Chapter 22

           Kohler,incredibly,wasstandingforamoment,teeteringontwowitheredlegs.Hisfacewaswhitewithfear."Vittoria!Youcan’tremovethattrap!"

           Langdonwatched,bewilderedbythedirector’ssuddenpanic.

           "Fivehundrednanograms!"Kohlersaid."Ifyoubreakthemagneticfield—"

           "Director,"Vittoriaassured,"it’sperfectlysafe.Everytraphasafailsafe—aback-upbatteryincaseitisremovedfromitsrecharger.ThespecimenremainssuspendedevenifIremovethecanister."

           Kohlerlookeduncertain.Then,hesitantly,hesettledbackintohischair.

           "Thebatteriesactivateautomatically,"Vittoriasaid,"whenthetrapismovedfromtherecharger.Theyworkfortwenty-fourhours.Likeareservetankofgas."SheturnedtoLangdon,asifsensinghisdiscomfort."Antimatterhassomeastonishingcharacteristics,Mr.Langdon,whichmakeitquitedangerous.Atenmilligramsample—thevolumeofagrainofsand—ishypothesizedtoholdasmuchenergyasabouttwohundredmetrictonsofconventionalrocketfuel."

           Langdon’sheadwasspinningagain.

           "Itistheenergysourceoftomorrow.Athousandtimesmorepowerfulthannuclearenergy.Onehundredpercentefficient.Nobyproducts.Noradiation.Nopollution.Afewgramscouldpoweramajorcityforaweek."

           Grams?Langdonsteppeduneasilybackfromthepodium.

           "Don’tworry,"Vittoriasaid."Thesesamplesareminusculefractionsofagram—millionths.Relativelyharmless."Shereachedforthecanisteragainandtwisteditfromitsdockingplatform.

           Kohlertwitchedbutdidnotinterfere.