noon
`` Chain reactions , '' Collins finished softly , `` but -- '' `` The article itself is well disguised , but it 's a parable . It 's botany on the surface , but it gets over enough chain-reaction theory to be good physics , if you read it right . You see botany is what you might call my code field . '' The bright light of noon shimmered on the white buildings and green lawns beyond the lab windows . Collins was silent and thoughtful . `` Well , that 's about all . Gordon knows .