The Trigger (Arthur C. Clarke Collection) by Arthur C. Clarke

Author:Arthur C. Clarke [Clarke, Arthur C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Science Fiction, Adventure
ISBN: 9780795325915
Amazon: B00AHKJGDU
Publisher: RosettaBooks
Published: 2012-11-28T22:00:00+00:00

17

ALCHEMY

NSA INTERCEPT LOG

SEARCH KEY 00062883 / HIT: A3H07HB / RATING: 99% / CLASSIFICATION: FOLK DOGGEREL, DERIVATIVE / SENDER: ANONYMOUS / PROPAGATION: NETWIDE

The wonderful thing about Triggers/

Is Triggers are wonderful things/

Their insides are made out of widgets/

Their outsides are made out of zings/

When bombs go boom! and ammo foom!/

You’ll know I’m having fun/

But the most wonderful thing about Triggers is—/

I have the only ONE

The core of the Annex team—Karl Brohier, Leigh Thayer, Jeffrey Horton, and Gordon Greene—had all come to Washington for the Trigger’s unveiling. All but Brohier had been in the gallery itself for Breland’s speech, as guests of the President. In fact, had Brohier not objected on their behalf, Breland would have taken that opportunity to credit them with the discovery and introduce them to Congress and the world.

“You don’t want to be celebrities yet,” Brohier had said at a White House luncheon the day before.

“You’re not enjoying the food, Karl?” Gordie had called from the other end of the table. “I’m pretty sure I’m the first person from the neighborhood to get seated at this restaurant.”

“Believe me, Dr. Greene, I understand. I know how seductive it can be to find yourself here, somewhere that previously only existed for you on TV. This is fun. It is, isn’t it? Being invited to the President’s tea party. Just being in his company makes you feel like Somebody. Of course, you’re not really somebody until you can be blase about coming here.”

Even the President had laughed at that.

“We still have work to do, and the spotlight won’t make it easier. The theoretical foundations aren’t there yet. We haven’t earned the spotlight. We don’t have good answers to important questions. Every one of you can think of peers who forgot to make sure they had it right before they went to the press. I promise you, the country—the world—will find out soon enough who we are. Jeffrey’s archive is out there. The secret patent is on record. And we will publish. No one else will get the credit—or the blame—for your discovery.

“Now, I wouldn’t ask any of you to turn down the chance to be here. But this week, please take my counsel, and stand a little to one side. The President’s kind enough to give us that choice—I think because he understands that it can be a most unwelcome spotlight.” Breland had silently gestured with his glass at that. “In a little while, we’ll know if we’re heroes or bums.”

Heeding Brohier, they had stood a little to one side, and not felt the sacrifice too keenly. They had been feted privately by the White House and by Aron Goldstein at his estate, welcomed by Grover Wilman at Mind Over Madness, and briefed by a four-star general at the Pentagon. They enjoyed government drivers on call and five-star accommodations, and no ticket or reservation was too hard for the President’s social secretary to secure.

Brohier had stayed in Washington only long enough to host a private Terabyte Annex party in his hotel suite the night of Breland’s address.

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