Атлант расправил плечи
The Man who belonged on Earth
ifyouwish.Butit’sinanundergroundvault,downinourTerminaltunnels."
"Idon’tmind,ifyouwouldn’tmindtakingmedownthere.Ihavenospecialmotive.It’sonlymypersonalcuriosity.Iwouldliketoseeit—that’sall."
Whentheystoodinthegranitevault,overaglasscasecontainingashapeofbrokenmetal,hetookoffhishatwithaslow,absentmovement—andshecouldnottellwhetheritwastheroutinegestureofrememberingthathewasinaroomwithalady,orthegestureofbaringone’sheadoveracoffin.
Theystoodinsilence,intheglareofasinglelightrefractedfromtheglasssurfacetotheirfaces.Trainwheelswereclickinginthedistance,anditseemedattimesasifasudden,sharperjoltofvibrationwereabouttoawakenananswerfromthecorpseintheglasscase.
"It’ssowonderful,"saidDr.Stadler,hisvoicelow."It’ssowonderfultoseeagreat,new,crucialideawhichisnotmine!"
Shelookedathim,wishingshecouldbelievethatsheunderstoodhimcorrectly.Hespoke,inpassionatesincerity,discardingconvention,discardingconcernforwhetheritwaspropertoletherheartheconfessionofhispain,seeingnothingbutthefaceofawomanwhowasabletounderstand:"MissTaggart,doyouknowthehallmarkofthesecond-rater?It’sresentmentofanotherman’sachievement.
