He’d felt everything draw away from him then, the happy chatter of his crew, the grate of shovels in dirt, leaving him alone in a kind of holy stillness. There wasn’t a sound or motion anywhere, not even a puff of wind. He felt the presence of God. “And I thought finding this, all by itself, justifies my existence on Earth. And you want me to give it up? Oh, no. I think not.”

“On the contrary,” Griffin said. “I have a much clearer idea of the value of your find than you do. And what I have to offer is better. Much better.”

“With all due respect, Mr. Griffin…”

Griffin raised both hands, palms forward. “Please. Hear me out.”

“All right.”

The room was empty and Griffin had closed the door behind him on entering. He slowly looked around him before speaking anyway. Then he cleared his throat, apologized for doing so, and said, “Let me begin by spelling out the terms of the contract, just to save me the trouble later on. You’ll be allowed to stay in your present position, and arrangements will be made to borrow your services for the project six aggregate months out of the year. You’ll continue to be paid by the government, so I’m afraid there won’t be any increase in your salary. Sorry.”

He’s enjoying this, thought Leyster. Science bores him to death, but having opposition to overcome brings him back to life. Ordinarily, Leyster didn’t find people very interesting. But Griffin was different. He studied the impassive planes of the man’s face, looking for a point of entry, a beginning to understanding, the least flicker of a hint as to what made him work. Leyster knew himself to be a methodical researcher; give him one end of a tangled thread and he wouldn’t let go until he’d unraveled the entire snarl. All he needed was enough time and that one loose end.