"Yes, but it is also useful for decorative purposes, although the large molecule makes it too soft to be used as a wearing surface."
"Well Steve, you sure have a mighty fine little ship! What do you call it? You said that you called the mathematics machine 'Bartholemew.' What do you call this?"
"As yet it has not been named. I wanted you to suggest some name for it."
"That's a sudden order, Steve. What have you thought of?"
"Well, I thought of calling it fluorine, for the chemical element which is so active that it can not be displaced by any other, but will, on the other hand, force any other non-metal out of its compound. Then I thought of Niña, the name of Columbus' ship which first touched a new world, and Wright reminded me that Eric, the Red's son Lief landed here in about 1000 and suggested Eric as a name."
"Well, that's a good assortment. Why pick on me?"
"We thought you ought to be good at inventing names, since you had written several books."
"That is a fine excuse! I get mine from old magazines! But I might suggest 'The Electron.' It sounds well, and I remember that you said that you charged it negatively to cut out the gravity of the Earth and an electron—or is it a proton that has a negative charge?"
"'The Electron'—sounds good—and the idea is good. An electron has a negative charge. Wright also suggested the 'Terrestrian,' as it would be the first ship of Earth to visit other worlds. It is between 'Electron' and 'Terrestrian' now. Which do you like better?"
"I prefer 'Terrestrian.' It has more meaning."