ve finality.

Gulbrandson paid dearly for his piggishness later, but at the time it
seemed only natural that if one Soth could run a household efficiently,
then the Chairman of the Board should have at least two spares in case
one blew a fuse or a vesicle or whatever it was they might blow.

* * * * *

A small, dignified riot almost broke up the meeting right there, and
when they quieted down again I had orders for twenty-six Soths from the
board members and one from my own secretary.

"How soon," I asked Ollie Johnson, "can you begin deliveries?"

He dry-washed his hands and admitted it would be five months, and a sigh
of disappointment ran around the table. Then someone asked him how many
units a month they could turn out.

He stared at the carpet and held out his hands like a pawn-broker
disparaging a diamond ring: "Our techniques are so slow. The first
month, maybe a hundred. Of course, once our cultures are all producing
in harmony, almost any number. One thousand? Ten thousand? Whatever your
needs suggest."

One of the officers asked, "Is your process entirely biological? You
mentioned cultures."

For a moment, I thought Ollie Johnson was going to break out in tears.
His face twisted.

"Abysmally so," he grieved. "Our synthetic models have never proved
durable. Upkeep and parts replacements are prohibitive. Our brain units
are much similar to your own latest developments in positronics, but we
have had to resort to organic cellular structure in order to achieve the
mobility which Mr. Collins admired last Friday."

The upshot of the meeting was a hearty endorsement over my signature on
the Ollies' contract, plus an offer of any help they might need to get
production rolling.

As the meeting broke up, they pumped my hand and stared enviously at my
Soth. Several offered me large sums for him, up to fifteen thousand
dollars, and for the moment I sweated out the rack of owning something
my bosses did not. Their understandable resentment, however, was
tempered by their recognition of my genius in getting a signed contract
before the Ollies went shopping to our competitors.

What none of us understood right then was that the Ollies were hiring
us, not the other way around.

When I told Vicki about my hour of triumph and how the officers bid up
our Soth, she glowed with the very feminine delight of exclusive
possession. She hugged me and gloated, "Old biddy Gulbrandson--won't