that level, which would involve fairly massive construction there in any case. Then it occurred to us that seven hours was too long to stay cooped up in a rather cramped cabin, and splitting the journey would give a number of advantages. We wouldn’t have to feed the passengers in transit; they could eat and stretch their legs at the station. We could also optimize the vehicle design. Only the capsules on the lower section would have to be streamlined. Those on the upper run could be much simpler and lighter. Midway Station would serve not only as a transfer point, but also as an operations and control center—and ultimately, we believe, as a major tourist attraction and resort in its own right.”
“But it’s not midway! It’s almost—ah—two thirds of the distance up to stationary orbit.”
“True. The mid-point would be at eighteen thousand, not twenty-five. But there’s another factor: safety. If the section above is severed, Midway Station won’t crash back to earth.”
“Why not?”
“It will have enough momentum to maintain a stable orbit. Of course, it will fall earthward, but it will always remain clear of the atmosphere. So it will be perfectly safe. It will simply become a space station, moving in a ten-hour elliptical orbit. Twice a day, it will be right back where it started from, and eventually it could be reconnected. In theory, at least…”
“And in practice?”
“Oh, I’m sure it could be done. Certainly the people and equipment on the station could be saved. But we wouldn’t have even that option if we established it at a lower altitude. Anything falling from below the twenty-five-thousand-kilometer limit hits the atmosphere and burns up in five hours, or less.”
“Do you propose advertising this fact to passengers on the Earth-Midway run?”
“We hope they will be too busy admiring the view to worry about it.”
“You make it sound like a scenic elevator.”
“Why not? Except that the tallest scenic ride on Earth goes up a mere three kilometers! We’re talking about something ten thousand times higher.”
There was a considerable pause while Sheik Abdullah thought this over.
“We missed an opportunity,” he said at last. “We could have had five-kilometer scenic rides up the piers of the Bridge.”
“They were in the original design, but we dropped them for the usual reason—economy.”
“Perhaps we made a mistake. They could have paid for themselves. And I’ve just realized something else. If this…hyperfilament…had been available at the time, I suppose the Bridge could have been built for half the cost.”
“I wouldn’t lie to you, Mr. President. Less than a fifth. But construction would have been delayed more than twenty years, so you haven’t lost by it.”
“I must talk that over with my accountants. Some of them still aren’t convinced it was a good idea, even though the traffic growth rate is ahead of projection. But I keep telling them that money isn’t everything—the republic needed the Bridge psychologically and culturally, as well as economically. Did you know that eighteen percent of the people who drive across it do so just because it’s there, not for any other reason? And then they go straight back again, despite having to pay the toll both ways.”
“I seem to recall,” said Morgan dryly, “giving you similar arguments a long time ago. You weren’t easy to convince.”
“True. I remember that the Sydney Opera House was your favorite example. You liked to point out how many times that had paid for itself—even in hard cash, let alone prestige.”
“And don’t forget the Pyramids.”
The Sheik laughed.
“What did you call them? The best investment in the history of mankind?”
“Precisely. Still paying tourist dividends after four thousand years.”
“Hardly a fair comparison, though. Their running costs don’t compare with those of the Bridge…much less your proposed Tower’s.”
“The Tower may last longer than the Pyramids. It’s in a far more benign environment.”
“That’s a very impressive thought. You really believe that it will operate for several thousand years?”
“Not in its original form, of course. But in principle, yes. Whatever technical developments the future brings, I don’t believe there will ever be a more efficient, more economical way of reaching space. Think of it as another bridge. But this time, a bridge to the stars—or at least to the planets.”
“And once again, you’d like us to help finance it. We’ll still be paying for the last bridge for another twenty years. It’s not as if your Space Elevator was on our territory, or was of direct importance to us.”
“But I believe it is, Mr. President. Your republic is a part of