"Gustaf Adolf is a good king, but there are limits," Eklund observed. "There are other considerations," Christianson replied. "After all, Edie is the reason the Crown Prince is still alive, and Gustaf is fond of his son." "After all these years?" Christianson smiled. Swedish royalty _was_ long-lived. It was something of a standing joke that King Gustaf would probably outlast the pyramids, providing the pyramids lived in Sweden. "I'm sure His Majesty will cooperate. He has a strong sense of duty and since the real problem is his, not ours, I doubt if he will shirk it." "How do you figure that?" Eklund asked. "We merely select the candidates according to the rules, and according to the nature of their contribution. Edie is obviously the outstanding candidate in medicine for this year. It deserves the prize. We would be compromising with principle if we did not award it fairly." "I suppose you're right," Eklund said gloomily. "I can't think of any reasonable excuse to deny the award." "Nor I," Carlstrom said. "But what did you mean by that remark about this being the king's problem?" "You forget," Christianson said mildly. "Of all of us, the king has the most difficult part. As you know, the Nobel Prize is formally presented at a State banquet." "Well?" "His Majesty is the host," Christianson said. "And just how does one eat dinner with an electronic computer?" THE END TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES This etext was produced from Analog Science Fact and Science Fiction April 1961. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed. The following corrections were applied to this text: Page 55: _but awarding the Nobel Prize was, nonetheless{original had nonethelesss}, a mistake ..._ Page 56: "It was bound to happen{original had happn} sometime," Carlstrom said.