"What's that?"
"I had the definite impression a few hours ago that you were almost
relieved to hear about the transport."
* * * * *
Camhorn studied him for a few seconds. "As a matter of fact," he said,
"I was. Because of one thing. If this hadn't been obviously a criminal
act, humanly engineered--if the transport, say, had simply blown up en
route or vanished without giving an alarm...."
"Vanished without giving an alarm?" Fry repeated slowly. "Without human
intervention?"
"If," said Camhorn, "any least part of the Ym-400 it was carrying had
been radioactive, I wouldn't have been surprised to learn something
like that had happened. But, of course, the shipment was stable. And
stable Ym-400 has shown no more disturbing potentialities to date
than the equivalent amount of pig iron. If it ever develops them, the
research programs connected with the substance will be indefinitely
delayed. They may have to be abandoned." He gave Fry his lazy smile.
"Does that explain my apparent relief, Gus?"
"More or less," Gus Fry said. "Would it be a calamity if those
particular programs had to be abandoned?"
"The Overgovernment would consider it a calamity, yes."
"Why?"
"If and when," said Camhorn, "the bugs get worked out of Ym-400,
it may ensure our future control of space against any foreseeable
opposition."
Fry kept his face carefully expressionless.
"So, naturally," Camhorn went on, "we'd prefer to keep dissident groups
from playing around with the substance, or becoming aware of its
possibilities."
Fry said, "There seems to be at least one dissident group which has
much more complete information about Ym-400 than, for example, the
Interstellar Police Authority."
Camhorn shook his head. "We can't say how much they really knew, Gus.
The theft might have been arranged as a speculative operation. There's
enough loose money in large quantities around to make that quite
possible."