Charles went to work the next day after informing his wife that she could expect him to begin keeping rather irregular hours at the laboratory. The idea of any kind of irregularity was enough to worry any wife, and Ingrid was the naturally suspicious type. She was always nagging and had, upon occasion, even gone so far as to insinuate that Charles had individualist tendencies. So he knew that she would, embarrassingly, call Edwin to check up on him, but he didn't really care. The real problem was the all-weather suit. Charles put his small corps of assistants on the project, investigating several lines of thought at once. Every day, someone would drop around for a while to check on his progress, and he had no delusions about what would happen if he failed. The entire economic stability of his society depended on his coming up with an all-weather suit, and he began to have trouble sleeping nights. Eventually, he found what looked like a workable solution. He called Edwin to tell him about it, and Edwin came down to the lab to see for himself. "Is _this_ it?" he asked, picking up what looked like a burlap handkerchief. Charles cleared his throat. "Well, that's the first sample, sir. Of course, it's possible to obtain a finer weave once we find out a few things about it, and when it's bleached...." Edwin nodded impatiently. "Yes, yes. Well, what's so special about it?" "Well, it's made of a radically new type of fiber, sir...." "How's it new?" "I can show you more technical data on it, sir, but basically the difference between this and conventional types of fiber is that this is thermostatic." "How do you mean, thermostatic?" "Well, sir, basically, the diameter of the fiber is inversely proportional with the temperature. When the temperature rises, the fiber contracts, and when the temperature drops, it expands. So in cold weather, you have a fine, tight weave with good insulation, and in warm weather you have a loose weave with ventilation...." Edwin nodded and dropped the fabric on a lab bench. "Sounds good." "Well sir, we have to make a few more tests on it, and it'll have to be field tested before we can decide if it's safe to use in garments...." Edwin tapped him on the shoulder. "Test it, Charlie." "Sir?" Edwin frowned. "We don't have as much time as you think. We need that suit of yours _fast_. We can't afford to waste any more time puttering around the laboratory. You have the fellows downstairs make up some of this stuff into a Standard suit, and I want you to put it on yourself. What I mean is, _today_!" Charles' jaw dropped. "Today! But...." "No buts! Wear it a couple of days, and if you say it checks out, we go into production immediately." So Charles went home that night in a new suit and a worried frown. * * * * *