348 politics said:"Andrew,thatis,Mr.Brindleinventedit,withthehelp ofthescientificstaff.Ithasbarbariuminit.Wefindita greathelpinthenewhighspeedlife."LordCrownbotom turnedawaytoconcealhismisgivings."Oh,"Mrs.Brindle wenton,"it'sspecialytreatedagainstchainreaction.Itjust helpsattunethebodytoatomicliving."LordCrownbotom wasrelieved.SandabadtheEgyptianshuddered. TheFrenchambassadorhaddeclinedthehonorofthevoy- agewithaheadacheandtheheadachehadspreadlikewildfire throughtheembassy.Thehighestoficialavailablehadbeen MauriceBagnole,commercialatache,whoafectedAmerican ways.Hedranksteadilyandafterthefirstfewdrinksbegan toproposetoasts.WhensoberhespokeperfectEnglish,but nowhewasabitbefuddled,besideshewasrepresenting France."'Ere'stozeatome. . .'Ere'stolavitesse,zespeed, you Iv ka nn oMwa . s" lotheRussianrepresentativeclutchedanddrank withtherestbutremainedatfirststernlyaloof.Hewaswel- dresedandhandsomeand,saidMrs.Cox,"you'dtakehim foranAmericanifyoudidn'tknowhewasaRed." TheundersecretaryrepresentingtheStateDepartmentwas ratherboredandwouldhavelikedtosleepbuttheScientist whosatbesidehimwantedtotalk."Thisoneisnothing,"he said,"ithardlygivesyouanideaofwhatthenewbarbarium wildo.Asinglecircuitoftheglobewilltakeusalloffive hours.We'reworkingononethatwilldotenthousandm.p.h. Doyouknowwhatthatmeans?YoucanleaveNewYork afteranearlybreakfast,circletheglobetwice,andbeback againforlunch." "Thatwillbequiteafeat,"saidtheundersecretary. Ahostessslippedinsilentlyandreplenishedtheglasses.She wascoolandcurledandlitheandsympatheticandimpersonal, foryearsanairlinehostess."Myworkisintheair,"she likedtosay.Shehadasenseofuneasinesswhenshesether feetontheground,shefeltthattimeonthegroundmade hergrowold.Shewasworkingonanideafordormitoriesin captiveblimps,wherethepeopleoftheaircouldstopover betweentrips. Therewasaradiointhecabinbutitwaskeptinreserve forthebigceremony.Forfuturetripsajuke-boxandpinbal machnieswouldbeinstaled;silenceandinactivityhadbeen consideredmorebefitingthedignityofthemaidenflight. Thecabinwasmadeofanopaqueplastic;butonehadonly topressabutonforaspacethesizeofawindowtobecometransparent,andanotherbutoncreatedatransparent spotinthefloor.Atfirstallthepassengershadplayedwith thewindows,thoughhardlyaminuteafterthetake-of the speedhadbeensogreatthatnothingrecognizablecouldbe seen.Now,atanaltitudeof40,000feet,nothingwasvisible butcloudformations. Lessthananhourout,thehostesscameinandannounced thattheywereoverParis."Ah,Paris!"sighedtheFrenchman. Helighteduphiswindowandtriedtolookdown.Allhe couldseewasadenseyelowhaze."ThatisindeedParis," hesaidwithanostalgiclookthatsatstrangelyonhisup-and- comingcountenance."Icanrecognizetheatmosphereanywhere,evenfromthetop.`Riendepluspurquel'airqu'on yrespire.EveninRacine'sdaytheairofPariswasnotgood fromthehygienicpointofview.Andthespiritualpurityof theairlingersondespitethegasolinefumes.Thereisno BithedeiàbuitdhWAtc8neisadiferentman. SandabadtheEgyptiansmiledgravely,buttoeveryoneelse inthecabinthisoutburstwasprofoundlyshocking.Parishad benthecapitalofpre-atomiccivilization,surelysucharhap- sodywasoutofplacehere.M.Bagnolesawthathehadbeen tactlessandtriedtomakeamends."Parisismychildhood," heexplained."Itisinasensethechildhoodofoursplendid civilization.Onedoesnotwishtobeachildagain,but. . ." Mrs.CoxsuddenlybecamesorryfortheFrenchman. "Isupposeyou'lhavetogobackwhenyourtermofof- fice"P isoer vhea r p?s" ,"saidBagnolediplomaticaly.Hehadotherirons int Thhee f a ir toe m. shipracedeastward,overtheCarpathians,the Urals,Asia,thePacific.Thedrinkspaseddownthehatch,the companywasdrawntogether.Thepassengersbegansmiling astheypassedoneanotherontheirwaytotherestrooms.The Russianwheninformedthathewasoverhishomelanddida CosackdanceandsangOchiChornie,butstillhewouldnot talk.Moscow'spositionhadnotbeenmadeclear.Buthedid produceafewtinsofcaviarfromhisbriefcaseandpassthem aroOunnd ly . SandabadtheEgyptianremainedaloof.Hehadn't wantedtocomeonthistrip.Hedislikedremovinghisfeet fromtheground.ButEgyptbetweenwarswasafreenation, andSandabadwasitsrepresentativeattheUnitedNations. Hehadn'twantedthateither,butforthesesmalcountries whoknewtheyhadnothingtosay,theUnitedNationspro- videdapolitewaytogetridofdyspepticpoliticians.Nowand thentheEgyptianrepresentativewouldmakeaveryidealistic spech,andthebeautyof itwasthatpartofhismindbelievedwhathewassaying.Hewasastern-facedmaninafez. Hekepthiswindowtransparentandlookedsolemnlydown. "Isay,oldsport,"saidLordCrownbottom,grownrather convivialafteranumberofhighbals."Whatareyoulooking at?" " Iamhoping,sir,togetaglimpseoftheearth." "Comenow,"saidhislordship."Wespendsomuchtimein thestuffyoldplace.Afewhoursintheetherwon'tharm yo "u I ." liketheearth,"theEgyptianadmited.Suddenlyhefelt verylonelyandthoughteventhisEnglishmanwasbetter thannobodytotalkto.Hesmiledalittle."Doyouknow whatshouldlike,sir?Ishouldliketobesittingonamud bankwithmyfeetdanglingintheNile." "Youneedadrink,"saidhislordship."Prapsoneofthese —er—atomizerswouldbraceyou.. ." "Atomizers!"beamedLadyCrownbotom."Why,that's ca "pT i h taol. s" ebluebloodsaremakingfunofus,"Mrs.Brindle whisperedtoMrs.Cox. "WeMohammedansdonotdrink,"saidSandabad.He lookedroundatthecompanyandinsteadoffaceshesaw clutchinghands.Hisirritationwastoogreatforthediplomat inhim."Andifwedid,sir, Ibelieveweshouldnotdrink atomizers."- "Ialwayssaid,"Mrs.Brindlewhisperedloudlytoherfriend, "thatweshouldn'thavethesedarkiesinourUnitedNations. Theyareathousandyearsbehindthetimes.Infact, Idon't seewhyweneedforeignerstobeginwith.Theydestroythe unity-ofthething." Despitethespeedwithwhichtheatomshiphadpassedover Paris,itwasaremarkablemechanism,capableofslowing
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