The scientist Chilko was a thin, bespectacled man. His slouch and red-rimmed eyes bespoke the killing hours of labor he had just finished. He bowed slightly to the group in the room.
“Well, what have you found out?” Torsky thumped his desk impatiently. “Can we do it?”
Chilko removed his glasses slowly and stood there for a moment as if afraid to speak; finally he straightened a bit and said, “I am truly sorry, your excellency, but we cannot do it. So far we have found no way at all to nullify the effects of atomic fission.”
“What!” Torsky roared. “What are we paying you for? What did you get all those medals for? You’re a traitor to your country!”
An uneasy silence filled the room while Torsky fumed. Chilko grew red as the chairman called him every degrading name in his repertoire. Finally he quieted down, stared at Chilko for a while, and asked, in an oddly restrained voice:
“Is there no chance Chilko? Haven’t you come across anything?”
“As a matter of fact, your excellency,” Chilko answered, “we do have a theory of reducing nuclear fission temperature, but I’m afraid that we are not far enough along in our research to effectively corroborate it. If, however, we can enlist the aid of another scientist, perhaps—”
“Who is the man you want?” Torsky sat up quickly. “You shall have him immediately.”
“He is an American, named Hartnell, your excellency. Perhaps you have heard of him, he is a very famous nuclear physicist. I am certain that with him we might be able to—”
“Are you out of your mind, Chilko?” Torsky twisted irritably in his chair. “That is out of the question.”