This is where my own hubris came in. I felt I was untouchable. My years of fame had built up my ego, and the lack of challenge to my anti-Torres speeches had reinforced it, My colleagues pointed out that I had one weapon I could use against the government that could hurt it badly, and I was foolish enough to try.
I finally came out in the press and told the government that I was withholding the right for them to use my patent on any more engines. In essence, I was calling a halt to the entire colonization and exploration program. Legally I had every right to do so—my lawyers assured me of that, although they warned me it was a foolish and dangerous move. I didn’t listen to them. I was convinced—hell, I still am—that what I did was morally correct. Torres was a dictator of the worst order;
