"And how do you propose to do that?"
"Well, sir, by the building of vertical cities."
"Vertical cities?"
"Yes, sir. I believe sites should be selected near bodies of fresh water and tremendous excavations made. The walls and floor of the excavations should be lined with concrete, through which the water is piped. The cities could be on many levels, the topmost peraps several miles in the air—glass enclosed—and with pipes reaching still igher to bring air in, and completely tight against the Grass. They should be selfcontained, generating their own power and providing their food by ydroponic farming. Such cities could hold millions of people now doomed until a way is found to kill the Grass."
There was a faintly familiar ring to the scheme.
"You seem to have worked it out thoroughly, Burlet."
"Polishing the plate, sir."
"Polishing the plate?"
"It leaves the mind free for cerebration. I ave a full set of blueprints and specifications, if youd like to inspect them, sir."
It was fantastic, I thought, and probably quite impractical, but I promised to submit his plans to those with more technical knowledge than I possessed. I sent his carefully written papers to an undersecretary of the World Congress and forgot the matter. Idleness certainly led to queer occupations. Vertical cities—and who in the world had the money to erect these nightmare structures? Only Albert Weener—that was probably why Burlet took advantage of his position to approach me with the scheme. Completely absurd....