"A book," Case pointed out, "is a commodity. It's a product of brain and muscle. It has a market value."
"I suppose," said Sutton, "that you are in the market."
"We are publishers," said Case, "looking for a book."
"A best seller," Pringle added.
Case uncrossed his legs, hitched himself higher in the chair.
"It's all quite simple," he said. "Just a business deal. We wish you would go ahead and set your price."
"Make it high," urged Pringle. "We are prepared to pay."
"I have no price in mind," said Sutton.
"We have discussed it," Case told him, "in a rather speculative manner, wondering how much you might want and how much we might be willing to give. We figured a planet might be attractive to you."
"We'd make it a dozen planets," Pringle said, "but that doesn't quite make sense. What would a man do with a dozen planets?"