The Skylark of Space

Book Excerpt: ...he worked it to make us think him a nut. He certainly is clever. I take off my hat to him--he's a wonder!""And what is your idea? Where do we come in?""You come in by getting that solution away from Seaton and Crane, and furnishing the money to develop the stuff and to build, under my direction, such a power-plant as the world never saw before.""Why get that particular solution? Couldn't we buy up some platinum wastes and refine them?""Not a chance," replied the scientist. "We have refined platinum residues for years, and never found anything like that before. It is my idea that the stuff, whatever it is, was present in some particular lot of platinum in considerable quantities as an impurity. Seaton hasn't all of it there is in the world, of course, but the chance of finding any more of it without knowing exactly what it is or how it reacts is extremely slight. Besides, we must have exclusive control. How could we make any money out of it if Crane operates a rival company and...