With No Strings Attached | Page 5

as the United States Patent Office itself. Can't patent that. Copper oxide, maybe, as a depolarizer? Old hat; can't patent that. Laminated plates, maybe? Nope. Can't patent that, either."
Siegel looked out at the hundred glowing light bulbs. "You mean you can't patent it, even if it works a hundred times better than an ordinary battery?"
"Hell, man," Sorensen said, "you can't patent performance! You've got to patent something solid and concrete! Oh, I'll grant that a top-notch patent attorney might be able to get me some kind of patent on it, but I wouldn't trust its standing up in court if I had to try to quash an infringement.
"Besides, even if I had an iron-bound patent, what good would it do me? Ever hear of a patent pool?"
"No," said Siegel. "What's a patent pool?"
"I'll give you an example. If all the manufacturers of a single product get together and agree to form a patent pool, it means that if one company buys a patent, all of them can use it. Say the automobile companies have one. That means that if you invent a radical new design for an engine--one, maybe that would save them millions of dollars--you'll be offered a few measly thousand for it. Why should they offer more? Where else are you going to sell it? If one company gets it, they all get it. There's no competition, and if you refuse to sell it at all, they just wait a few years until the patent runs out and use it for free. That may take a little time, but a big industry has plenty of time. They have a longer life span than human beings."
"North American Carbide & Metals," said Thorn quietly, "is not a member of any patent pool, Mr. Sorensen."
"I know," Sorensen said agreeably. "Battery patents are trickier than automotive machinery patents. That's why I'm doing this my way. I'm not selling the gadget as such. I'm selling results. For one million dollars, tax paid, I will agree to show your company how to build a device that will turn out electric power at such-and-such a rate and that will have so-and-so characteristics, just like it says in the contract you read. I guarantee that it can be made at the price I quote. That's all."
He looked back out at the bank of light bulbs. They were still burning. They kept burning--
"... They kept burning for ten solid hours," said Thorn. "Then he went out and shut off his battery."
Captain Lacey was scowling. "That's damned funny," he muttered.
"What is?" asked Thorn, wondering why the naval officer had interrupted his story.
"What you've been telling me," Lacey said. "I'll swear I've heard--" He stopped and snapped his fingers suddenly. "Sure! By golly!" He stood up from the table. "Would you excuse me for a minute? I want to see if a friend of mine is here. If he is, he has a story you ought to hear. Damned funny coincidence." And he was off in a hurry, leaving Thorn staring somewhat blankly after him.
Three minutes later, while Thorn was busily pouring himself a second helping of Five-Star Hennessy, Captain Lacey returned to the table with an army officer wearing the insignia of a bird colonel.
"Colonel Dower," the captain said, "I'd like you to meet a friend of mine--Mr. Richard Thorn, the top research man with North American Carbide & Metals. Mr. Thorn, this is Colonel Edward Dower." The men shook hands. A third brandy snifter was brought and a gentleman's potation was poured for the colonel.
"Ed," said Captain Lacey as soon as his fellow officer had inhaled a goodly lungful of the heady fumes, "do you remember you were telling me a couple of years ago about some test you were in on out in the Mojave Desert?"
Colonel Dower frowned. "Test? Something to do with cars?"
"No, not that one. Something to do with a power supply."
"Power supply. Oh!" His frown faded and became a smile. "You mean the crackpot with his little suitcase."
Thorn looked startled, and Captain Lacey said: "That's the one."
"Sure I remember," said the colonel. "What about it?"
"Oh, nothing," Lacey said with elaborate unconcern, "I just thought Mr. Thorn, here, might like to hear the story--that is, if it isn't classified."
Colonel Dower chuckled. "Nothing classified about it. Just another crackpot inventor. Had a little suitcase that he claimed was a marvelous new power source. Wanted a million dollars cash for it, tax free, no strings attached, but he wouldn't show us what was in it. Not really very interesting."
"Go ahead, colonel," said Thorn. "I'm interested. Really I am."
"Well, as I said, there's nothing much to it," the colonel said. "He showed us a lot of impressive-looking stuff in his laboratory, but it didn't mean a thing. He had this suitcase, as I told you. There were