history. That's no exaggeration. For one thing, there will never again be war, not in the 
traditional sense. We will simply contaminate our enemies' water supplies with the drug, 
then inundate them, through their own. media-television, radio, motion pictures, 
newspapers, and magazines- with a continuing series of carefully structured subliminals 
that will convince them to see things our way. Gradually, subtly, we can transform our 
enemies into our allies-and let them think that the transformation was their own idea."
  They were silent for perhaps a minute, thinking about it.
  Klinger lit a cheroot. Then he said, "There would also be a number of domestic uses for 
a drug like that."
  "Of course," Salsbury said.
  "At long last," Dawson said almost wistfully, "we could achieve national unity, put an 
end to all the bickering and protest and disagreement that's holding back this great 
country."
  Ogden turned away from them and stared through the window. Night had fully claimed the 
lake. He could hear the water lapping at the boat dock pilings a few feet below him, just 
beyond the glass. He listened and allowed the rhythmic sound to calm him. He was certain 
now that Klinger would cooperate, and he saw the incredible future that lay before him, 
and he was so excited by the vision that he did not trust himself to speak.
  To his back Klinger said, "You're primarily the director of research at Brockert. But 
apparently you're not just a desk man."
  "There are certain lines of study I've reserved for myself," Salsbury admitted.
  "And you've discovered a drug that works, a drug that primes the brain for subception."
  "Three months ago," Ogden said to the glass.
  "Who knows about it?"
  "The three of us."
  "No one at Brockert?"
  "No one."
  "Even if you have, as you say, reserved some lines of study for yourself, you must have 
a lab assistant."
  "He's not all that bright," Salsbury said. "That's why I chose him. Six years ago."
  Klinger said, "You were thinking about taking the discovery for yourself all that long 
ago?"
  "Yes."
  "You've doctored your daily work record? The forms that go to Washington at the end of 
every week?"
  "I only had to falsify them for a few days. As soon as I saw
  what I had come upon, I stopped working on it at once and changed the entire direction 
of my research."
  "And your assistant didn't figure the switch?"
  "He thought I'd given up on that avenue of research and was ready to try another. I 
told you, he's not terribly clever."
  Dawson said, "Ogden hasn't perfected this drug of his, Ernst. There's still a great 
deal of work to be done."
  "How much work?" the general asked.
  Turning from the window, Salsbury said, "I'm not absolutely certain. Perhaps as little 
as six months-or as much as a year and a half."
  "He can't work on it at Brockert," Dawson said. "He couldn't possibly get away with 
falsifying his records for such a length of time. Therefore, I'm putting together a 
completely equipped laboratory for him in my house in Greenwich, forty minutes from the 
Brockert Institute."
  Raising his eyebrows, Klinger said, "You've got a house so big you can turn it into a 
lab?"
  "Ogden doesn't need a great deal of room, really. A thousand square feet. Eleven 
hundred at the outside. And most of that will be taken up with computers. Hideously 
expensive computers, I might add. I'm backing Ogden with nearly two million of my own 
money, Ernst. That's an indication of the tremendous faith I have in him."
  "You really think he can develop, test, and perfect this drug in a jerry-built lab?"
  "Two million is hardly jerry-built," Dawson said. "And don't forget that billions of 
dollars' worth of preliminary research has already been paid for by the government. I'm 
financing just the final stage."
  "How can you possibly maintain secrecy?"
  "There are thousands of uses for the computer system. We won't be incriminating 
ourselves just by purchasing it. Furthermore, we'll arrange for it through one of 
Futurex's subsidiaries. There won't be any record that it was sold to us. There won't be 
any questions asked," Dawson said.
  "You'll need lab technicians, assistants, clerks-"
  "No," Dawson said. "So long as Ogden has the computer- and a complete data file of his 
past research-he can handle everything himself. For ten years he's had a full lab staff 
to do the drudgery; but most of that kind of work is behind him now.,'
  "If he quits at Brockert," Klinger said, "there will be an exhaustive security 
investigation. They'll want to know why he quit-and they'll find out."
  They were talking about Salsbury as if he were somewhere else and unable to hear them, 
and he didn't like that. He moved away from the window, took two steps toward the general 
and said, "I'm not leaving my position at Brockert. I'll report for work as usual, five 
days a week, from nine to four. While I'm there I'll labor diligently on a useless 
research project."
  "When will you find time to work at this lab Leonard's setting up for you?"
  "In the evenings," Salsbury said. "And on weekends. Besides that, I've accumulated a 
lot of sick leave and vacation time. I'll take most of it-but I'll spread it out evenly 
over the next year or so."
  Klinger stood up and went to the elegant copper and glass bar cart that a servant had 
left a few feet from the easy chairs. His thick and hairy arms made the crystal decanters 
look more delicate than they actually were. As he poured another double shot of brandy 
for himself, he said, "And what role do you see me playing in all of this?"
  Salsbury said, "Leonard can get the computer system I need. But he can't provide me 
with a magnetic tape file of all the research I've done for CDA or a set of master 
program tapes designed for my research. I'll need both of those before Leonard's 
computers are worth a penny to me. Now, given three or four weeks, I could make 
duplicates of those tapes at Brockert without much risk of being caught. But once I've 
got eighty or ninety cumbersome mag tapes and five-hundred-yard print-outs, how do I get 
them out of Brockert? There's just no way. Security procedures, entering and leaving, are 
tight, too tight for my purpose. Unless . .
  "I see," Klinger said. He returned to his chair and sipped at his brandy.
  Sliding forward to the edge of his seat, Dawson said, "Ernst, you're the ultimate 
authority for security at Brockert. You know more about that system than anyone else. If 
there's a weak spot in their security, you're the man to find it-or make it."
  Studying Salsbury as if he were assessing the danger and questioning the wisdom of 
being associated with someone of such obviously inferior character, Klinger said, "I'm 
supposed to let you smuggle out nearly one hundred magnetic tapes full of top-secret data 
and sophisticated computer programs?"