It made Peter feel he had been suckered, but he had decided to play this straight all the way. He nodded.
"Why'd you leave?" Lexington pursued, unrelenting.
"I finished the course and the increase they offered on a permanent basis wasn't enough, so I went elsewhere—"
"With your head full of this nonsense about a shortage of engineers."
Peter swallowed. "I thought it would be easier to get a job than it has been, yes."
"They start the talk about a shortage and then they keep it going. Why? So youngsters will take up engineering thinking they'll wind up among a highly paid minority. You did, didn't you?"
"Yes, sir."
"And so did all the others there with you, at school and in this stockpiling outfit?"
"That's right."
"Well," said Lexington unexpectedly, "there is a shortage! And the stockpiles are the ones who made it, and who keep it going! And the hell of it is that they can't stop—when one does it, they all have to, or their costs get out of line and they can't compete. What's the solution?"