{"product_id":"2940014009027","title":"Islands Of Space","description":"I\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThree men sat around a table which was littered with graphs, sketches of\u003cbr\u003emathematical functions, and books of tensor formulae. Beside the table\u003cbr\u003estood a Munson-Bradley integraph calculator which one of the men was\u003cbr\u003eusing to check some of the equations he had already derived. The results\u003cbr\u003ethey were getting seemed to indicate something well above and beyond\u003cbr\u003ewhat they had expected.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd anything that surprised the team of Arcot, Wade, and Morey was\u003cbr\u003esurprising indeed.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe intercom buzzed, interrupting their work.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDr. Richard Arcot reached over and lifted the switch. \"Arcot speaking.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe face that flashed on the screen was businesslike and determined.\u003cbr\u003e\"Dr. Arcot, Mr. Fuller is here. My orders are to check with you on all\u003cbr\u003evisitors.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eArcot nodded. \"Send him up. But from now on, I'm not in to anyone but my\u003cbr\u003efather or the Interplanetary Chairman or the elder Mr. Morey. If they\u003cbr\u003ecome, don't bother to call, just send 'em up. I will not receive calls\u003cbr\u003efor the next ten hours. Got it?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"You won't be bothered, Dr. Arcot.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eArcot cut the circuit and the image collapsed.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLess than two minutes later, a light flashed above the door. Arcot\u003cbr\u003etouched the release, and the door slid aside. He looked at the man\u003cbr\u003eentering and said, with mock coldness:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"If it isn't the late John Fuller. What did you do--take a plane? It\u003cbr\u003etook you an hour to get here from Chicago.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFuller shook his head sadly. \"Most of the time was spent in getting past\u003cbr\u003eyour guards. Getting to the seventy-fourth floor of the Transcontinental\u003cbr\u003eAirways Building is harder than stealing the Taj Mahal.\" Trying to\u003cbr\u003esuppress a grin, Fuller bowed low. \"Besides, I think it would do your\u003cbr\u003eroyal highness good to be kept waiting for a while. You're paid a couple\u003cbr\u003eof million a year to putter around in a lab while honest people work for\u003cbr\u003ea living. Then, if you happen to stub your toe over some useful gadget,\u003cbr\u003ethey increase your pay. They call you scientists and spend the resources\u003cbr\u003eof two worlds to get you anything you want--and apologize if they don't\u003cbr\u003eget it within twenty-four hours.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"No doubt about it; it will do your majesties good to wait.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith a superior smile, he seated himself at the table and shuffled\u003cbr\u003ecalmly through the sheets of equations before him.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eArcot and Wade were laughing, but not Robert Morey. With a sorrowful\u003cbr\u003eexpression, he walked to the window and looked out at the hundreds of\u003cbr\u003eslim, graceful aircars that floated above the city.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"My friends,\" said Morey, almost tearfully, \"I give you the great Dr.\u003cbr\u003eArcot. These countless machines we see have come from one idea of his.\u003cbr\u003eJust an idea, mind you! And who worked it into mathematical form and\u003cbr\u003emade it calculable, and therefore useful? I did!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"And who worked out the math for the interplanetary ships? I did!\u003cbr\u003eWithout me they would never have been built!\" He turned dramatically, as\u003cbr\u003ethough he were playing King Lear. \"And what do I get for it?\" He pointed\u003cbr\u003ean accusing finger at Arcot. \"What do I get? _He_ is called 'Earth's\u003cbr\u003emost brilliant physicist', and I, who did all the hard work, am referred\u003cbr\u003eto as 'his mathematical assistant'.\" He shook his head solemnly. \"It's a\u003cbr\u003ehard world.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAt the table, Wade frowned, then looked at the ceiling. \"If you'd make\u003cbr\u003eyour quotations more accurate, they'd be more trustworthy. The news said\u003cbr\u003ethat Arcot was the '_System's_ most brilliant physicist', and that you\u003cbr\u003ewere the 'brilliant mathematical assistant who showed great genius in\u003cbr\u003edeveloping the mathematics of Dr. Arcot's new theory'.\" Having delivered\u003cbr\u003ehis speech, Wade began stoking his pipe.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFuller tapped his fingers on the table. \"Come on, you clowns, knock it\u003cbr\u003eoff and tell me why you called a hard-working man away from his drafting\u003cbr\u003etable to come up to this play room of yours. What have you got up your\u003cbr\u003esleeve this time?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Oh, that's too bad,\" said Arcot, leaning back comfortably in his chair.\u003cbr\u003e\"We're sorry you're so busy. We were thinking of going out to see what\u003cbr\u003eAntares, Betelguese, or Polaris looked like at close range. And, if we\u003cbr\u003edon't get too bored, we might run over to the giant model nebula in\u003cbr\u003eAndromeda, or one of the others. Tough about your being busy; you might\u003cbr\u003ehave helped us by designing the ship and earned your board and passage.\u003cbr\u003eTough.\" Arcot looked at Fuller sadly.","brand":"SAP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47173079597296,"sku":"2940014009027","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940014009027_p0.jpg?v=1763598921","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940014009027","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}