William Gray Beyer

“ Benton gaped. "You think the recent situation will lead to war? Or do you need a few tubes replaced?"
"Heh, heh," said the voice. "In case you haven't guessed, I can exist entirely without this machine you have built—and still be a better integrated intelligence than any you can conceive. I'm really a pure thought pattern, you know; I'm not composed of matter, nor do I need matter in any form for my continued existence. A thought pattern is something like a stress in space, and quite stable—even if you find it difficult to picture. ”

“ Benton felt it now necessary to crystallize his thoughts with words. He wasn't giving them away, for Urei had access to them anyway. And that thought gave him a feeling of futility even as he spoke.
"Why are you interested in the Eastern Alliance?" he asked. "Is it because you feel the presence of a kindred spirit? You'd like to become better acquainted with an outfit which has no respect for the privacy of a man's thoughts or his right to freedom of action?" ”

“ A dozen books had been written about Urei, and all of them had marveled at the many potentials the machine had shown which were complete surprises to the men who had built the big brain.
Men had begun to personify Urei almost immediately. The machine had ceased to be U-R-E-I, meaning "Unified Reflexive Electronic Integrator", and had become Urei, an entity who could do just about anything in calculating and reasoning from supplied data. Men had felt the sentience of the machine for years, but had refused to admit it—even to themselves.
"Nuts!" Benton growled, shaking his heavy shoulders. ”

“ Yet far back in his subconscious was a mounting tension as the day passed, hour by hour. Each minute and each soldered connection was bringing him closer to the next step in his nebulous plan. And it was this step which would determine the success or failure of his strategy.
Twenty-four circuits, all inter-related in their connections to the immense bank of memory cells, had been immobilized. That was a necessary part of the project; with the new tubes, these circuits would be in much finer balance. They would operate with greater speed than before, when twice as many tubes had been used. ”

“ In fact it was the very trouble I had with you which made me doubt that humans were as alike as I had assumed. And also what made me decide that I needed you to keep me straight in my relations with humans in general.
"I reason from facts alone, you know. And from the facts at hand I have decided that your bargain is going to consist of demanding the knowledge necessary for you to make a sub-cosmic energy converter, in return for your help in making me understand the obscure psychology of humans and their incomprehensible motivations." ”

“ Benton went back into the control room with a smile that raised that quizzical eyebrow on Dr. Albie's now serene face. The good doctor couldn't know that his assistant's mind was as far from the recent world-shaking news as it was from the business of the new control circuits. His eyebrow went up another thirty-second of an inch when Benton, apparently musing, said: "A mind is inviolate so long as it refuses to broadcast. ”

“ Now Urei had a problem of his own and he wanted an exact solution, not an approximate one. His continued existence, and that of mankind in general, depended upon it. There were alternates, of course, but none of them was completely satisfactory. His plan was far-sighted, one which fitted a policy of long standing, a strategy. He couldn't sacrifice a strategy for a tactic, and that might happen if he used an alternate plan which would accomplish his immediate purpose but endanger his policy toward humanity. But Urei wasn't sure of his facts! ”

“ Urei said. "From a simple observation which no more than proved that I'm sentient, you've drawn conclusions which aren't warranted by the facts. Thalamic reactions, instead of reason."
Benton pondered for a second. "Partly," he admitted. "But it is a fact that you made me do something I had no intention of doing. You took over my body for a second or two; that was a hostile act. And if you committed one overt move against a man, it is reasonable to suspect that, if it becomes convenient, you might take over all mankind. ”

“ And considering the fact that Urei had never been given a problem in practical politics, it seemed likely that Benton would rule that item out as a possible reason for the quick page-turning.
Benton would never think that Urei might be concerned about the possibility of someone dropping a bomb in the midst of his delicate innards. Nor would Benton realize, after living through a dozen or so war scares, that this wasn't going to be just another one; the muscular physicist was not a political observer. ”

“ Albie's eyes were wide, and so was his mouth. For the moment, at least, he had forgotten his philosophy. Benton was intently watching the face on the screen, his own revealing nothing.
But whatever the reasons, the voice continued, it is too late to change policy back to what it has been. The acclaim of the peoples of the Eastern Alliance has been too great for any reversal to take place. They have shown their approval of the new elections to be held in Italy next week, but most of all they have rejoiced at the removal of the Iron Curtain and all it implies. ”

“ No inkling of this action has reached the western world in spite of the fact that it must have been months in the making. Here Benton heard the eerie chuckle bubbling in his brain. The only mystery lies in the fact that the retired premier allowed the stratagem of rigging the Italian elections to go through, since he had intended to turn over the reins of government to the men now running the Eastern Alliance. Such a thing can only be accounted for by the rigid adherence which the retired premier gave to the plans for conquest laid down by his predecessor. ”

“ Urei said. "You ignore all the sensible, logical reasons which exist to prove I'm not inimical. And for a reason which is really no reason at all, you decide to believe me. I merely manipulated a few Russians and Bulgarians to prevent a war which would have wrecked my body. Purely a matter of self-preservation. I'm not so sure I'd have bothered if my person hadn't been threatened; after all, it's no business of mine if man wants to annihilate himself."
Benton was grinning. "You're a fraud," he said. "You already know more than all mankind put together ”

“ Usually he could, but sometimes he couldn't; that meant that there was a world of information Urei never used except where it bore on a man-made problem. He felt free then to use the man-supplied data to solve such a problem. His only concession to ethics was that he always indicated on the panel the exact percentage of doubtful data which went into the solution. Fortunately he wasn't given many problems which required this; most questions involved exact sciences, of which he had been supplied the sum total of man's knowledge. ”

“ Urei defended. "What I wanted from you was the assurance that the people of the Eastern Alliance were essentially the same as the humans I've met. I had to know if their reactions to my manipulations would be similar, before I acted. Most of the stuff I've been able to read about them led me to believe they were entirely different. If so, I couldn't be sure of results."
"They're similar, of course," Benton said. "They differ only in that they have been indoctrinated to believe a lot of things which aren't so. So have we, for that matter—to a different degree and on different subjects. ”

“ Albie, crossing his lean legs and settling back in the soft chair. "In the first place, Urei is too big. His billion-odd cells, relays and circuits occupy almost a square mile; his height, counting what's under ground, is almost five hundred feet. If he decided to perambulate ... well, it's just absurd. In the second place...."
"Let's finish with the first place," Benton interrupted. "Of course that's absurd. I didn't suggest it. He doesn't have to move; he's got the entire human race to run his errands. I tell you I felt something, a definite compulsion, when I turned that page. ”

“ There was a mental chuckle. "Sub-cosmic energy does it. I had the technicians hook it up years ago. It's more dependable, also more plentiful, as well as free. Man will discover its use in a few generations, I imagine. Now, my fine friend, if you're temporarily over your murdering rampage, suppose you return to the control room. There's some interesting stuff coming over the television, if you turn it on."
Benton was suddenly aware that the gong had ceased to sound. The defective tube had been replaced and Urei was once again operating. ”

“ Benton waited until eight o'clock. By then, he knew, Urei's control room would be empty of physicists. If anyone was there, it would be a technician or two engaged in some repair or replacement. Benton couldn't know that Urei had anticipated his arrival and had cleared the immediate vicinity of the control room. All technicians on night duty were occupied in other parts of the great building. Benton let himself in with his key and closed the door softly behind him. ”

“ For Benton fully intended to accomplish that destruction, even if Urei could exist as a disembodied intelligence. It would be a good gamble that Urei would lose interest in controlling mankind if he lacked the direct association afforded by the daily use of his electronic facilities in solving man's problems. ”

“ I don't suppose you knew I had a built-in sense of humor, did you? Of course that laugh was manufactured, inasmuch as I have no diaphragm, per se. But a sense of humor is actually an intellectual attribute, even if you do express it physically. It is not so? ”

“ Albie didn't know, of course. "What's the difference? We'll be leaving half the circuits open, anyway, to handle routine stuff; we can always commandeer a few if something pops up."
"I wasn't thinking of that," Benton said. "I've done a lot of preliminary work on the circuits and as I see it, we don't want to stop before we finish. It can't be done a little at a time, you know; entire circuits will have to be ripped out and the new stuff installed. Once we start, we can't leave it in the middle without immobilizing half the control panel until we get back to it. ”

“ Could be. Or maybe I retain them because they agree with me. I might change my mind, you know; I might get tired of nursemaiding and decide to annihilate your entire race. Heh, Heh. Seems like a good idea, now that I think of it. ”

“ There's too much inter-relation between the circuits to prevent that."
Albie nodded. "I'd thought of that," he said. "I've planned to finish, once we start. And since you have the equations at your fingertips, I'm putting you in complete charge of the change-over. How many men will you need?"
Two men, pulling trucks loaded with blueprints, accompanied Benton as he directed the work. Like caddies, they furnished the desired print when he asked for it by code number, replacing the last one in its proper place. The stocky physicist found no need to mask his thoughts while he worked ”

“ Benton fed them at random into the circuits marked Ten, Three, Twenty-one, Sixteen, Twenty-four, Fifteen, One, Eight and Eighteen. He did it blithely, keeping up a running description of the many annoyances that had cropped up in the morning's work, and commenting on the quality of the help he had been given by the various technicians.
"There isn't a bad one in the crop," he said. "But if we are going to cut the control staff, I'd recommend putting Hackett and McGivern upstairs. Hackett has family problems that he likes to hand Urei when nobody's around ”