The Cosmic Computer H. Beam Piper (reader novel txt) đ
- Author: H. Beam Piper
Book online «The Cosmic Computer H. Beam Piper (reader novel txt) đ». Author H. Beam Piper
That was something else he was seeing with new eyes. He hadnât started carrying a gun when he had left for Terra, and he was wondering, now, why any of them bothered to. Why, there wouldnât be a shooting a year in Litchfield, if you didnât count the Tramptowners, and they stayed south of the docks and off the top level.
Or perhaps that was just it. Litchfield was peaceful because everybody was prepared to keep it that way. It certainly wasnât because of anything the Planetary Government did to maintain order.
Now Brangwyn was setting out glasses, filling a pitcher from a keg in the corner of the room. The last time Conn had been here, theyâd given him a glass of wine, and heâd felt very grownup because they didnât water it for him.
âWell, gentlemen,â Kurt Fawzi was saying, âletâs have a toast to our returned friend and new associate. Conn, weâre all anxious to hear what youâve found out, but even if you didnât learn anything, weâre still happy to have you back with us. Gentlemen; to our friend and neighbor. Welcome home, Conn!â
âWell, itâs wonderful to be back, Mr. Fawzi,â he began.
âHere, none of this mister foolishness; youâre one of us, now, Conn. And drink up, everybody. We have plenty of brandy, if we donât have anything else.â
âYou can say that again, Kurt.â That was one of the distillery people; heâd remember the name in a moment. âWhen this new crop gets pressed and fermentedâ ââ âŠâ
âI donât know where in Gehenna Iâm going to vat mine till it ferments,â Klem Zareff said.
âOr why,â another planter added. âLorenzo, what are you going to be paying for wine?â
Lorenzo Menardes; that was the name. The distiller said he was worrying about what heâd be able to get for brandy.
âOh, please,â Fawzi interrupted. âNot today; not when our boyâs home and is going to tell us how we can solve all our problems.â
âYes, Conn.â That was Morgan Gatworth, the lawyer. âYou did find out where Merlin is, didnât you?â
That set them all off. He was still holding his drink; he downed it in one gulp, barely tasting it, and handed the glass to Tom Brangwyn for a refill, and caught a frown on his fatherâs face. One did not gulp drinks in Kurt Fawziâs office.
Well, neither did one blast everybodyâs hopes with half a dozen words, and that was what he was trying to force himself to do. He wanted to blurt out the one quick sentence and get it over with, but the words wouldnât come out of his throat. He lowered the second drink by half; the brandy was beginning to warm him and dissolve the cold lump in his stomach. Have to go easy, though. He wasnât used to this kind of drinking, and he wanted to stay sober enough to talk sense until heâd told them what he had to.
âI hope,â he said, âthat you donât expect me to show you the cross on the map, where the computer is buried.â
All the eyes around him began to look troubled. Most of them had been expecting precisely that. His father was watching him anxiously.
âBut itâs still here on Poictesme, isnât it?â one of the melon planters asked. âThey didnât take it away with them?â
âMost of you gentlemen,â he said, âcontributed to sending me to school on Terra, to study cybernetics and computer theory. It wouldnât do us any good to find Merlin if none of us could operate it. Well, Iâve done that. I can use any known type of computer, and train assistants. After I graduated, I was offered a junior instructorship to computer physics at the University.â
âYou didnât mention that, son,â his father said.
âThe letter would have come on the same ship I did. Besides, I didnât think it was very important.â
âI think it is.â There was a catch in old Dolf Kelltonâs voice. âOne of my boys from the Academy offered a place on the faculty of the University of Montevideo, on Terra!â He finished his drink and held out his glass for more, something he almost never did.
âConn means,â Kurt Fawzi explained, âthat it had nothing to do with Merlin.â
All right; now tell them the truth.
âI was also to find out anything I could about a secret giant computer used during the War by the Third Fleet-Army Force, code-named Merlin. I went over all the records available to the public; I used your letter, Professor, and the head of our Modern History department secured me access to nonpublic material, some of it still classified. For one thing, I have locations and maps and plans of every Federation installation built here between 842 and 854, the whole period of the War.â He turned to his father. âThere are incredible things still undiscovered; most of the important installations were built in duplicate, sometimes triplicate, as a precaution against space attack. I know where all of them are.â
âSpace attack!â Klem Zareff was indignant. âThere never was a time we could have attacked Poictesme. Even if weâd had the ships, we were fighting a purely defensive war. Aggression was no part of our policyâ ââ
He interrupted: âExcuse me, Colonel. The point I was trying to make is that, with all I was able to learn, I could find nothing, not one single word, about any giant strategic planning computer called Merlin, or any Merlin Project.â
There! Heâd gotten that out. Now go on and tell them about the old man in the dome-house on Luna. The room was silent, except for the small insectile hum of the electric clock. Then somebody set a glass on the table, and it sounded like a hammer blow.
âNothing, Conn?â
Kurt Fawzi was incredulous. Judge Ledueâs hand shook as though palsied as he
Comments (0)