«Yes, and Alexander ended up cutting the Gordian knot with his sword,» J had replied. «I rather doubt if we'll be able to adopt such a straightforward method.»

When Leighton said over the telephone that he might have part of the solution to both problems, it brought J and Blade to the Tower of London as fast as Blade's car would carry them. «Not that I expect miracles,» said J as Blade's Rover sped through the foggy streets of London. «But he did sound rather more excited than usual.»

The Special Branch men on guard at the Tower passed them at once. They, then rode down in the elevator and walked along the main corridor of the Project complex, past the electronic monitors that guarded its secrets. At the end of the corridor was the white room where Lord Leighton waited for them with three feet of blue-gray wire.

Now Blade and J stopped looking at the wire and looked at each other. Blade picked up the wire, straightened it out, and tested it against the edge of the table. It cut easily into the wood.

«New alloy, I suppose,» he said in a carefully neutral voice.

«You don't recognize it, Richard?» said Leighton. «Of course you wouldn't. Perhaps this will refresh your memory.» He pulled a crumpled sheet of notepaper out of the breast pocket of his smock and handed it to Blade.

Blade read it. «This is the formula for one of the alloys from Englor.»

«Yes. Our scientists haven't been able to produce it in large quantities-too expensive. But they've managed to produce thirty pounds or so that are well up to specifications.»

One of the strangest Dimensions Blade ever visited was one where an alternate England called Englor fought for its life against alternate Russians called the Red Flames. This Dimension was a mixture of the completely familiar and the weirdly different. One of the most notable differences was in metallurgy. Englor used a number of alloys that made most of the ones in Home Dimension look like plastic. Blade came back from Englor with the formulas for three of those alloys. Metallurgists had been breaking their tools, budgets, and hearts ever since trying to reproduce them.