"That must have been confining," Kelly said, and Beliakoff winced.
"It was. Dynamite and nitroglycerin just don't have the same grandeur and finality. The scale of demolition seems insignificant. But if you will come with me, gentlemen, I have something here which may interest you."
Nob ushered the Earthmen ahead of him so he could copy their loose-jointed, rolling walk.
"Here!" he said, darting ahead and opening a door. "Behold!"
The Earthmen saw, upon an ivory pedestal, a small model of an atomic bomb.
"We worked until we mastered it at last," Nob said proudly. "With any luck, we'll be in production within the month and using them within the year. Now I think I can safely say that Mala has come of age!"
Beliakoff said, "No."
"No, what?"
"No atom bombs."
"But it's Earthlike to use atomic bombs. Why—"