"This is not a mechanical valve, you understand. It's basically a force field which shuts off or on to allow flow of sea water into the food-mixing chamber for the computer. The computer subsists on distilled water mixed with sugar and some traces of minerals. The shut-down valve is one of two. Its mate is for emergencies. It takes over should the main one go out. Then the technicians repair the field generator of the valve, and the backup one shuts down."
Unfortunately, the emergency valve did not admit enough water for a long term. And so the protein computer was dying.
"I could use the computer memory banks to furnish a model for a duplicate of it as the original before it was fed any data. Unfortunately, the computer contains the only memory banks of that. And it won't release the information so that I can feed it into the matter-energy converter."
"Why don't you repair the field generator?" Frigate said.
"For the good reason that the computer won't permit me to. Apparently, Monat ordered long ago that it be equipped with defenses. These weren't activated, though, until I was found out."
There was another long silence. Alice broke it, saying "Why don't you use one of those wathan catchers you told us about? The moment the computer died and released the wathans, the catch could restrain them."
Logasmiled grimly.
"A very good idea. I've thought of that. Briefly. The only catcher is the computer. There are memory banks which I could tap to make a catcher. But these are also in the computer."
"Are the defenses absolutely invulnerable?" Burton said.
"It's easy to gain access to the field generator. I'd just have to pull out the malfunctioning module and replace it with another. But I'd be dead before I could do that. The computer would cut me down with beams. Just like those which my beamer shoots."
Nur said, "You used the computer at the same time that the others were. How did you keep them from finding that out?"
"In a sense, I made the computer schizophrenic. One part of it didn't know what the other was doing."
"That's it!" the Moor cried. Then his exultant expression was replaced by a frown. "No. You'd have thought of using it."
"Yes. I can't because the engineers apparently discovered the split mind. Now it's dominated by the main part."
"You said dominated, not integrated," Nur said.
"Yes. The engineers didn't have time to remove the complex circuits which made the computer schizophrenic. But they did put in temporary bypass circuits to give the main part dominance. They would've integrated the parts later. But they were killed before they could do that."
"How do you know all this?" Burton said.
"The computer gave me that information. It doesn't refuse to communicate. It just won't obey any commands except those from Monat or whoever was authorized to act for him."
"There's no chance of finding out the codeword or whatever Monat used?"
"Not unless he recorded it somewhere. I doubt that he would. Also, the code would have to be accompanied by the voiceprints of Monat or his aide."
"Maybe there is no codeword," Frigate said. "Maybe the voice-recognition is enough."
"No. Monat would think of that. It'd be relatively easy to isolate phones from records of his speech and synthesize them to make new sentences. Also, Monat might've required that there be body recognition, too."
"Could you make a disguise of Monat to wear yourself?" Turpin said.
"I suppose so. But I'd use beam-simulators."
Loga seemed very weary now. Burton suspected that it was not the wound which had drained his energy. It was hopelessness and guilt.
"Well," Burton said. "We don't know but what voice and body recognition is all that's required. We must try to fool the computer even if it's wasted work."
Alice said, eagerly, "Have you told the computer that it's going to die?"
"Oh, yes. But it already knew it."
"Perhaps a man could get through the computer's defenses," Burton said, looking hard at Loga.
The Ethical straightened up a little.
"I know what you're thinking. Since I'm responsible for this horror, I should try to repair the valve generator. Even if there's an almost one-hundred-percent probability that I'd just be sacrificing myself. I would do that if I thought it'd do any good.
"But what if I succeeded and yet died? None of you would know how to operate the equipment here. You could do nothing to solve this problem.
"Moreover, if the computer lives, what then? The situation is unchanged only in that the computer lives and so the wathans won't be released."
Burton said that Loga must train them in the use of whatever instruments might be needed. He-must because something might happen to him. Was there time for that before the computer died?
The Ethical replied that there might be. He'd have to teach them what the instrument markings meant. It would take too long to teach them the language used when talking to the computer, which was that of Monat's people and the primary one on the Gardernworld. But he could change the language converters and so allow them to use Esperanto.
"Excellent!" Burton said. "I think we should all go to bed now. We'll wake up refreshed and with clearer minds. Perhaps we can think of something to use against the computer then."
They moved into the Councilors' apartments. Loga went into his. Aphra Behn and de Marbot took one; Alice and Burton, another. Tai-Peng and Turpin shared a fourth apartment and Nur and Frigate the one next to it. Burton thought it best that none of their group be alone. He still didn't entirely trust the Ethical.
Before they went to sleep, Alice said, "Richard, there has to be a way to get around the computer. It was made by humans, so it should be mastered by humans."
"Why don't you appeal to its emotions?" Burton said. "You women are particularly good at that."
"No more than men, you braying arse! Anyway, I know there's no use appealing to the emotions of a thing that has none. Although I'm not so sure that it doesn't have some. Or analogies thereof. But since it operates purely by logic, why not use logic against it? Humans put human logic into it. We should be able to fight it or cozen it with logic."
"I'm sure that Loga has thought of that."
He kissed her on the cheek and turned away.
"Good night, Alice."
"Good night, Richard."
When he awoke some hours later, he found her staring up at the moving figures on the ceiling.
53
IN THE MORNING, THEY SHOWERED AND PUT ON CLEAN CLOTHS and then went to a room which was used as a dining hall. Going past the control room, they saw that Croomes' body had been removed. There were no bloodstains on the floor, and all the skeletons were gone.
"Robots," Loga said. "I also sent one to take care of Gilgamesh's body."
"I didn't see any robots," Frigate said.
"You did, but they looked like large cabinets. Your beds are robots, too. They gently massage your muscles and manipulate your spinal cords."
"I didn't feel anything when I awoke during the night," Burton said.
"Nor I," Alice said.
"They're very subtle and only operate automatically when you're asleep. But if you want a massage while awake, you command them. I'll show you how."
Over the delicious breakfast, Alice told the others her thoughts about circumventing the computer with the very logic it used.
Loga shook his head. "It sounds fine, but it won't work."
"We can at least try," Alice said.
"We'll try everything, mental or physical," Loga said. "But, believe me, I've thought of everything."
"I don't doubt your intelligence," she said. "But nine heads are better than one."