"Well," said Walt thoughtfully, "I'd say they were trying to heave something large enough to do damage." "Precisely. Qualifying that statement a little, you might say that the projectile transmits the energy of the powder charge to its objective." "Right," agreed Walt. "And it is possible to transmit that energy mechanically. I think if we reason this idea out in analogy, we might be able to do it electrically. First, there is the method. There is nothing wrong with your idea, functionally. Electron guns are as old as radio. They--" The door opened and Arden entered. "Hi, fellows," she said. "What's cooking?" "Hi, Arden. Like marriage?" "How long do people have to be married before people stop asking that darned fool question?" asked Arden. "O.K., how about your question?" "I meant that. I ran into Warren who told me that the brains were down here tinkering on something that was either a brilliant idea or an equally brilliant flop--he didn't know which. What goes?" "Walt has turned Buck Rogers and is now about to invent a ray gun." "No!" "Yes!" "Here's where we open a psychopathic ward," said Arden sadly. "So far, Venus Equilateral is the only community that hasn't had a village idiot. But no longer are we unique. Seriously, Walt?" "Sure enough," said Channing. "He's got an idea here that may work with a little tinkering." "Brother Edison, we salute you," said Arden. "How does it work?" "Poorly. Punk. Lousy." "Well, sound recording has come a long way from the tinfoil cylinder that scratches out: 'Mary had a little lamb!' And transportation has come along swell from the days of sliding sledges. You may have the nucleus of an idea, Walt. But I meant its operation instead of its efficiency." "We have an electron gun of super size," explained Walt. "The cathode is a big affair six feet in diameter and capable of emitting a veritable storm of electrons. We accelerate them by means of properly spaced anodes of the proper voltage level, and we focus them into a nice bundle by means of electrostatic lenses--" "Whoa, Tillie. You're talking like the Venerable Buck himself. Say that in language, please." "Well, we work at swords' points whenever we try to accelerate electrons to high speeds and focus them at the same time," said Walt. "A voltage gradient will cause electrons to change their course like a lens, and with the usual trouble with inanimate things, it works the wrong way. In order to accelerate the electrons emitted from the cathode, they are subjected to the attraction of an anode which is operating at a high positive potential. The electrons leave the cathode, and as they are attracted by the positive anode, they begin to move. "Now it is common to speak of the velocity of an electron by stating the quantity of volts that the electron has fallen through. The higher the voltage difference between cathode and anode, the faster the electron will go.