Атлант расправил плечи

           Ohyes,shespoketomeaboutit,andshedidn’tshake,butitwasworse—youknow,thekindofrigiditywhenapersonactsasifshedidn’tfeelanythingatall,and...Listen,didIevertellyouthatIlikeyou?

           Ilikeyouverymuch—forthewayyoulookrightnow.Youhearus.

           Youunderstand...Whatdidshesay?Itwasstrange:it’snotHankReardenthatshe’safraidfor,it’sKenDanagger.ShesaidthatReardenwillhavethestrengthtotakeit,butDanaggerwon’t.Notthathe’lllackthestrength,buthe’llrefusetotakeit.She...shefeelscertainthatKenDanaggerwillbethenextonetogo.TogolikeEllisWyattandallthoseothers.Togiveupandvanish...Why?

           Well,shethinksthatthere’ssomethinglikeashiftofstressinvolved—economicandpersonalstress.Assoonasalltheweightofthemomentshiftstotheshouldersofsomeoneman—he’stheonewhovanishes,likeapillarslashedoff.Ayearago,nothingworsecouldhavehappenedtothecountrythantoloseEllisWyatt.He’stheonewelost.

           Sincethen,shesays,it’sbeenasifthecenterofgravitywereswingingwildly—likeinasinkingcargoshipoutofcontrol—shiftingfromindustrytoindustry,frommantoman.Whenweloseone,anotherbecomesthatmuchmoredesperatelyneeded—andhe’stheonewelosenext.