ns on the
skyglow of the Base.

Human error!

When would Man cease to indulge in this most monumental of all errors?
When would he cease to regard himself and his fellows as brute creatures
to be beaten into line?

He had to find the right answer before Oglethorpe and his kind found
some flimsy validation for the one they had already chosen long ago.

He stood up and glanced at the clock, deciding he wanted dinner, after
all. Tomorrow he'd wire Betty and the kids to get packed and be on their
way. No--he'd phone tonight. She had a right to know immediately the
outcome of his interview.

The dining room was almost empty. He ordered absently and clipped the
speaker of his small personal radio behind his ear while waiting. He
seldom used it, but here in the desert was a sense of isolation that
made him seize almost compulsively upon any contact with the bright,
distant world. The music was dull, and the news uninspiring. He was
about to turn it off when his order arrived.

The wine was very bad; the steak, however, was good, so Paul considered
it about even. His finger touched the radio switch once more. The
newscaster's voice changed its tone of pounding urgency. "Repercussions
of the recent crash of the world's first space station are still being
heard," he said. "Murmurs of protest against construction of a new Wheel
are rising in many quarters. Today they approach the proportions of a
roar.

"The influential New England Times states that it is 'unqualifiedly
opposed' to any restoration of the Wheel. 'In its three years' existence
the structure proved beyond any question of doubt its utter lack of
utility. Now its fall to Earth demonstrates the menace constituted by
its presence over every city on the face of the globe.'

"Senator Elbert echoes these sentiments. 'It was utter folly in the
first place to spend billions of dollars to construct this Sword of
Damocles in the sky of all the world. I propose that our Government go
on record denying any further intention to rebuild such a threat to the
peace and well-being of nations who stand now on the threshold of
understanding and friendliness which they have sought for so long.'"

Paul switched it off. He remembered the hours of world-wide tension
while the Wheel was falling toward the city of San Francisco. In panic,
the whole population of the Bay Area attempted evacuation, but there
wasn't time. The bridges became clogged with traffic, and some
hysterical d