Results of the fifteen-year-old draft-age Vote showed that the son of Lloyd Bodger, Lloyd Bodger, Junior selected con in the Vote. President Stanton was so advised....
"You haven't told me everything," Andra said, when Lloyd had finished. "What, for instance, was the Brain's answer to Stanton's query about a third term? He must have asked it again, when that head-harness thing was repaired...."
"There's no record of his having asked it again," Lloyd said. "For some reason, he only asked it the once, and when the Brain overloaded and cut its own power, he didn't get the answer. I can only theorize, there. Perhaps he thought that the sudden surge of electrical power was intended for him, to fry his brains inside his head, and was afraid to ask it again.... Or perhaps he got the answer, but the overload on the Brain erased the information from its memory-cells, accidentally."
"And what about your father?" Andra persisted. "For a man the Brain calls indestructible, he looked awfully sick a few minutes ago."
Lloyd nodded thoughtfully. "The Brain didn't tell me anything about that. But a Snapper Beam should jog even the most stalwart system, normal or not, shouldn't it?"
Andra shrugged, giving it up. "Obviously, both answers lie with both men. If we want them, we'll have to ask your father and President Stanton. But you have not explained away the most vital part of my confusion: When you began to tell me the background of the Hive—What made you so certain I'd like what you said?! I can't agree with your prognosis there, Lloyd. The whole thing's chilling!"
"But don't you see what we've learned, Andra?" Lloyd said excitedly. "The Hive is not one city, it's ten. And, while it takes a large portion of the people to run the equipment in any tier, the city—or cities—can be run by people! The Brain isn't necessary, Andra. And the radiation outside the Hive is gone...."
"You mean—" Andra said, catching the fire of his enthusiasm, "A reconstruction of the rockets in place of the Temple-sites. Ten indestructible self-sustaining cities, to fly to various parts of the world, and start civilization over again! But this time with the same ethnic backgrounds, a common language, intercity communications—!"
"It makes me wonder if that mightn't have been Lester Murdock's plan all along," Lloyd said. "He may have foreseen the coming disaster, and wanted mankind to have a better start than working itself up from the caves again."