Part 30 (1/2)

”Down the drain Out into the bay eventually, I suppose '

I tried to snap ers, which was impossible because of the lead mittens ”That accounts for it, Colonel!”

”Accounts for what?”

”Accounts for those accusing notes we've been getting fro carried out into Chesapeake Bay and is killing the fish”

Manning turned to Karst ”Do you think that possible, Doctor?”

I could see her brows draw together through thein her helht about it,” she ad on the possible concentrations before I could give you a definite answer But it is possible-yes However,” she added anxiously, ”it would be sih to divert this drain to a sink hole of so for so at the box

Presently he said, ”This dust is pretty lethal?”

”Quite lethal, Colonel” There was another long silence

At last I gathered he hadfor he said decisively, ”I aet Obre's assistance, Doctor”

”Oh, good!”

”-but I want you to help me in return I am very much interested in this research of yours, but I want it carried on with a little broader scope I want you to investigate for maxima both in period and intensity as well as for minima I want you to drop the strictly utilitarian approach andlines which ork out in greater detail later”

She started to say sora run to your original purpose than a more narrow one And I shall make it my business to expedite every possible facility for such a research I think we s”

He left i her no time to discuss it He did not seem to want to talk on the way back and I heldof the bold and drastic strategy this was to lead to, but even Manning could not have thought out that early the inescapable consequences of a few dead fish-otherwise he would never have ordered the research

No, I don't really believe that He would have gone right ahead, knowing that if he did not do it, someone else would He would have accepted the responsibility while bitterly aware of its weight

1944 wore along with no great exciteot her new laboratory equipment and so much additional help that her departrounds The explosives research was suspended after a conference between Manning and Ridpath, of which I heard only the end, but the meat of it was that there existed not even a re U235 as an explosive As a source of power, yes, sometime in the distant future when there had been more opportunity to deal with the extre the nuclear reaction Even then it seemed likely that it would not be a source of power in prime movers such as rocket motors or mobiles, but would be used in vast power plants at least as large as the Boulder Dam installation

After that Ridpath became a sort of co-chairman of Karst's department and the equipment formerly used by the explosives department was adapted or replaced to carry on research on the deadly artificial radioactives

Manning arranged a division of labor and Karst stuck to her original proble radioactives I think she was perfectly happy, sticking with a one-track mind to the proble and Ridpath ever saw fit to discuss with her what they intended to do

As a matter of fact, I was too busy eneral elections were co should have a constituency to return to, when the ereed to let his na to work up a ca because I could not be in the field to deal with the thousand and one e and had a private line installed to pern chairman to reach uess I stretched it a little Anyhow, it turned out all right; Manning was elected, as were several other members of the citizen-military that year An atte two salaries for one job, but we squelched that with a paot one salary for two jobs That's the Federal law in such cases and people are entitled to know it

It was just before Christ first admitted to me howon his mind He called me into his office over soo I saw that he wanted to talk

”How much of the K-O dust dohave on hand?” he asked suddenly

”Just short of ten thousand units,” I replied ”I can look up the exact figures in half a moment” A unit would take care of a thousand ure as well as I did, and I kneas stalling

We had shi+fted almost is initiative and authority Manning had never made a specific report to the department about it, unless he had done so verbally to the chief of staff

”Never estion, then added, ”Did you see those horses?”

”Yes,” I said briefly

I did not want to talk about it I like horses We had requisitioned six broken-down old nags, ready for the bone yard, and had used them experimentally We knehat the dust would do After they had died, any part of their carcasses would register on a photographic plate and tissue froloith a light of its own