from
the chimney of the Third Unit building. And the sight may have
prepared him for the failure of Dr. Manschoff's prophecy regarding his
disturbed patient.

Harry never asked any questions, and no explanations were ever
forthcoming.

But from that evening onward, nobody ever saw Arnold Ritchie again.

3. President Winthrop--1999

The Secretary of State closed the door.

"Well?" he asked.

President Winthrop looked up from the desk and blinked. "Hello, Art,"
he said. "Sit down."

"Sorry I'm late," the Secretary told him. "I came as soon as I got the
call."

"It doesn't matter." The President lit a cigarette and pursed his lips
around it until it stopped wobbling. "I've been checking the reports
all night."

"You look tired."

"I am. I could sleep for a week. That is, I _wish_ I could."

"Any luck?"

The President pushed the papers aside and drummed the desk for a
moment. Then he offered the Secretary a gray ghost of a smile.

"The answer's still the same."

"But this was our last chance--"

"I know." The President leaned back. "When I think of the time and
effort, the money that's been poured into these projects! To say
nothing of the hopes we had. And now, it's all for nothing."

"You can't say that," the Secretary answered. "After all, we did reach
the moon. We got to Mars." He paused. "No one can take that away from
you. You sponsored the Martian flights. You fought for the
appropriations, pushed the project, carried it through. You helped
mankind realize its greatest dream--"

"Save that for the newscasts," the President said. "The fact remains,
we've succeeded. And our success was a failure. Mankind's greatest
dream, eh? Read these reports and you'll find out this is mankind's
greatest nightmare."

"Is it that bad?"

"Yes." The President slumped in his chair. "It's that bad. We can
reach the moon at will. Now we can send a manned flight to Mars. But
it means nothing. We can't support life in either place. There's
absolutely no possibility of establishing or maintaining an outpost,
let alone a large colony or a permanent human residence. That's what
all the reports conclusively demonstrate.

"Every bit of oxygen, every bit of food and clothing and material,
would have to be supplied. And investigations prove there's no chance
of ever realizing any return. The cost of such an operation is
staggeringly prohibitive. Even if there was evidence to show it might
be possible to under