FINAL INTERLUDE
Colonel Walther Mannheim said: "It will take five years, Stanton."
He was looking at the young man seated in one of the three chairs in the small, comfortable room. There was a clublike atmosphere about the room, but none of the three men were relaxed.
"Five years?" said the young man. He looked at the third man.
Dr. Farnsworth nodded. "More or less. More if it's a partial failure—less if it's a complete failure."
"Then there is a chance of failure?" the young man asked.
"There is always a chance of failure in any major surgical undertaking," Dr. Farnsworth said. "Even in the most routine cases, things can go wrong. We're only men, Mr. Stanton. We're neither magicians nor gods."
"I know that, Doctor," the young man said. "Nobody's perfect, and I don't expect perfection. Can you give me a—an estimate on the chances?"