ed any of us kids around since
you and the other men had taken over what we had started to do."

"You were angry that it wasn't your own show any longer, weren't you?"

"I guess that's part of it," Ken admitted, his face reddening. He didn't
know what was happening. His father had never spoken to him like this
before. He seemed suddenly critical and disapproving of everything about
Ken.

After a long time his father spoke again, more gently this time. "It's
been your ambition for a long time to be a scientist, hasn't it?"

"You know it has."

"I've been very pleased, too. I've watched you and encouraged your
interests and, as far as I can see, you've been developing in the right
direction."

"I'm glad you think so," Ken said.

"But you've wanted to be a _great_ scientist. You've had an ambition to
emulate men like Newton, Faraday, Davy, and the modern giants such as
Einstein, Planck, de Broglie, Oppenheimer."

"Maybe I haven't got the brains, but I can try."

His father snorted impatiently. "Do you think any one of them tried
deliberately to be great, or to copy anyone else?"

Ken understood his meaning now. "I guess they didn't. You can't really
do a thing like that."

"No, you can't. You take the brains God has given you and apply them to
the universe as you see it. The results take care of themselves.

"Some of us have enough insight to achieve greatness. Most of us lack
the cleverness to cope effectively with such a wily opponent as the
natural universe. Greatness and mediocrity have no meaning to a man who
is absorbed in his study. You do what you have to do. You do what the
best and highest impulses of your brain tell you to do. Expect nothing
more than this of yourself. Nothing more is possible."

"I think I see what you mean," Ken said.

"I doubt it. Most of the men I know have never learned it. They struggle
to write more papers, to get their names in more journals than their
colleagues. They go out of their way to be patted on the back.

"They are the failures as scientists. For an example of success I
recommend that you observe Dr. Larsen closely. He is a man who has done
a great deal to advance our knowledge of physical chemistry."

Professor Maddox paused. Then he said finally, "There is just one other
thing."

"What's that?" Ken asked.

"Up to now, you and all your friends have only played at science."

"Played!" Ken cried. "We've built our observatory, a 1000-watt radio
transmitter