"Mr. Reed, I recognize in you the admirable spirit of adventure. But we must remember that this same spirit that once drove men to land on Earth's moon in a multi-stage chemical rocket was not enough to establish a tax-paying colony there. Now, about this project of yours. You say that you have not yet located the flaw in Hansen's Folly?" "No, sir, but--" "Mr. Reed, you realize that you'll stay here on Eden until you do?" "Yes, sir, but--" "And the longer it takes you, the more ridicule will be directed at you, at me, and the Bureau of Operations?" "But, sir--" "Mr. Reed, I'll also point out that there will be no promotion until your assignment is complete." "I'm aware of that sir, but--" "But what, Mr. Reed?" * * * * * Reed said, "Sir, may I speak without annoying you?" "If you've something to say, go ahead. I can hardly promise not to be annoyed before I hear what the subject is." "Thank you, sir. In trying to solve Hansen's Folly I engaged in some physical experiment and measurement because I couldn't find any flaw in the mathematical argument on the abstract scale. As you know, sir, one of the ways to find out why something won't work is to try it. It isn't often the easiest or the simplest, but it is often the only way." "So go on. What happened?" "Sir, my hardware works. So far as I can see, sir, there is no flaw! I was right!" "Commander Briggs of Research--" "Sir, there must be some mistake." "Silence! I'm not through! Commander Briggs seems to know more about my personnel than I do." "Sir?" "First, he offered to bet me a dinner at the Officer's Club that you wouldn't locate the flaw in Hansen's Folly by the time I made this tour of inspection. Knowing that you'd probably have no other ambition than to leave Eden, Tau Ceti, I snapped at this wager like a starving dog latching onto a piece of steak. I have lost, it would appear, which is only one dinner. But, Mr. Reed, when I accepted this wager, Commander Briggs compounded it by offering to bet me a dinner for the whole Bureau of Research that after not finding the flaw by means of the academic analysis, you'd resort to experiment in hardware. Knowing full well that you'd not have the temerity to divert Service Material for your own tinkering, I accepted that wager also. Then to top it off, Briggs added a bet of champagne and corsages for the officers' wives that you'd complete your hardware and still not locate the flaw, and that when I arrived you'd be firmly convinced that you'd proved your point in theory and practice and that therefore you were right and the rest of the known universe was wrong." * * * * *