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night, “I’ve only nibbled round the edges
     of Interplanetary. Matthews has kept me orbiting around him like a minor planet—I
     must reach parabolic velocity and escape elsewhere. (I’m beginning to pick up the
     language, as he promised!)
    “The people I want to meet now are the scientists and engineers who are the real driving
     force behind the organization. What makes them tick, to put it crudely? Are they a
     lot of Frankensteins merely interested in a technical project without any regard for
     its consequences? Or do they see, perhaps more clearly than McAndrews and Matthews,
     just where all this is going to lead? M. and M. sometimes remind me of a couple of
     real-estate agents trying to sell the Moon. They’re doing a job, and doing it well—but
     someone must have inspired them in the first place. And in any case, they are a grade
     or two from the top of the hierarchy.
    “The Director-General seemed a very interesting personality when I met him for those
     few minutes the day I arrived—but I can hardly go and catechize
him!
The Deputy D.-G. might have been a good bet, since we’re both Californians, but he’s
     not back from the States.
    “Tomorrow I get the ‘Astronautics Without Tears’ course that Matthews promised me
     when I came. Apparently it’s a six-reel instructional film, and I’ve not been able
     to see it before because no one in this hotbed of genius was able to repair a thirty-five-millimeter
     projector. When I’ve sat through it, Alfred swears I’ll be able to hold my own with
     the astronomers.
    “As a good historian, I suppose I should have no prejudices one way or the other,
     but should be capable of watching Interplanetary’s activities with a dispassionate
     eye. It isn’t working out that way. I’m beginning to worry more and more about the
     ultimate consequences of this work, and the platitudes that Alfred and Mac keep bringing
     up don’t satisfy me at all. I suppose that’s why I’m now anxious to get hold of the
     top scientists and hear their views. Then, perhaps, I’ll be able to pass judgment—if
     it’s my job to pass judgment.
    “
Later
. Of course it’s my job. Look at Gibbon, look at Toynbee. Unless an historian draws
     conclusions (right or wrong) he’s merely a file clerk.
    “
Later Still
. How could I have forgotten? Tonight I came up to Oxford Circus in one of the new
     turbine buses. It’s very quiet, but if you listen carefully you can hear it singing
     to itself in a faint, extremely high soprano. The Londoners are excessively proud
     of them, since they’re the first in the world. I don’t understand why a simple thing
     like a bus should have taken almost as long to develop as a spaceship, but they tell
     me it has. Something to do with engineering economics, I believe.
    “I decided to walk to the flat, and coming out of Bond Street I saw a gilded, horse-drawn
     van looking as if it had rolled straight out of
Pickwick
. It was delivering goods for some tailor, I believe, and the ornamental lettering
     said: ‘Est. 1768.’
    “This sort of thing makes the British very disconcerting people to a foreigner. Of
     course, McAndrews would say that it’s the English, not the British, who are crazy—but
     I refuse to draw this rather fine distinction.”

Six
    “You’ll excuse me for leaving you,” said Matthews apologetically, “but although it’s
     a very good film, I’d scream the place down if I had to see it again. At a guess,
     I’ve sat through it at least fifty times already.”
    “That’s O.K.,” laughed Dirk, from the depths of his seat in the little auditorium.
     “It’s the first time I’ve ever been the only customer at a movie, so it will be a
     novel experience.”
    “Right. I’ll be back when it’s finished. If you want any reels run through again,
     just tell the operator.”
    Dirk settled back into the seat. It was, he reflected, just not comfortable enough
     to encourage one to relax and take life