ientist, Mr. Bending," the Russian went on. "My title
comes from a degree in economics and political science, not in physical
science. As soon as this machine was demonstrated to me, however, I
could appreciate its power--not only physically, but economically. I
immediately contacted my superiors in Moscow to discuss the problem.

"Naturally, we would like to know the ... ah ... 'elegant' principle
behind its operation. Equally naturally"--he smiled politely at
Secretary Condley--"you will not tell us. However, my superiors in
Moscow assure me that we need not worry on that score; a machine
identically similar to yours was invented by one of our brilliant young
scientists at the University of Moscow over four years ago. As a
patriot, of course, he was willing to have the machine suppressed, and
no news of it has leaked out."

Sam Bending found it difficult to keep from smiling. _Sure_, he thought,
_and a man named Popov invented radio, and Yablochkov invented the
electric light_.

"You see, Mr. Bending," Dr Artomonov continued, "while we do not have
the unstable setup of money-based capitalism, and while we do not need
to worry about such antiquated and dangerous things as fluctuating stock
markets, we would still find your machine a threat. Communism is based
on the work of the people; our economy is based on the labor of the
working man. It is thus stable, because every man must work.

"But we, too, have a vast, power network, the destruction of which would
cause the unemployment of millions of our citizens. The unemployment
alone would cause repercussions all over the Soviet Republics which
would be difficult to deal with. We would eventually recover, of
course, because of the inherent stability of our system, but the shock
would not be good for us.

"The same thing would happen in every industrialized nation on Earth,"
Artomonov went on. "In my work with the United Nations, I have studied
just such problems. European governments would fall overnight. In
Germany, in the 1920s, it was cheaper to burn bundles of one-mark notes
than it was to buy firewood with them. Such things will be repeated,
not only in the Germanies, but all over Europe.

"Some countries, of course, will not be so drastically effected. China,
and other parts of Asia which have not built up a vast industrial
system, will be affected only slightly. The South American countries
still have a more or less agricultural economy and will not be bothe