Atlas Shrugged – Day 101… – pp. 1130-1139
Rushing to the end….
What did Dr S see???
“…the Friends of the People, had seized possession of Project X.”
And who’s in charge here?
“Robert Stadler faced the new ruler of PRoject X. It was Cuffy Meigs.”
AWESOME!!!!! Mad Scientist vs Crazy Guy!! Bring it!
Well they go on for a while… Who are you? I’m Dr Stadler, I created this, it’s my property blah blah. Get out or I’ll have you arrested yadda yadda.
Until Dr. S notices Cuffy…
“…was weaving unsteadily back and forth, catching at a lever of the Xylophone once in a while. Dr. Stadler realized that Meigs was drunk.”
AWESOMER!!!!! Mad Scientist vs Crazy Drunk Guy!!
You don’t know what you’re doing there. I’m in charge get out. Blah blah. They’re both about shouting the same thing at each other. For instance…
“Get out of here!” snarled Cuffy Meigs. ” I’ll call my men. I’ll have you shot!”
“Get out of here, you lousy brainless, swaggering moron!” snarled Dr Stadler.
But then it gets 1950s melodramatic. Cuffy takes a stand.
“Stand back!” roared Cuffy Meigs. “Stand back all of you! Scared, am I? I’ll show you who’s boss!”
And with that he yanked the lever of the Xylophone.
“The crash of sound — the screeching crash of ripped metal and of pressures colliding on conflicting circuits, the sound of a monster turning upon itself — was heard only in side the structure.”
Yep. He blew them all up. And as the structure fell apart the sound decimated a radius of about 100 miles with it. Including the Taggart Bridge.
“…nothing remained alive among the ruins — except, for some endless minutes longer, a huddle of torn flesh and screaming pain that had once been a great mind.”
Well. Frankly I’m a little disappointed. I was hoping for a bit of a fight. Not between Cuffy and Dr. S. More of a battle between the looters and the industrialists. Or maybe a twist with Dr S finding Jesus and turning the machine on the looters in Washington. A little anticlimactic. But not bad.
Scene!
Back to the W-F. Dagny is recalling the events as she runs down the street. She recalls Galt’s “brief speech” to the crowd.
“She laughed exultantly, in the ballroom of the W-F, when she had hear dim say it.. “
You know, I’ve never read one, but this romance shit sound suspiciously like a Harlequin Romance. Bleaaach!
Anyway, they pulled the plug, escorted Galt back to his suite under armed guard and the brain trust of looters that was left ran off to an anteroom. Dagny swept in behind them.
Chick Morrison resigns in a wave of panic and runs out. Everyone else still believes that JG must come to his senses and save them all.
The only one smiling in a “told-you-so” manner is Dr Ferris. Need to take a stronger tact.
“Only direct action can work now.”
“It won’t work,” said Tinky Holloway, “He won’t give in.”
“That’s what you think,” said Ferris and chuckled.
They’re going to subject him to “The Ferris Persuader!!” (Are we getting silly yet?)
Dagny’s heard all this and makes her way out unnoticed. She rushes to a phone to dial the number Francisco gave her. She gives him the details of the plot.
“Listen carefully. Go home, change your clothes, pack a few things you’ll need, take your jewelry and any valuables that you can carry, take some warm clothing. We won’t have time to do it later. Meet me in forty minutes on the northwest corner, two blocks east of the main entrance of the Taggart Terminal.”
That’s a plan.
Home she goes. Changes. Packs. Rushes to the office to grab a few things she needs there when suddenly she’s stopped by the chief engineer.
“…the Taggart Bridge is gone!”
She leaps to grab the phone. Then slowly puts it down.
“Miss Taggart… We don’t know what to do.”
“I don’t either.”
In a moment she knew it was over.
She runs out and meets Francisco.
Scene! Cut to the SSI and the home of Project F.
The Dr Ferris Project is located in a concrete cell beneath the institute protected by a squad of four armed guards. Tonight there were 16 of them.
“In the cellar room, under the ground, Dr Ferris, Wesley Mouch and James Taggart sat in armchairs lined up against one wall. A machine that looked like a small cabinet of irregular shape stood in a corner across from them.”
Well I didn’t expect the “Spanish Inquisition…”
We’re getting close!