‘Well, Madame –’
‘I have one criticism,’ Yranne interrupted suddenly. ‘It’s a detail which seems to have escaped the inventors and you yourself, Rousseau… There’s too much blood, Betty, too much blood.’
‘Too much blood!’
Mrs Betty Han had an angry expression and could not refrain from making a gesture revealing her exasperation.
‘Too much blood, Yranne! I thought that this drawback which is common to all our games had been once and for all kept within reasonable bounds. Are you going to join the camp of those who accuse us of being executioners, although we are in fact saving thousands of lives? You know that a little blood is an indispensable element in stirring up passion. I was not expecting such a comment from you, Yranne,’ she continued, looking thoroughly aggrieved.
‘Calm down, Betty. You haven’t understood what I mean in the least.’
‘I think that I can explain what you meant by it, sir,’ the young man interrupted boldly, ‘and at the same time I can vindicate myself for having omitted this drawback. However I mentioned it in this note attached to the dossier which you have not yet had time to read.’
‘Then let’s read it.’
‘“One of the likely drawbacks of this type of competition,”’ Rousseau read, ‘“is that there is a risk of the water becoming very clouded after several chests have been run through, to the extent that spectators may be prevented from seeing the end of the show.”’
‘Well done!’ exclaimed Yranne. ‘That’s exactly what I thought.’
‘I confess that this point escaped me,’ Betty murmured.
‘It seems to have escaped the inventors of the project as well,’ said Rousseau, in a slightly disdainful way.
Mrs Betty Han looked at them both in the same inquisitive way, full of a sort of admiration for them, a feeling which was quite rare for her.
‘You two think of everything.’
The young man smiled modestly.
‘It is however possible, as I have also mentioned, that a chemical procedure could be found to eliminate this drawback. We would have to study the possibility.’
‘Fine. The first criticism is: too much blood. I agree,’ said Betty. ‘Are there any others?’
‘I see at least one more and I think it’s much more important,’ the young man said, adopting a more enigmatic tone.
‘And that is?’
‘If you will allow me, Madame, first I would like to show you a film of the trial we ran. The failing will become obvious to you.’
‘You’ve conducted a trial of it?’
‘In an aquarium of considerable size, which I had built outdoors. But I did not pursue the experiment through to its ultimate conclusion, to save on the use of personnel. The projectiles are harmless, simple darts made out of rubber. For the sake of greater realism however, a quantity of blood corresponding to that from the faked wounds flows out of a waterproof pocket whenever there’s a blow. In this way you can observe the water gradually becoming cloudy. But I think that it is above all the serious failing which I alluded to before which will shock you.’
‘Let’s see it. Nothing is better than an experiment.’
She moved towards the projection room. But before entering it, she turned towards Rousseau, whose attitude seemed rather enigmatic.
‘Rousseau,’ she said, ‘you are hiding something from me. You present me with a project that certainly seems possible, but which, according to you, includes at least one serious failing. I want you to tell me frankly. Do you think it is viable, yes or no?’
‘No,’ the young man replied without hesitation.
‘So I thought. However, for this project which you have rejected a priori, you have considered it worth conducting a complete trial, and employing personnel, without however letting them be killed.’
‘I did not let it happen because it was of no use to my experiment,’ the young man interrupted apologetically.
‘I’m not reproaching you… Yet, for this demonstration, as you say, you have had a giant aquarium constructed and made a film of it. Please note that I don’t begrudge you the expense either. I have always told you and I repeat that I shall obtain all the funds necessary for your experiments, but on the condition that these experiments are productive. Well, in this case…’
‘Madame, in all honesty,’ the young man said in an earnest tone, ‘I considered this experiment to be very useful, and, despite its fundamental drawback, I am convinced that it will prove to be productive.’