C. M. Kornbluth: The Adventurer

For every evil under the sun, there's an answer. It may be a simple, direct answer; it may be one that takes years, and seems unrelated to the problem. But there's an answer--of a kind....

President Folsom XXIV said petulantly to his Secretary of the Treasury: "Blow me to hell, Bannister, if I understood a single word of that. Why can't I buy the Nicolaides Collection? And don't start with the rediscount and the Series W business again. Just tell me why."

The Secretary of the Treasury said with an air of apprehension and a thread-like feeling across his throat: "It boils down to--no money, Mr. President."

You can’t always get what you want. This is a nicely crafted futuristic politico drama - kind of like a prequel to the West Wing a century hence. Or is it a reveal behind the Wizard of Oz’s curtain outside of present day Kansas