The Man Who Fell to Earth

The room was very big and even more expensively decorated than the study in the New York apartment had been. Obviously Farnsworth read the best rich men’s magazines. In the center of the floor was a white statue of a naked woman holding an elaborate lyre. Two of the walls were covered with bookshelves, and on the third was a large painting of a religious figure whom Newton recognized as Jesus, nailed to a wooden cross. The face in the picture startled him for a moment — with its thinness and large piercing eyes it could have been the face of an Anthean.

Then he looked at Farnsworth, who, although bleary-eyed, was more composed now, leaning back in his armchair, his small hands clasped together over his belly, looking at his guest. Their eyes met for an embarrassed moment, and the lawyer turned his away.

Then, in a moment, he looked back and said, quietly, “Well, Mr. Newton, what are your plans?”

He smiled. “They’re very simple. I want to make as much money as possible. As quickly as possible.”

There was no expression on the lawyer’s face, but his voice was wry. “Your simplicity has elegance. Mr. Newton, he said. “How much money did you have in mind?”

Newton gazed distractedly at the expensive objets d’art in the room. “How much can we make in, say, five years?

Farnsworth looked at him a moment, and then stood up. He waddled tiredly over to the bookshelf and began turning some small knobs there until speakers, hidden somewhere in the room, began playing violin music. Newton did not recognize the melody; but it was quiet and complex. Then, adjusting the dials, Farnsworth said, “That depends on two things.”

“Yes?”

“First, how fairly do you want to play, Mr. Newton?”

Newton refocused his attention on Farnsworth. “Completely fairly,” he said. “Legally.”

“I see.” Farnsworth could not seem to get the treble control adjusted to suit him. “Well then, second; what will my share be?”

“Ten percent of the net profits. Five percent of all corporate holdings.”

Abruptly, Farnsworth took his fingers off the amplifier controls. He returned slowly to his chair. Then he smiled faintly. “All right, Mr. Newton,” he said. “I think I can give you a net worth of… three hundred million dollars, within five years.”

Newton thought for a moment about this. Then he said, “That won’t be enough.”

Farnsworth stared at him for a long minute, his eyebrows high, before he said, “Not enough for what, Mr. Newton?”

Newton’s eyes hardened. “For a… research project. A very expensive one.”

“I’ll warrant it is.”

“Suppose,” the tall man said, “that I could provide you with a petroleum refining process about fifteen percent more efficient than any now in use? Would that bring your figure up to five hundred million?”

“Could your… process be set up within a year?”

Newton nodded. “Within a year it could be outproducing the Standard Oil Company — to whom, I suppose, we might lease it.”

Farnsworth was staring again. Finally he said. “We’ll start drawing up the papers tomorrow.”

“Good.” Newton rose stiffly from his chair. “We can talk about the arrangements in more detail then. There are, really, only two important considerations; that you get the money honestly, and that I be required to have little contact with anyone but you.”

His bedroom was upstairs, and for a moment he thought he would not be able to climb the stairway. But he made it, a step at a time, while Farnsworth climbed beside him, saying nothing. Then, after he had shown him to his room, the lawyer looked at him and said, “You’re an unusual man. Mr. Newton. Do you mind if I ask where you are from?”

The question came as a complete surprise, but he kept his composure. “Not at all,” he said, “I’m from Kentucky, Mr. Farnsworth.”

The lawyer’s eyebrows rose only slightly. “I see,” he said. Then he turned and walked ponderously away down the hall, which was floored with marble and caused his footsteps to echo….

His room was high-ceilinged and ornately furnished. He noticed a television set built into the wall in such a way that it could be viewed from his bed and he smiled tiredly on seeing it — he would have to watch it sometime, to see how their reception compared with that on Anthea. And it would be amusing to see some of the shows again. He had always liked the Westerns, even though the quiz programs and the Sunday “educational” shows had provided his staff at home with most of the information that he had memorized. He had not seen a television show in… how long had the trip taken? …four months. And he had been on earth two months — getting money, studying the disease germs, studying the food and water, perfecting his accent, reading the newspapers, preparing himself for the critical interview with Farnsworth.