'No, sir, he hasn't.'

'Please let me know as soon as he arrives,' Pasarian said. 'It's most urgent.' As he hung up, he swore under his breath. He checked the dials again and called out, 'Make it another fifty, Tom!'

***

After Buher had introduced the boys to their guide for the day, he hurried back to his office for an important meeting with all of the young up-and-coming Thorn executives. The conference had been scheduled for weeks. Buher enjoyed speaking to the new blood in the company. It gave him the chance to disseminate his ideas to those who might have the hunger and the energy to help him carry them out. And it never hurt to build a kind of fan club for yourself among those who could someday be after your job.

It never failed to amaze Buher how young they looked, in their identical haircuts and three-piece suits. He always felt he might as well be delivering a commencement address to a class of Harvard Business School graduates.

'But in the case of a land acquisition project such as the one we're now arranging in India,' Buher was saying, 'we have to guard against the indigenous population thinking we are in the business of exploitation. We are not! Emphasize that wherever you go. We are there to help! These people, through no fault of their own, lack the cultural and educational advantages we here in America take for granted. We would be remiss in our duties as members of Thorn Industries, and as Americans'—Buher felt he had named those two loyalties in the proper order—‘if we did not share our bounty with those less fortunate than ourselves. And remember this: by supplying India and the Middle East with food, for example, we prevent the Russians from moving in to give them that food. Thus we gain not only their gratitude, but also their resources.'

Buher was just getting warmed up to the topic when his secretary stepped into the room. Seeing her, he paused in the middle of his speech and motioned her to speak.

'Mr Pasarian has begun working on the P.84,' she said, blushing in front of all the new young male executives. 'You asked me to let you know when he started.'

'Thank you,' said Buher, effectively dismissing her from the room. He turned to his audience and smiled graciously. 'Gentlemen,' he said, 'take a half-hour break.'

He left, closing the door behind him. The new recruits could wait. The business with Pasarian could not.

***

The authorized guide showing the cadets around the plant was a well-intentioned young man from the lower echelons of the Public Relations Department. He was really giving it his all this morning, hoping his performance would impress Richard Thorn's two young sons and that they would mention him favorably to their father.