One was certainly his own astuteness in recognizing the potential of the new technologies, and his good judgment in backing celestial colonization as one of the major spinoffs. The other was adequate bankrolling at the right time, which he had obtained from the Corbel family, noted for their sizeable estates in Delaware and Maryland. Whereas the Metterlin clan were going through the exuberant phase of celebrating and displaying their newfound wealth, the Corbels had accommodated to the poise and self-assurance of fourth-generation rich, after rising on the tide of energy market manipulations that went back to the mid-twentieth century. When shifting global politics and abatement of nuclear phobia brought an end to American dominance of the scene, it was time to relocate to sunnier climes both figuratively and literally. The Corbels liquidated their Eastern holdings just in time to avoid the crash that came with downsizing to the Federated American States, and moved the operation to where new horizons were opening up, and in which they already had a significant stake.
