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Judge Narragansett then came to see Mulligan in his new home, and asked for a leasehold so that he could build a house of his own. Mulligan granted the lease. Shortly thereafter, Richard Halley came to Mulligan to ask for the same thing. (The other engineer from the Twentieth Century lived out his life on the "outside" and later died.)

Judge Narragansett then came to see Mulligan in his new home, and asked for a leasehold so that he could build a house of his own. Mulligan granted the lease. Shortly thereafter, Richard Halley came to Mulligan to ask for the same thing. (The other engineer from the Twentieth Century lived out his life on the "outside" and later died.)

The event that probably transformed the valley from a simple place of refuge for a tiny subset of the strikers to a thriving community was probably John Galt's decision to build another static-electricity motor in the valley. Galt built a very large motor and used it to drive a bank of [[dynamo]]s to generate electricity. Now the valley had a basis for trade: John Galt had become a provider of electric power, and Midas Mulligan was in essence a feudal landlord—and furthermore, Mulligan's land holding was remarkably resource-rich. Francisco d'Anconia determined this by assaying the rocks in the mountains that ringed the valley. Soon, Francisco had begun driving a mine into the mountain. What Francisco could do, perhaps others could do—as soon as John Galt could recruit them.

The event that probably transformed the valley from a simple place of refuge for a tiny subset of the strikers to a thriving community was probably John Galt's decision to build another static-electricity motor in the valley. Galt built a very large motor and used it to drive a bank of [[dynamo]]s to generate electricity. John Galt took great pains to keep his invention secret: even though he never expected that anyone would ever set foot in the valley who was not a part of his strike (an expectation that would prove moot later on), he kept his invention, and the power installation, locked down. He erected a large blockhouse of [[granite]] and installed a special [[sound]] [[lock]] in the front door (and presumably in all the other doors). This door would open only when someone repeated, slowly and with an inflection that would indicate understanding and wholehearted belief, the Oath of the Strike that John Galt had written. He carved this oath on the transom over the front door. It read thus:{{cquote|I swear, by my life and my love of it, that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine.}}

 

Now the valley had a basis for trade: John Galt had become a provider of electric power, and Midas Mulligan was in essence a feudal landlord—and furthermore, Mulligan's land holding was remarkably resource-rich. Francisco d'Anconia determined this by assaying the rocks in the mountains that ringed the valley. Soon, Francisco had begun driving a mine into the mountain. What Francisco could do, perhaps others could do—as soon as John Galt could recruit them.

Any economy needs a bank, and Midas Mulligan could provide one. He re-established the Mulligan Bank as a bank that dealt exclusively in [[gold]]. Ragnar Danneskjold then announced his plan to bring the proceeds from the sale of seized government "relief cargoes" to the valley and distribute these in various accounts that he opened in the Mulligan Bank, in the names of the existing strikers and also in several names in a long list of prospects that John Galt and Francisco d'Anconia drew up and maintained. Ragnar proposed to refund all [[income tax]]es collected from these people since John Galt's initial defiant announcement to Gerald Starnes, Jr. If the [[Atlas Shrugged#Time setting|beginning of the strike]] was in the year 1917, as seems likely, then the income tax would have existed for four years.

Any economy needs a bank, and Midas Mulligan could provide one. He re-established the Mulligan Bank as a bank that dealt exclusively in [[gold]]. Ragnar Danneskjold then announced his plan to bring the proceeds from the sale of seized government "relief cargoes" to the valley and distribute these in various accounts that he opened in the Mulligan Bank, in the names of the existing strikers and also in several names in a long list of prospects that John Galt and Francisco d'Anconia drew up and maintained. Ragnar proposed to refund all [[income tax]]es collected from these people since John Galt's initial defiant announcement to Gerald Starnes, Jr. If the [[Atlas Shrugged#Time setting|beginning of the strike]] was in the year 1917, as seems likely, then the income tax would have existed for four years.