Атлант расправил плечи
The Utopia of Greed
Thatwastrue—orrather,thatwasnotthewayIthoughtofit,butIknewthathedid.Well,ifwewererivals,Ihadoneadvantage:Iknewwhytheyneededbothourprofessions;heneverunderstoodtheirinterestinmine.Heneverunderstooditsimportancetohimself—which,incidentally,iswhatdestroyedhim.Butinthoseyearshewasstillaliveenoughtograspatthesethreestudents.‘Grasp’wasthewordforit.Intelligencebeingtheonlyvalueheworshipped,heclutchedthemasiftheywereaprivatetreasureofhisown.Hehadalwaysbeenaverylonelyman.Ithinkthatinthewholeofhislife,FranciscoandRagnarwerehisonlylove,andJohnwashisonlypassion.ItwasJohnwhomheregardedashisparticularheir,ashisfuture,ashisownimmortality.Johnintendedtobeaninventor,whichmeantthathewastobeaphysicist;hewastotakehispostgraduatecourseunderRobertStadler.Franciscointendedtoleaveaftergraduationandgotowork;hewastobetheperfectblendofbothofus,histwointellectualfathers:anindustrialist.AndRagnar—youdidn’tknowwhatprofessionRagnarhadchosen,MissTaggart?No,itwasn’tstuntpilot,orjungleexplorer,ordeep-seadiver.Itwassomethingmuchmorecourageousthanthese.Ragnarintendedtobeaphilosopher.Anabstract,theoretical,academic,cloistered,ivory-towerphilosopher...
Yes,RobertStadlerlovedthem.Andyet—IhavesaidthatIwouldhavekilledtoprotectthem,onlytherewasnoonetokill.
