“Since the beginning of the Patent System, our courts have kept sacred the forces of Nature and prevented them from falling into the hands of selfish, monopolistic interests. The country has prospered technically under the System, and our inventors and scientists have been abundantly rewarded by it.
“Now we have a blatant attempt to destroy it all by demanding control over the natural forces of the universe, which these two men refuse to disclose in the tradition of the great scientists. I do not know what the outcome of this contention will be, but I am certain that our courts will not allow such a brazen assault to succeed. Our Patent System must be protected and retained intact, in order to secure to inventors their just rights for the fruits of their labors, and at the same time guard against the monopolistic exploitation of the open storehouse of Nature.
“It is a sad thing indeed, to witness the default of two such men of genius as Martin Nagle and Kenneth Berkeley. They are men of genius. The whole world of science acknowledges that they are. The genius of the principles in their toys and gambling machines is recognized. We sincerely hope they will reconsider this fantastic effort and return to the laboratories where they are needed so badly in the defense effort of their country.”
Carolyn Nagle moved to the television receiver and turned it off. She was a tall, dark-haired woman and her face was unnaturally white as she faced the rest of them.
“That’s it,” she said. “I hope you are ready for it. If you don’t wind this thing up pretty soon, we’re liable to be hanging from a lamp-post somewhere along Fifth Avenue.”
Mart picked up his glass and stared at the blank screen. “Yeah, I knew it would be bad, but I didn’t think anybody would go off their nut to that extent. Berk, maybe you and I ought to go down and have a talk with Baird.”
“Uh, uh,” said Berk. “As your personal psychiatrist, I advise against it. Baird’s a flag-waver. A defender of the home fires. He’s just plain dangerous. You’d better stay away from that guy if you’re smart.”
“He could be the one to spur an investigation. That’s our next step.”
“Not if he knew we wanted it. He’d simply hound us over the air until we couldn’t move. Carolyn’s right. We’ve got to move fast.”
“We’ve got Jennings,” said Mart. “But I’d rather not use him. His association with us in the past is too well-known. I’d rather it came from someone like Baird. Anyway, we can give it a day or two and see what develops. Personally, I think we should wait until more of the right people have seen the Volcano. That’s our ace.”