Атлант расправил плечи

           "Supposewediscussitlater,youandI?"

           EverybodyintheroomknewthatthismeanttheanswerYes.

           "Okay,pal,"saidKinnan.Hewentbacktothewindow,satdownonthesillandlightedacigarette.

           Forsomeunadmittedreason,theotherswerelookingatDr.Ferris,asifseekingguidance.

           "Don’tbedisturbedbyoratory,"saidDr.Ferrissmoothly."Mr.Kinnanisafinespeaker,buthehasnosenseofpracticalreality.Heisunabletothinkdialectically."

           Therewasanothersilence,thenJamesTaggartspokeupsuddenly.

           "Idon’tcare.Itdoesn’tmatter.He’llhavetoholdthingsstill.Everythingwillhavetoremainasitis.Justasitis.Nobodywillbepermittedtochangeanything.Except—"HeturnedsharplytoWesleyMouch.

           "Wesley,underPointFour,we’llhavetocloseallresearchdepartments,experimentallaboratories,scientificfoundationsandalltherestoftheinstitutionsofthatkind.They’llhavetobeforbidden."

           "Yes,that’sright,"saidMouch."Ihadn’tthoughtofthat.We’llhavetostickinacoupleoflinesaboutthat."Hehuntedaroundforapencilandmadeafewscrawlsonthemarginofhispaper.

           "Itwillendwastefulcompetition,"saidJamesTaggart."We’llstopscramblingtobeatoneanothertotheuntriedandtheunknown.Wewon’thavetoworryaboutnewinventionsupsettingthemarket.