_FINAL INTERLUDE_
Colonel Walther Mannheim said: "It will take five years, Stanton."
He was looking at the young man seated in one of the three chairs in thesmall, comfortable room. There was a clublike atmosphere about the room,but none of the three men were relaxed.
"Five years?" said the young man. He looked at the third man.
Dr. Farnsworth nodded. "More or less. More if it's a partialfailure--less if it's a complete failure."
"Then there _is_ a chance of failure?" the young man asked.
"There is always a chance of failure in any major surgical undertaking,"Dr. Farnsworth said. "Even in the most routine cases, things can gowrong. We're only men, Mr. Stanton. We're neither magicians nor gods."
"I know that, Doctor," the young man said. "Nobody's perfect, and Idon't expect perfection. Can you give me a--an estimate on thechances?"
"I can't even give you any kind of guess," said Farnsworth. He smiledrather grimly. "So far, we have had no failures. Our mortality rate is aflat zero. We have never lost a patient because we've never had one. AsI told you, this will be the first time the operation has ever beenperformed on a human being. Or, rather," he corrected himself, "I shouldsay series of operations. This is not one single--er--cut-and-suturejob, like an appendectomy."
"All right, then, call it a series of operations," the young man said."I assume each of them has been performed individually?"
"Not exactly. Some of them have never been performed on any human beingsimply because they require not only special conditions, but theyrequire that the steps leading up to them have already been performed."
"You don't make things sound very rosy, Doctor."
"I'm not trying to. I'm trying to give you the facts. Personally, Ithink we have a better than ninety percent chance of success. I wouldn'ttry it if I thought otherwise. With modern mathematical methods ofanalyzing medical theory, we can predict success for such an intricateseries of operations. We can predict what will happen when massive dosesof hormones and enzymes and such are used. But medicine still remainslargely an art in spite of all that.
"In parallel operations, performed on primates, our results were largelysuccessful. But remember that not even every human being has the geneticstructure necessary to undergo this particular treatment, and a monkey'sgene structure is quite different from yours or mine."
"I'll just ask you one question," the young man said firmly. "If _you_were being asked to undergo this treatment, would you do it?"
Dr. Farnsworth didn't hesitate. "All things considered, yes, I would."
"What do you mean, 'All things considered'?"
"The very fact that the Nipe exists, and that this is the only method ofdealing with him that is even remotely possible would certainlyinfluence my opinion," Farnsworth said. "I might not be so quick to gothrough it, frankly, if it were not for the fact that the future of theentire human race would depend upon my decision." He paused, then added:"I would hesitate to go through with it if there were no Nipe threat,not because I would be afraid that the operations might fail, butbecause of what I would be afterward."
"Um. Yes." The young man caught his lower lip between his teeth andthought for a moment. "Yes, I see what you mean. Being a lone supermanin a world of ordinary people mightn't be so pleasant."
Colonel Mannheim, who had been sitting silently during the discussionbetween the two men, said: "Look, Stanton, I know this is tough.Actually, it's a lot tougher on you than it is on your brother, because_you_ have to make the decision. _He_ can't. But I want you to keep itin mind that there's nothing compulsory in this. Nobody's trying toforce you to do anything."
There was a touch of bitterness in the young man's smile as he looked atthe colonel. "No. You merely remind me of the fact and leave the rest tomy sense of duty."
Colonel Mannheim, recognizing the slightly altered quotation, returnedhis smile and gave him the next line. "'Your sense of duty!'"
The bitterness vanished, and the young man's smile became a grin."'Don't put it on that footing!'" he quoted back in a melodramaticvoice. "'As I was merciful to you just now, be merciful to me! I imploreyou not to insist on the letter of your bond just as the cup ofhappiness is at my lips!'"
"'We insist on nothing,'" returned the colonel; "'we content ourselveswith pointing out _your duty_.'"
Dr. Farnsworth had no notion of what the two of them were talking about,but he kept silent as he noticed the tension fading.
"'Well, you have appealed to my sense of duty,'" the young mancontinued, "'and my duty is all too clear. I abhor your infamouscalling; I shudder at the thought that I have ever been mixed up withit; but duty is before all--at any price I will do my duty.'"
"'Bravely spoken!'" said the colonel. "'Come, you are one of us oncemore.'"
"'Lead on. I follow.'"
And the two of them broke out in laughter while Farnsworth looked on intotal incomprehension. His was not the kind of mind that could face agrim situation with a laugh.
Even after he quit laughing, the smile remained on the young man's face."All right, Colonel, you win. We'll go through with it, Martin and I."
"Good!" Mannheim said warmly. "Do you have the papers, Dr. Farnsworth?"
"Right here," Farnsworth said, opening a briefcase that was lying on thetable. He was glad to be back in the conversation again. He took out athick sheaf of papers and spread them on the table. Then he handed theyoung man a pen. "You'll have to sign at the bottom of each sheet," hesaid.
The young man picked up the papers and read through them carefully. Thenhe looked up at Farnsworth. "They seem to be in order. Uh--about Martin.You know what's the matter with him--I mean, aside from the radiation.Do you think he'll be able to handle his part of the job after--afterthe operations?"
"I'm quite sure he will. The operations, plus the therapy we'll givehim afterward should put him in fine shape."
"Well." He looked thoughtful. "Five more years. And then I'll have thetwin brother that I never really had at all. Somehow that part of itjust doesn't really register, I guess."
"Don't worry about it, Stanton," said Dr. Farnsworth. "We have a complexenough job ahead of us without your worrying in the bargain. We'll wantyour mind perfectly relaxed. You have your own ordeal to undergo."
"Thanks for reminding me," the young man said, but there was a smile onhis face when he said it. He looked at the release forms again. "Allnice and legal, huh? Well ..." He hesitated for a moment, then he tookthe pen and wrote _Bartholomew Stanton_ in a firm, clear hand.