Then he drooped.
"But they can't spare power to warm up the ground under cities. They need all the power they've got to build roofs.... And it takes time to build grids."
Bordman snapped:
"Yes, if they're building regulation ones. By the time they were finished they'd be useless. The ionization here is dropping already. But they don't need to build grids that will be useless later. They can weave cables together on the ground and hang them in the air by helicopters. They wouldn't hold up a landing ship for an instant, but they'll draw power right away. They'll even power the helis that hold them up! Of course, they'll have defects; they'll have to come down in high winds, for example. They won't be too dependable. But they can put heat in the ground to come out under roofs, to grow food by, to save lives by. What's the matter with them?"
Herndon stirred again. His eyes ceased to be dull and lifeless.
"I'll give the orders for turning off the sidewalks. And I'll send what you just said back home. They should like it."
He looked respectfully at Bordman.
"I guess you know what I'm thinking right now," he said.
Bordman flushed. He felt that Herndon was unduly impressed. Herndon didn't see that the device wouldn't solve anything. It would merely postpone the effects of a disaster. It could not possibly prevent them.
"It ought to be done," he said. "There'll be other things to be done, too."