 The Tweenie, Max, had escaped from the orphanage where he was raised following the death of his only friend, a fifteen-year-old Tweenie named Tom.Tweenies are despised and treated as subhuman by the general population, but Scanlon takes pity on Max, and invites him into his home.Max has picked up a scientific education at the orphanage, and within a week his insight helps Scanlon solve his problem and develop a workable atomic power source.