Атлант расправил плечи

           Shesaidnothing.Headded,hisvoicelow,"Iwouldn’tbefrightenedifIcouldunderstandit....Butathingthatcan’thaveanypossiblereason..."Sheremainedsilent."Hewasthebestcontractorinthecountry."

           Theylookedateachother.Whatshewantedtosaywas,"OhGod,Eddie!"Instead,hervoiceeven,shesaid,"Don’tworry.We’llfindanothercontractorfortheRioNorteLine."

           Itwaslatewhensheleftheroffice.Outside,onthesidewalkatthedoorofthebuilding,shepaused,lookingatthestreets.Shefeltsuddenlyemptyofenergy,ofpurpose,ofdesire,asifamotorhadcrackledandstopped.

           Afaintglowstreamedfrombehindthebuildingsintothesky,thereflectionofthousandsofunknownlights,theelectricbreathofthecity.Shewantedtorest.Torest,shethought,andtofindenjoymentsomewhere.

           Herworkwasallshehadorwanted.Butthereweretimes,liketonight,whenshefeltthatsudden,peculiaremptiness,whichwasnotemptiness,butsilence,notdespair,butimmobility,asifnothingwithinherweredestroyed,buteverythingstoodstill.Thenshefeltthewishtofindamoment’sjoyoutside,thewishtobeheldasapassivespectatorbysomeworkorsightofgreatness.Nottomakeit,shethought,buttoaccept;nottobegin,buttorespond;nottocreate,buttoadmire.Ineedittoletmegoon,shethought,becausejoyisone’sfuel.

           Shehadalwaysbeen—sheclosedhereyeswithafaintsmileofamusementandpain—themotivepowerofherownhappiness.