 Why does the fact that Finogenov had a wooden desk sent up to space a point of contention for Winship?
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from Worlds of If Science Fiction, September 1962. General Finogenov notified Major Winship that the underground blast was scheduled for the following morning. Major Winship, after receiving the message, discussed precautions with the three other Americans. Next morning, before the sunlight exploded, the four of them donned their space suits and went and sat outside the dome, waiting. Major Winship attempted unsuccessfully to communicate with Base Gagarin. "Is Pinov," came the reply. "Help?" " Nyet ," said Major Winship, exhausting his Russian. When—boom?" "Is Pinov," came the reply. "When?" "Boom—boom!" said Pinov. Major Winship cut out the circuit. "He's done it deliberately," said Capt. Wilkins, the eldest of the four Americans. "I'll try again," Major Winship said and switched to the emergency channel. "Base Gagarin? "Is Pinov. "Pinov's still there," Major Winship said. "I'll see them all in hell, first," Major Winship said. He crossed with the floating moon-motion to the airlock and entered, closing the door behind him. The darkness slowly filled with air, and the temperature inside the suit declined steadily. At the proper moment of pressure, the inner lock slid open and Major Winship stepped into the illuminated central area. His foot was lifted for the second step when the floor beneath him rose and fell gently, pitching him forward, off balance. Major Winship whinnied in disgust. "Well," Lt. Chandler commented, "even though we didn't build this thing to withstand a moonquake, it seems to have stood up all right." Air currents whisked it away and plastered it against a riveted seam of the dome. Major Winship moved quickly to cut out the emergency air supply which had cut in automatically with the pressure drop. It's on your right side, midway up. Major Winship said, "they should have made these things more flexible." The sheet began slowly to slide downward, then it fell away completely and lay limply on the floor. The living space was more restricted than in a submarine, with the bunks jutting out from the walls about six feet from the floor. When no comment was forthcoming, he continued: "Perhaps we built a bit more strongly, Major." "You did this deliberately," Major Winship said testily. "Just leave us alone, thank you," Major Winship said and cut off the communication.
 To him, it's a frivolous display of power and nothing more, especially when materials like aluminum are available.
 He wished he had the same luxury. The Americans have much less room to work with.  He's frustrated with the current situation and is finding himself envious of all the things they don't have.  It's too much of an effort to do something like that, making it a waste of time and resources.  To him, it's a frivolous display of power and nothing more, especially when materials like aluminum are available.