Pandora's Millions By George O. Smith Illustrated by Orban [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from Astounding Science-Fiction, June 1945. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] "_A lot has been written about mankind starving amid plenty. But never before was a civilization confronted with the prospect of luxury amid bankruptcy_--" Keg Johnson was the executive type. He was the chief executive of Interplanet Transport, a position of no mean height. Keg had become the chief executive by sheer guts, excellent judgment, and the ability to gamble and win. Like any high executive in a culture based on a technical background, Keg was well aware of science. He was no master of the scientific method nor of laboratory technique. He was able to understand most of the long-haired concepts if they were presented in words of less than nine syllables, and he was more than anxious to make use of any scientific discovery that came from the laboratory. He knew that the laboratory paid off in the long run. Keg Johnson was strictly a good business man. He played a good game and usually won, because he could size up any situation at a glance and prepare his next move while his opponent was finishing his preparatory speech. So when Keg Johnson met Don Channing in the hallway of the courtroom in Buffalo, he was dangling an exact duplicate of the judge's watch--a timepiece no longer a rare collector's item. He waved the watch before Channing's face. "Brother," he said with a worried smile, "what have you done!" "We won," said Channing cheerfully. "You've lost!" said Keg. "Lost?" Keg's eyes followed the Terran Electric lawyer, Mark Kingman, as he left the courtroom. "He's been trying to put you out of business for a couple of years, Don, without any success. But you just put your own self out of commish. Venus Equilateral is about done for, Channing." "Meaning?" asked Don, lowering his eyebrows. "Seems to me that you're the one that should worry. As I said, we'll give you your opportunity to buy in." "Interplanet Transport is finished," agreed Johnson. He did not seem overly worried about the prospect of tossing a triplanetary corporation into the furnace. "So is Venus Equilateral." "Do go on," snapped Don. "It seems to me that we've just begun. We can take over the job of shipping on the beams. The matter-transmitter will take anything but life, so far. Pick it up here, shove it down the communications beams and get it over there. Just like that." "That's wonderful," said Keg in a scathing voice. "But who and why will ship what?" "Huh?" "Once they get recordings of Palanortis Whitewood logs on Mars, will we ship? Once they get recordings of the Martian Legal to Northern Landing, who will take the time to make the run by ship?" "Right," agreed Channing.