You might as well cut the heart out of a man—"