Dreyer made a sour face. "Yeah, maybe. But not any- body who's got a board of directors to satisfy. Not as long as there are government contracts to be had."
"Dreyer! I thought that was you." A tall, lithe, hollow- cheeked man with a small pointed beard joined them. He seemed to Kinsman to be in his thirties. He wore a white one-piece jumpsuit. His face was lean and bony, ascetic; his reddish-brown hair was shaved so close to the scalp that he almost looked bald. His hands were empty.
"Well," the newcomer asked, gesturing out toward the view of space, "what do you think of it?"
"Very nice," Dreyer answered. "I think there's a future in it."
"You're being facetious."
"No, but I'm not being polite. Major Kinsman, allow me to introduce Professor Howard Alexander of Redlands Uni- versity. Howard, this is Chet Kinsman."
Alexander's hands stayed at his sides. "I didn't know that any Air Force people were on the invitations list. You're on duty with NASA, I take it."
"No," Kinsman said.
"Chefs a former astronaut. Now he's on the Moonbase team."
" Oh, that.'' The temperature of the conversation dropped fifty degrees.
Dreyer seemed amused. "Professor Alexander is the apostle of the True Faith. He wants the military out of space so he can build colonies and make them into heavenly paradises."
"And you want to build them and make profit out of them," Alexander shot back testily.
"Sure, why not?"
"Because space should be free for all humankind, that's why. Because we shouldn't bring our selfish, petty greeds out 231 into this beautiful new world."
"Right on," said Kinsman.
Alexander turned to him. "Nor should we be trying to build weapons and fortifications in space. This is a domain for peaceful existence, not for war."
"I couldn't agree more."
The professor blinked at him.
Kinsman said, "I think it would be wonderful if we could leave all the greed and anger and suspicion of our fellow men back on Earth and come out here fresh and clean and newborn."
"I got news for you, fellas," Dreyer said, with a rueful grin. "It ain't gonna happen that way."
