Philip Dick - Vulcan's Hammer

But just to be on the safe side, he opened the drawer of his desk and lifted out a small container. From it he took an object wrapped up and sealed; he opened it, and there was the smallest heat beam that the police had been able to manufacture. No larger than a kidney bean.

Using the adhesive agent provided, he carefully affixed the weapon inside his right ear. Its color blended with his own; examining himself in a wall mirror he felt satisfied that the heat beam would not be noticed.

Now he was ready for his appointment. Taking his over­coat, he left his office, walking briskly.

He stood by while Barris laid the tapes out on the sur­face of a table, spreading them flat with his hands.

"And no more came after these," Barris said.

"No more," Dill said. "Vulcan 2 ceased to exist at that point." He indicated the first of the two tapes. "Start read­ing there."

This Movement may be of more significance than first appears. It is evident that the Movement is directed against Vulcan 3 rather than the series of computers as a whole. Until I have had time to consider the greater aspects, I suggest Vulcan 3 not be informed of the matter.

"I asked why," Dill said. "Look at the next tape."

Consider the basic difference between Vulcan 3 and pre­ceding computer. Its decisions are more than strictly factual evaluations of objective data; essentially it is creating policy at a value level. Vulcan 3 deals with teleological prob­lems... the significance of this cannot be immediately inferred. I must consider it at greater length.

"And that's it," Dill said. "The end. Presumably Vulcan 2 did consider it at greater length. Anyhow, it's a meta­physical problem; we'll never know either way."

"These tapes look old," Barris said. Examining the first one he said, "This is older than the other. By some months."

Jason Dill said, "The first tape is fifteen months old. The second-" He shrugged. "Four or five. I forget."

"This first tape was put out by Vulcan 2 over a year ago," Barris said, "and from that time on, Vulcan 3 gave out no directives concerning the Healers."

Dill nodded.

"You followed Vulcan 2's advice," Barris said. "From the moment you read this tape you ceased informing Vul­can 3 about the growth of the Movement." Studying the older man he said, "You've been withholding information from Vulcan 3 without knowing why." The disbelief on his face grew; his lips twisted with outrage. "And all these months, all this time, you went on carrying out what Vulcan 2 told you to do! good God, which is the machine and which is the man? And you clasp these two reels of tape to your bosom-" Unable to go on, Barris clamped his jaws shut, his eyes furious with accusation.

Feeling his own face redden, Dill said, "You must under­stand the relationship that existed between me and Vulcan 2. We had always worked together, back in the old days. Vulcan 2 was limited, of course, compared with Vulcan 3; it was obsolete-it couldn't have held the authoritative position Vulcan 3 now holds, determining ultimate policy. All it could do was assist..." He heard his voice trail off miserably. And then resentment clouded up inside him; here he was, defending himself guiltily to his inferior offi­cer. This was absurd!

Barris said, "Once a bureaucrat, always a bureaucrat. No matter how highly placed." His voice had an icy, deadly quality; in it there was no compassion for the older man. Dill felt his flesh wince at the impact. He turned, then, and walked away, his back to Barris. Not facing him, he said:

"I admit I was partial to Vulcan 2. Perhaps I did tend to trust it too much."

"So you did find something you could trust. Maybe the Healers are right. About all of us."

"You detest me because I put my faith in a machine? My God, every time you read a gauge or a dial or a meter, every time you ride in a car or a ship, aren't you putting your faith in a machine?"

Barris nodded reluctantly. "But it's not the same," he said.

"You don't know," Dill said. "You never had my job. There's no difference between my faith in what these tapes tell me to do, and the faith the water-meter reader has when he reads the meter and writes down the reading. Vul­can 3 was dangerous and Vulcan 2 knew it. Am I sup­posed to cringe with shame because I shared Vulcan 2's intuition? I felt the same thing, the first time I watched those goddam letters flowing across that surface."

"Would you be willing to let me look at the remains of Vulcan 2?" Barris said.

"It could be arranged," Dill said. "All we need are papers that certify you as a maintenance repairman with top clearance. I would advise you not to wear your Di­rector's stripe, in that case."

"Fine," Barris said. "Let's get started on that, then."

At the entrance of the gloomy, deserted chamber, he stood gazing at the heaps of ruin that had been the old computer. The silent metal and twisted parts, fused to­gether in a useless, shapeless mass. Too bad to see it like this, he thought, and never to have seen it the way it was. Or maybe not. Beside him, Jason Dill seemed overcome; his body slumped and he scratched compulsively at his right ear, evidently barely aware of the man whom he had brought.

Barris said, "Not much left."

"They knew what they were doing." Dill spoke almost to himself; then, with a great effort, he roused himself. "I heard one of them in the corridor. I even saw it. The eyes gleaming. It was hanging around. I thought it was only a bat or an owl. I went on out."

Squatting down, Barris picked up a handful of smashed wiring and relays. "Has an attempt been made to recon­struct any of this?"

"Vulcan 2?" Dill murmured. "As I've said, destruction was so complete and on such a scale-"

"The components," Barris said. He lifted a complex plastic tube carefully. "This, for instance. This wheeling valve. The envelope is gone, of course, but the elements look intact."

Dill eyed him doubtfully. "You're advancing the idea that there might be parts of it still alive?"

"Mechanically intact," Barris said. "Portions which can be made to function within some other frame. It seems to me we can't really proceed until we can establish what Vulcan 2 had determined about Vulcan 3. We can make good guesses on our own, but that might not be the same."

"I'll have a repair crew make a survey on the basis which you propose," Dill said. "We'll see what can be done. It would take time, of course. What do you suggest in the meanwhile? In your opinion, should I continue the policy already laid down?"

Barris said, "Feed Vulcan 3 some data that you've been holding back. I'd like to see its reaction to a couple of pieces of news."

"Such as?"

"The news about Vulcan 2's destruction."

Floundering, Dill said, "That would be too risky. We're not sure enough of our ground. Suppose we were wrong."

I doubt if we are, Barris thought. There seems less doubt of it all the time. But maybe we should at least wait until we've tried to rebuild the destroyed computer. "There's a good deal of risk," he said aloud. "To us, to Unity." To everyone, he realized.

Nodding, Jason Dill again reached up and plucked at his ear.

"What do you have there?" Barris said. Now that the man had stopped carrying his two tape-reels he had evi­dently found something else to fall back on, some replace­ment symbol of security.

"N-nothing," Dill stammered, flushing. "A nervous tic, I suppose. From the tension." He held out his hand. "Give me those parts you picked up. We'll need them for the reconstruction. I'll see that you're notified as soon as there's anything to look at."

"No," Barris said. He decided on the spot, and, having done so, pushed on with as much force as he could muster. "I'd prefer not to have the work done here. I want it done in North America."