Science Fiction or Science Fact? 73down toward Sodom and Gomor'rah and toward all the
la nd of the va lley, and beheld, and lo, the smoke of the land
went up like the smoke of a furnace.
So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the
va lley, God remembered Abra ham, and sent Lot out of the
midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in
which Lot dwelt.When I finished reading, I looked up. Rama wa s
returning with my towels. I put the book down.
"I'm not impressed," I said as cuttingly as possible.
"This and a 35-cent token can get us into the subway."
Rama looked at me calmly. She ignored my remark.
"Let's see," she said, "it says here that two angels came to
Sodom in the evening ... who do you think those angels
were?"
"Spacemen out of a UFO, naturally. But I'd prefer a
drink right now. I need one to swallow some of your
stories."
"Listen. Give your tongue a rest. Nowadays, some
scientists theorize that two atomic explosions were the
cause of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah-like
the kind that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Two
Russian scientists have pointed out that the Tecktites
found in that part are similar to rocky materials known
to nuclear physicists as the consequences of atomic
reactions."
"Who are these Russian scientists? I want names so I
can check this out for myself. I'm not just going to take
your word for all this."
"You're so suspicious. But you're catching on fast."
"Their names. What are they?" I demanded impa
tiently.
"Russian professors-Agrest and Alexei Kazentev."
"I'm going to research this," I said, making a note to
check the spellings.
"Please do, the sooner the better. And when you come