Атлант расправил плечи

           Idon’tknowwhathe’sdoingtherenow—theyclosedtheInstituteayearago."

           "Thankyou,Dr.Stadler.Ishallgetintouchwithhim."

           "If...ifyouwantmeto,I’llbegladtohelphimwiththetheoreticalpartofit.I’mgoingtodosomeworkmyself,startingfromtheleadsofthatmanuscript.I’dliketofindthecardinalsecretofenergythatitsauthorhadfound.It’shisbasicprinciplethatwemustdiscover.Ifwesucceed,Mr.Danielsmayfinishthejob,asfarasyourmotorisconcerned."

           "Iwillappreciateanyhelpyoumaycaretogiveme,Dr.Stadler."

           Theywalkedsilently—throughthedeadtunnelsoftheTerminal,downthetiesofarustedtrackunderastringofbluelights,tothedistantglowoftheplatforms.

           Atthemouthofthetunnel,theysawamankneelingonthetrack,hammeringataswitchwiththeunrhythmicalexasperationofuncertainty.Anothermanstoodwatchinghimimpatiently.

           "Well,what’sthematterwiththedamnthing?"askedthewatcher.

           "Don’tknow."

           "You’vebeenatitforanhour."

           "Yeah."

           "Howlongisitgoingtotake?"

           "WhoisJohnGalt?"

           Dr.Stadlerwinced.Theyhadgonepastthemen,whenhesaid,"Idon’tlikethatexpression."

           "Idon’t,either,"sheanswered.