"Um. It might be possible to impound this machine as a device of high
interest to the State," mused Manison. "But if we start any proceeding
as delicate as that, it will hit every newspaper in the country and our
advantage will be lost."
"Technically," said Paul Brennan, "you don't know that such a machine
exists. But as soon as young Holden realizes that you know about his
machine, he'll also know that you got the information from me." Brennan
sat quietly and thought for a moment. "There's another distressing angle,
too," he said at last. "I don't think that there is a soul on earth who
knows how to run this machine but James Holden. Steal it or impound it or
take it away legally, you've got to know how it runs. I doubt that we'd
find a half-dozen people on the earth who'd willingly sit in a chair with
a heavy headset on, connected to a devilish aggregation of electrical
machinery purported to educate the victim, while a number of fumblers
experimented with the dials and the knobs and the switches. No sir, some
sort of pressure must be brought to bear upon the youngster."
"Um. Perhaps civic pride? Might work. Point out to him that he is in
control of a device that is essential to the security of the United
States. That he is denying the children of this country the right to
their extensive education. Et cetera?"
"Could be. But how are you going to swing it, technically in ignorance of
the existence of such a machine?"
"Were I a member of the Congressional Committee on Education, I could
investigate the matter of James Holden's apparent superiority of
intellect."
"And hit Page One of every newspaper in the country," sneered Brennan.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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