He went over to another group and spoke to one of its members. The man addressed nodded his head and left. Dr. Brinton returned.
"If there are no more questions, I suggest we do some serious drinking. I am now out of a job and I want to celebrate."
Promptly at seven-thirty, a relay clicked and the alarm clock went into its usual daily routine with the chimes, window, lights, and bath water.
Dr. Brinton woke up enough to reach out a lazy arm and flip a newly installed toggle switch beside his bed. Everything returned to normal. The light and the chimes both faded away, the window reopened, and a soft gurgling came from the bathroom.
A slight gurgling also came from the bed, where Dr. Brinton, with a happy little smile on his face, had gone peacefully back to sleep, perfectly satisfied that he had worked himself into unemployment by finding the fuel that would power spaceships to—and from—any part of the Solar System.
—JACK McKENTY
Transcriber's Note
This etext was produced from Galaxy Science Fiction October 1952. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.