III
Mitchell tried to stop Colonel Sidney as he went past, but the doctor mumbled he had a report to make.
Mitchell and Ferris stared at Colonel Carson and Macklin and at each other.
"What did he mean, Macklin is an idiot?" Mitchell asked.
"Not an idiot," Colonel Carson corrected primly. "Dr. Macklin is a moron. He's legally responsible, but he's extremely stupid."
"I'm not so dumb," Macklin said defensively.
"I beg your pardon, sir," Carson said. "I didn't intend any offense. But according to all the standard intelligence tests we have given you, your clinical intelligence quotient is that of a moron."
"That's just on book learning," Macklin said. "There's a lot you learn in life that you don't get out of books, son."
"I'm confident that's true, sir," Colonel Carson said. He turned to the two biologists. "Perhaps we had better speak outside."