Short fetion by Philip Dick is a rare event these days, mostly because of his concentration on novels, the most revent of which 4s unt, (Doubleday). His mast wellknown book is probably the brilliant porallelwworld story, ras MAN 1N ‘HE cH CASTLE. Mr Dick’s frst story here since “We Can Remember It For You Wholesale” (April 1966) is about Garson Poole, who was not ‘exactly human, but who possessed on overwhelmingly human and dangerous--sense of curiosity, THE ELECTRIC ANT by Philip K. Dick At FOUR-PIPTEEN IN THE Ax: temoon, T.S.T., Garson. Poole ‘woke up in his hospital bed, knew that he lay in_a hospital bed in a three-bed ward and realized in ad- dition two things: that he no longer had a right hand and that he fel no pain. y have given me a strong analgesic, he said to himself as hhe stared at the far wall with its window showing downtown, New York. "Webs in which vehicles and peds darted and wheeled slimmered in the late afternoon sun, and the brilliance of the ag- ing light pleased him. If not yet gut, he thought. And neither am AA fone lay on the table beside 100 ‘his bed; he hesitated, then pied it up and dialed for an outide Tine, A moment later he wat ficed by Louis Danceman, in charge of Te-Plan's activities while be, Garson Poole, was elsewhere. Thank god you're aire” Danceman said, seeing im; his big, Heshy face with its mom's surface of pock marks flattened th elif “Tre been cling “L just don't have a right hand," Poole sai. “But you'll be okay. 1 mean, ‘they can graft another one on: “How long have T been here?” Poole said. He wondered where the nurses and doctors had gone to; why weren't they clucking and essing about him making a “Tour days? Danceman sad everything here at the plant is ing splunkishly. In fact we've Bianked orders rom three sep- Pec police systems, all hereon ftra!"Two in Ohio, one in Wy- eming. Good soll orders, with one third in advance and the usual free year laseopton “SGame and get me out of here,” Poole sa "I cant get you out unul the ew hand—" “Til have it done later”, He ranted srapertely to get back to flmiar surroundings; memory of the mera sa hong ely on the pit serezn co ecned at the back of is mind; Foe shut his eye he felt hinself ck in his damaged craft as Plunged from one vehicle 10 an- Uihet piling up enormous dan eras Rr went, The hinetc snsa- tho be winced, recalling them. T guess Tm Iucky, he sald to himeelE. Jie'Sarah Benton there with you?” Danceman asked. "No OF course; his personal secretary if only for job consid STationt_—would be hovering close fj mothering hisy Sn her efune, Ihfamile ways AIL Beavy-et woo Gee omer pone he Bought, And they dangerous; they fall on you, they cam il Jou. "Maybe ghat what hap- ened tome” he said alow "Maybe Sara fell on my squib. 10 “No, no; a te rod in the steer ing fin of your su split apart {luting the heavy rashour tie tnd you~" remember.” He turned in his bed! ag the done of the ward pened; 2 whiteclad doctor” and two, biueclad nurses appeared, Inking their way foward his bed. ZT talk to you ater” Poole ai, and hung up the fone, He took a deep, expectant breath. Mou shouldn't be foning quite so soon. the doctor said as he Studied" his chart, "Me. Garson Poole, owner of Tet-Plan Elec. tronics." Mater of random ident dhe that track their prey for a Sircleradius of «thousand mils, fesponding to unique. enceph trav pattems. Youre sucessful than, Mir. Poole, But, Mr. Poole, aman. Youre an elec: “Christ,” Poole sald, stunned. "So we cantt really treat you here, now that we've found out. We ‘knew, of course, 35 soon as ‘we examined your injured right hhand; we saw the electronic com- ponents and than we made torso ‘rays and of course they bore out our hypothesis.” “What,” Poole said, "is an ‘electric ant?” But he knew; he ‘could decipher the term. "A nurse said, “An organic ro- bot.” “L see,” Poole said. Frigid per spiration rose to the surface of his skin, across all bis body.02 sun nuseruc ant 103 ‘ts this guaranteed?” he asked shot of Jack Daniels Purple Le fs technicians as they Fused the bel—siaty years old—and sat sip- 1 section of the hand to the ping it, meanwhile gazing through ance of his body. his sole ‘window at the building “Ninety days, parts and labor,” on the opposite side of the street ‘Of the technicians said. Shall I go to the office? he asked Unless subjected. to unusual or himself. If so, why? If not, why? tentional abuse.” ‘Choose one. Christ, he thought, it “That sounds vaguely sugges undermines you, "knowing this ,” Pool said. Tima freak, he realized. An inani- “fhe technician, a man—all of mate object mimicking an animate lem were men--said, regarding one. But—he felt alive. Yet keenly, "Youre been por he felt differently, now. At himself. Hence about everyone, “‘Unintentionelly,” Poole sald. especially Danceman and, Sarah, "And now its intentional?” everyone at Tri-Plan. Poole sald, “Exactly.” T think TH kill myself, he said “Do you know why you never to himself. But I'm probably pro- There must have been gramed not to do that; it would «clickings and. whir- be a costly waste which my owner from inside you, now and would have to absorb. And he You never guessed because wouldn't want to. "vere programed not to notice, _Programed. In me somewhere, fll now ‘have the same difi- he thought, there is a matrix fitted ity finding out why you were in place, a grid screen that cuts iit and for whom you've been me off from certain thoughts, cer- “You didn't know,” the doctor you kindly sete your bill at te said. ont dest?" “No.” Poole shook his head. Poole said acidly, “How can} The decir said, "We get an there be a bill if you dont tet clecrieant every week or EF ans here?” Shs ogi be fom saga "eo evo” he mrlike yourself—or one sid, "Up until the i ssc sion = Ane baie ‘one who, yourself, has never “Bill me,” Poole said, with fu teen" told, who has fmedoned sous, impotent’ anger.” “Bill my along side humans, belleving him fem’* With massive effort he mar self—itself—human. As to your aged to sit up; his head swim} and" He paused, ming, he stepped haltingly fom “Poet my hd” Pek wit th edd to te fH ssvagey 0 leave here," e said a be “Em The dc nee taning pation hd cover him, peered acutely down thenk you fr your hamane into pn “We'll have a tion.” erat amt pial ost convey you over to “Thank you, too, Mr, Pook a eevice faci where repairs, or the doctor said, “Or rather Feplacement, om your hand can be should say just Poole” tiade at a renonable expense, er ther to yourell, if youre self At the repair facility he had hi owned, or to your owners, if such missing hand replaced. there are. In any case youll be It proved fascinating, the hans back at your desk at Tr-Plan, he examined it for a long time be fanetioning just as before,” fore he let the technicians insal foeating.” tan actions. Aid forts me into “Except” Poole said, “now I it, On the surface it appeared or "A slave," Poole sald. “A me- others Lam not free t never was, now." He wondered if Dance- ganic—in fact on the surface, x Juncal save” but now I know it; that makes it tan or Sarah or any of the others was, Natural skin covered nail f “Youve had fun.” different. Br theofice knew. Had theyor fet, and true. blood fled the J “T¥e lived a good life" Poole Turning his window fo page, fone of them—purchased him? veins and capillaries. But, sil. “I've worked hard.” he snapped on the overhead light, ie paid the facility its forty carefully set sbout removing his ngs, flexed his new fingers, test- clothing, plece by plece. He had them out by picking up various watched carefully as the techni- facets such ss coins, then de- clans at the repair facility had at- fated, ‘Ten minutes later he was tached his new hand: he had a Mioard a public carrer, on his way rather clear idea, now, of bow his lame. It had been quite a day. body had been’ assembled. Two "At_home, in his one-soom major panels, one in each thigh; purtment, he poured himself a die technicians had removed the Designed him? A figurehead, he beneath that, wires and cir said to himself; that’s all 'T've cuits, miniaturized component, ‘been. I must never really have gleamed . . . looking deep into rrun the company; it was a delu- the wrist he saw surge gates, mo sion implanted in'me when I was tors, multi-stage valves, all’ very made... along with the delu- small, Intricate. And—the hand ‘son that Iam human and alive. cost forty frogs, A week's salary, “Before you leave for the repair insofar as he drew it from the facility," the doctor said, “could company payroll.104 aml fo check th et com es beneath If Tim programed, he declded, the mate probably can be found there “The maze of ‘clrultry balled Dim. Tneed help, he sad to him self, Lets. see.’ whats the fone code for the clas BBB com: ‘uteewe hice atthe office? He picked up the fone, dialed the computer ats permanent Io- cso Bote, Lan "Use computer is rated at a five frogs per minute bass" mechanical olce from the fone said. "Please hold your rastercreditchargeplate before the He did wo, *At the sound of the buzzer you will be connected ‘with the fomputer,” the voice. continued. “Please query it as rapidly as pos sible, tang into account the fat ‘that ts answer will be given in terms ofa microsecond, while your auery will" He turned the sound down, then. But quichly fumed it up as the blank audio, input of the computer appeared on the sersen. At this moment: te computer had become a glant eae, listening 9 im—-as well as fifty Atos ther ques trou cou Terra, “Scan me visually," he in- straced the ‘computer’ “And tell Ine where wil find the program: fing mechanism which controls my thoughts and ” behav.” He wwalted, On'the fone's screen a ‘great active eye, partment. ‘The computer sald, “Remove your chest panel. “Apply pressure at your breastbone and then ease outward." He did so. A section of his chest came off; dizzily, he set it down ‘on the floor. “Tean distinguish control mod- ules," the computer said, “but I can't tell which—" Tt paused a ts ‘eye roved about on the fone distinguish a roll of punched tape mounted above your heart mechanism, Do you see it” Poole craned his neck, peered. He saw it too. “Twill have to signoff? the computer said. “After 1 have ‘examined the data available to me T will contact you and give you an answer. Good day.” ‘The ‘screen Aled ut TI yank the tape out of me, Pool sid to himself. Thy no larger than two spools ‘of thread, with a scanner’ mounted between the delivery drum and the takeup drum. He could not see any sign of motion; the spool seemed inert. They must cut In as override, he reflected, when spe- cific stations occur. ‘Override to my encephalic’ processes, And they've been doing it all my ie, He reached down, touched the delivery drum. All Thave to do is tear this out, he thought, and— "The fone screen relit, "Master rmultilensd, peered at him; he displayed hin self for it, there in his one-room ectitchargeplate number 3-BNX- fs2-HOR446-T," the computer's “This is BBB-307DR frcontacting you in response to our query of sixteen seconds line, November 4, 1992. The inched tape roll’ above your ieart mechanism is not a program- turret but is in fact a reality- ply construct. All sense stimuli ived by your central neurolog- a system emanate from hat nit fad tampering with it woul fishy if not terminal.” It added, Frou appear to have no program. ng circuit. Query answered. Good xy.” Te ficked off Poole, standing naked before ine fone screen, touched the tape rum once again, with calculated, enormous caution. I see, he thought willy. Or do I see? This anit TE K cut the tape, he realized, my world will disappear. Reality frill continue for others, but not for me, Because my reality, my smiverse, is coming to me from this minuscule unit. Fed into the scanner and then into my central ervous system as it snailishly un- winds. Te has been unwinding for years, he decided. Getting his clothes, he re- dressed, seated himself in his big temehair—a luxury imported into Hs apartment from TriPlan’s main offices—and lita tobacco Ggarette, His hands shook as he 105 oid. down is intaled lighters Teaning back, he blew smoke be- fore himself, creating @nimbus of "T have to gp slowly he sid to himself: What am T trying to do? Bypass my programing? But the computer fund no programing ttre DoT want to interfere with the reality tape? And if 0, hy? ‘Decause, he thought #1 con- tro that, I cone realty. At Teast So far as Im concerned. My sub- jective reality» but thats all Ure is Objective reality is 8 syn- thetic constrict, dealing with @ hypothetical universalization of & thulitade of subjective elites. ‘My universe Ing within my fingers, he realized. IE Tcan just, figure out how the damn thing orks. All Tse ut to do ocginally tras to search for and locate my Programing cect 50 T ould gin trae homenstatic Functioning: eon trl myc But with tise "With this he. Gi not merely gain contol of himself, he gained ented over everything “And this sets me apart from every human who ever fived and Aied, he thought sombers aing over tothe fone he dialed his ofc When fhe ad. Dance- than on the seeen he sadly, Pant you to send a complete set oF kr nd enlarging cen her tomy apartment, Thave some Inlerocitcuitry to srk on.” Then the Broke the connection, mot want- ing 10 discuse106 ne seo ate oem Se Eris Semone mis, eases oe 2 SEs = SL ceaete a ements Sere cota rene a er ie ake ee acme bes sieve eee soca SE SS ay oe Under the enlarginglens sys- tem the plastic ape assumed” a new shape: a wide track along which hundreds of thousands of ppunch-holes worked their way. T thought s0, Poole thought. Not recorded as charges on a ferrous ‘oxide layer but actually punched. free slots Under the lens the strip of tape visibly oozed forward. Very slow- ly, but it did, at uniform velocity, ‘move in the direction of the scan: “The way figure it, he thought 4s that the punched holes are ot gates Tt functions Like a player Piano; solid ino, punchbole Yes. How can I test is? Obviously by filing in @ num berof the holes, He measre th, amount of tape left" on the delivery spel Cleulated at" greet efor ne velocity’ of the Tape’ movement land then came up with a figure If he altered the tape vistble atthe. Jnngoing edge of the seanner, five to Seven hours would pass before ‘that particular Ue perlod arrive He would in effect be painting ot stimuli due a few hour from now ‘With a microbrush he swabbed 4 large—rlatvely lerge—secbon OF tape with opaque varnish shiained” from the supply bi ac companying the microtols, have smeared out still for about ball an hour, he pondered, Have cor creda asta thousand punches Tt would bbe interesting to see what change, if any, overeame is environment, sb hours from now. Five and a half hours later he sat at Krackter's, a superb bar in ‘Manhattan, having a drink with Danceman, "You look bad,” Danceman ssi, fshed his drink, a Scotch sour, and ‘ordered noth “From the accident?” “Inasense, yes.” Danceman’ said, “Is it—some- thing you found out about your- lf? Ratsing ‘his head, Poole eyed him in the murky light of the bar. “Then you know.” “know,” Danceman sald, "that | should call you ‘Poole’ instead of ‘Mr. Poole’ But I prefer the later, and will continue to do 20.” “How long have you known?” Poole said. “Since you took over the firm. I ras told that the actual owners of ‘TriPlan, who are located in the Prox, System, wanted TriPlan run by an electric ant whom they ‘ould control. They wanted a brik liant and forceful —" “The real owners?” This was the first he had heard sbout that, "We have two thousand. stock: holders. Scattered everywhere.” “Marvis Bey and her husband Eman, on Prox 4, control fifty: ane percent of the voting stock. ‘This has been true from the start.” “Why didn’t know?” “Twas told not to tell you. You ‘were to think that you yourself tmade all company policy. With aay help. But actually 1 was feed- ing you what the Beys fed to me.” “I'm a figurehead,” Poole said, "In a, sense, yes.” Danceman 107 AA section of the far wall van- ‘shed. And wit It, several people cates inceay al Through the big glass side the bar, the skyline of New York Gity flickered out of existence. Seeing his face, Danceman said, "What i it?” Poole sald hoarsely, “Look around. Do you see any changes?” After looking around the room, Danceman said, "No. What lke?” “You sil se the skyline?” Sure. Smoggy a9 fli, The lights. wink—" “Now I know,” Poole said. He had been right; every punch-hole covered up meant the disappear- ance of some object in his real- yy world. Standing, he said, “Tl see you later, Danceman, I have to ‘get back to my apartment; there's Some work Im doing. Goodnight.” He strode from the bar and out ‘onto the street, searching for a cab, ‘No cabs. ‘Those, too, he thought, I won- der what ese I painted over. Pros- titutes? Flowers? Prisons? ‘There, in the bar's parking lot, Danceman's squib. TU take that, hee decided. There are still cabs in Danceman’s world; he ean get one later. Anyhow its a company car, and I hold a copy ofthe key. Presently he was in the alr, ‘turning toward his apartment. ‘New York City’ had not re- turned. To the left and right vehicles and buildings, streets, and iathe center nothing. How can 1 By tno that? be led himself. 1 dieppese. Or would 1 He few toward the nothingness ‘Smoking one cigarette after an- other e wins eircle for fife paps anh sand ely, New York reappeared He could Gish bis tip. He stubbed fut his egarete Ca ast of some- thing 9 Valuable) and shot of in * the direction of his apartment. 1 T dnvert_a narrow opaque strip, he pondered ashe unlocked Ii apartment dot, I can — "is thoughts ceed. Someone satin his living rom chan, watch ing captain lark on the TV. *Sirab,” he sad, netted She’ rose, wellpadded but graceful. "You werent atthe hos Bia so came here. sill have {hat ey you gave me ‘back in March aftr we had that yful aigument Oh; . yo" oso depres” She’'came'up t him, Peeped into his face anaiusly "Dees, your injury hurt that Boal?” “it’s mot that.” He removed his crt se and thn is ees panel; Encling down he began in Ering hs ads into emi tool gloves, Pausing he looked up ther and sad, “I found out fn tn sete nt’ Which fom one Stanpoint opens up eetin poss bilities, ‘which Tam exploring now." He fered his finger tnd, at the far end of the leit waldo, & Imicro screwdelver moved, magne fed into vsbity by the enlarging lens system. "Yow can watch he Informed he. If youso desi.” Shebad begun tocy, ‘Whats the mats? be de randed savagely, without looking up, rom his work “Lit jst sad, You've been such a good employer to all of us at TriPlan, ‘We respect you so 4nd now it al changed.” "The plastic tape bad an un- punched’ margin at top and bot fom; he cut horizontal strip very narrow, then, afer a mw Inent of great concentration, cat the tape ise four hours aay from the scanning head, He then rotated the cut stip Into right {angle pec in relation to the san tet, fsed in place wih neo heat clement, hen setached the tape reel toe left and right side HE had, in effect, imserted a dead twenty mints ino the unfolding flow of hie rea. le would take effect—aceording is caleula- tions—a' few minites after ni nig Are you fixing yourself? Sera a timid] mH ole. sid, "Tim freeing. my- sell” Beyond ‘this he had several ster alterations in mind, Bat st, he had to test his theory; Bank tnpunehed tape meant no simul in which ease the lack of tape =” That look on your face” Sarah said. She bepan gathering up he purse, cot roll-up suid mage tine, “TIL go; [ean sce how you feel about finding me here.” tay,” he said, “YL watch the captain kick with you." He got into he shist. “Remember years ago when there were—what_was it? “tenty or twenty-two TV chan tel? Before the government shut down the independents?" ‘She nodded. "What would it have looked Iie,” he sald, “WE this TV set pro- jected all channels onto the cath- fle ray screen at the same time? Could we have distinguished any- thing, in the mixture?” “Tdon't think so.” “Maybe we could lear 00. Lear to be selective; do our own Job of perceiving what we wanted to and what we didnt, Think of the possibilities, if our brain could hhandle twenty images at once; think of the amount of knowledge which could be stored during 2 fiven. period, I wonder if the brain, the human’ brain—” He broke off. "The human brain couldn't do i,” he said, presently, reflecting to” himself. “But in theory a quaskorganic brain aight.” “Is that what you have?” Sarah asked. "Yes," Poole said. ‘They watched the captain kitk to its end, and then they went to hed. But Poole sat up against his pillows, smoking and brooding. Beside him, Sarah stirred restless- 109 Jy, wonteing why he didnot thin off the Tg. Eleven. It would happen “Sarak” he sald, “T want your help. Inv very few minutes some thing stange will happen to me. Tt-wont last kong, but | want you {o watch me earful, See if I" He gested. “Show any change. It seem Wo go t0 sleep, or I talk nonsense of-—" He wanted to say, fT disppear. Bat he did tot, wont do you any barn, but 1 think it might be a good idea if Jou re yust Bo 908 ae ‘nt-mging gun with you ia my purse She had become fully" awake now; siting. up in bed she gazed at hin with wild fight her ample shoulders tanned and fried in the light of the He got her gun for he. ‘The room stillened into pars Iyzed immobility. Then the colors tegan t dra away, Objects de minced unt, smoke-lite, hey fited way into shadows." Dark nes med everyihing asthe ob- jects in the room became weaker fd weer “The last stimuli are dying out, Poole realed, He squnted, ty. fag to se. He made. out Sarah Benton, siting in the bed: 0 two dimensional figure that dalle had ben propped up, there 0 fale ond dines Random gusts tf denuteialized substance ede about in unstable clouds the ele-0 ‘ments collected, fell apart, then collected. once ‘again. And then the last heat, energy and light dis- sipated; the room closed over and fell into itself, a8 if sealed off from reality. And at that point ab- solute blackness_replaced every- thing “space without depth, not bocturnal but rather siffand tne yelling, And in edaiton “be Heard nothing, someding "but he hed nothing te ing: But he hed nothing to reach with Awareness of his own body. had’ departed along with crerything ele tn the universe, He fd oo hands, and even if he had, there would be nothing for them to feel. Tam still right about the way the damn tape works, he said to himself, using a nonexistent ‘mouth to communicate an invisi- ble message. ‘Will this pass in ten_ minutes? Ihe asked himself. Am I right about that, too? He ‘waited... but knew intuitively that his “time sense had departed with every- thing else. T-can only wait, he realized." And hope it won't be ‘To pace himself, he thought, TH make up an encyclopedia; Ti tay to list everything that begins with an “a.” Let's see. He pon- dered. Apple, automobile, ackse- ‘ron, atmosphere, Atlantic, tomato aspic, advertising —he thought on ‘and ' on, categories slithering ‘through his fright-haunted mind. [PRETASY AND SCIENCE FICTION All at once light flickered on. He lay on the couch in the liv- fing room, and mild sunlight spilled in through the single wine dow. Two men bent over him, their hands full of tools, Mainte- nance men, he realized. They've ‘been working on me. “He's conscious,” one of the technicians said. He rose, stood back; Sarah Benton, dithering with’ anxiety, replaced him. “Thank god!" she said, breath- {ng wetly in Poole's ear “I was 29 afraid; {called Mr. Danceman finally about—" “What happened?” Poole broke 4 tn harshly. "Start from the bei: fing. and. for god sake ak Sy. So Lean ssinate all” Sarah composed herself, pated to rub her nose, and then plunged tn nervously, "You. pated Ot You jst ay there a Hf yo wee dead wated unt ody fd you "id nothing. T clled Me, Bancemany waling his sp Unfortunately, and. he called the’ eecricent maintenance team, the oganioroby sain Banc people, and thse two men Came. abet four forsplve, and thoy been working on you crt Since. Ife now sx Been in He Irovning, Abd Tin very cold and front tgp to bed; 1 eanvt male Ia, the ofc today, I relly Gent She et ay, Sead uanoyed n, ‘Ove ofthe unformed mainte nance men sid, "ou've ben playing around with your reality Tries” Poole said. Why deny i? Obviously they had found the inserted solid. stp. "I shouldn't have been out that long.” he sald, ATiaserted a ten minute strip onl.” “It shat off the tape transport,” the technician “explained. "The tape stopped moving forward; your insertion jammed it, and i Automatically shut down to avoid tearing the tape. Why would you rant {0 fiddle around with that? Dont you know what you could ar "But you have a good ides.” Poole said acridly, “Thats why Tm doing it” “Your bill” the maintenance rman szid, “is going to be ninety- fre frogs, Payable in installments, 4 you 80, desire.” “Okay,” he said; he sat up grog- til, rubbed his eyes and grimaced. His head ached and his stomach fel totally empty. “Shave the tape next time," the ‘wimary technician told him. “That ‘may It won't jam. Didn't it occur to you that it had a safety factor built into it? So it would stop rather than—" “What happens,” Poole inter- rupted, his voice low and intently fateful, “if no tape passes under the scanner? No. tape—nothing ‘tall, The photocell shining up- trard without impedance?” “The technicians glanced at each m ‘other. One said, “All the neuro Ccreuits jump their gaps and short "Meaning what?” Poole said. “Meaning, its the end of the mechanism.” Poole said, “Tve examined the cckoult, It doesn’t earry enough voltage to do that. Metal won't Fase under such slight loads of current, even if the terminals are touching. We're talking about a millionth of a watt along a cestum “tannel perhaps a sixteenth of an ch in length, Let's assume there ae a billion possible combinations fat one instant arising from the ‘punch-outs on the tape. The total faxtput isn't cumulative; the ‘amount of current depends on ‘what the battery details for that ‘nodule, and it’s not much. With all gates open and going.” “Would we lie?” one of the technicians asked wearily, “Why not?” Poole said. “Here have an opportunity to experi- ence everything. Simultaneously. To know the universe in its en- tirety, to be momentarily in con- tact with all reality. Something that no human can do. A sym- phonic score entering my brain butside of time, all notes, all in- sruments sounding at once. And all symphonies. Do you see?" “Tell buen you out,” both tech- nicians said, together. “I don't think so,” Poole said. Sarah said, "Would you like a ‘cup of coffee, Mr. Poole?”2 Yes," he said; he lowered his legs, pressed his cold feet against the floor, shuddered. “He then ‘stood up. His body ached. They bad me lying all night on the couch, he realized. All things con- sidered, they could have done bet- ter than that. [At the then able fn he far come ofthe om, Gas Pl Ssppng. coe actos from Sarah The tcchnicias had long since poe. ‘fae. not going to try any snorg apednent on youre, et You? Surah asked willy Pos pred "Toul ike to conta eT eve "vl fee segment of tape Ut he though und fee in uplde wae xual eeguenott wl then fow te ater way. There: ton wll alk backward dows Re eps from the rot Bel, Back Up oy dor, posh locke doe Shen, walk eckard tothe snk, Thee T wil getout stack of ity Usb Tw seat mysell tthe fae before de stack, leach fish with food produced from my Stomach + Tl hen transfer the eed to the refer The newt doy Ll ake the food out UF th erator, pack tn bogs, Gary the tap (superman, Alobat te fod hee and there fe the ses And at lsat he fat ne ee somey or this from thc regsters "The food wil be paced with other food in big. plastic boxes, shipped out of the eity into the hydroponic plants on the At Tantic, there to be joined back to trees and bushes or the bodies of dead animals oF pushed deep into the ground, But what would all that prove? A video tape running backward . . . I would know no ‘more than I know now, which is not enough. ‘What T want, he realized, is ultimate and absolute reality, for fone microsecond. After. that it ‘doesn't matter, because all will be Inown; nothing will be left to une derstand or see, T might tzy one other change, he said to himself. Before 1 ty ‘eutting the tape. T will prick new ppunchsholes in the tape and see ‘what presently emerges. It wil be interesting because I will not know what the holes I make mean Using the tip of a microtoo, he punched several holes, at random, fn the tape. As close to the scan- nee as he could manage . . he id ‘not want to wait. "E wonder if you'll see it” be said_ to Sarah, “Apparently not, Insofar ashe ‘could extrapolate "Something may show up,” he said to her. "T just want to warn you; I dont want you tobe afraid” “Oh dear,” Sarah sad tinily. He examined his wristwatch. ‘One minute passed, then a sex fond, a third, And then — Tn the center of the room ap- peared a flock of green and black ducks. They quacied excitedly, rose from the for, fluttered against the ceiling in a dithering mmass of feathers and wings and frantic in their vast urge, their fa- stinct, to get away, “Ducks,” Poole sald, marveling. "I punched a hole for a flight of wild ducks’ : ‘Now something else appeared. bench with an elderly, tat- reading @ tom, bent newspaper. He Tooked up, dimly made out Poole, smiled briefly at him with badly made dentures, and then returned to his folded-back newspaper. He read “Do you see him?" Poole asked Sorah. *And the ducks.” At that moment the ducks and the park bum disappeared. Nothing re- mained of them. The interval of their punch-holes had. quickly passed. “They weren't rel,” Sarah said, "Were they? So how—" “You're not real,” he told Sarah. “You're a stimulusfactor on my reality tape. A panch-hole that ‘an be glazed over. Do you also have an existence in another real- ity tape, or one ia an objective realty?” He did not know; he couldn't tell. Perhaps Sarah did tot know, either. Perhaps she ex- ‘ted in a thousand reality tapes; perhaps on every reality tape ever Imamufactured, “If 1 eut the tape,” he said, “Jou will be everywhere and nowhere. Like everything else 4B {in the universe, Atleast as far as I am aware of i.” Sarah faltered, “Iam real.” “want to know you com- pletely,” Poole said. "To do that I smust cut the tape. If ¥ don’t do it xnow, I'l do it some other tne; it's inevitable that eventually TH do i” So why wait? he asked him self. And there is always the pos sibility that Danceman_ has re- ported back to my maker, that they will be making moves to head ‘me off. Because, perhaps, I'm en- dangering their property--myself, "You make me wish I had gone to the office after al,” Sarah said, hher mouth turned down with dim- pled gloom, "Go," Poole said *T dont want to leave alone.” bind “Tbe fine," Poole said, “No, you're not going to be fin You're going 0 unplug. yourself or something, kill yourself because you've found out you're just_an electric ant and not @ human be- ing.” He said, presently, “Maybe so." Maybe it boiled down to that. “And I can't stop you,” she said. “No.” He nodded in agreement ‘But I'm going to stay,” Sarah said. “Even if I can't stop you. Be- ‘couse if I do leave and you do kill yourself, ll always ask myself for the rest of my life what would have! happened 101 ad tye ‘Again he nodded.14 “Go ahead” Sarah said. He rose to his feet “ICS not pala Tm gong to fee” he told Fer “Although ie may’ lok ike that to you Keep in mind the fact ‘hat organic robots have minimal palncteits in them, T will be ex: Derincing the most Intense —" PeDantel me any ne” he in. “Just do it youre torerdoat doit youre Cusily—becatse he was feightened he wrigdled “is “hands into the méoghve teem iy, reached to pick up a tiny tool a harp cutting blade am going fo cata tape mounted inside my chest panel” he sald, a5 he gered through the enlargingdens system, "Thats all His hand shook as it Ufted the cutting blade, In a se: tnd it ean be done, he realized Al over, And—I vil have time to fase the cut ends of tape back together, he realized. A half hour atleast. IF change my mind recut the tape. Staring at him, cowering, Sarah whispered, "Nothing happened.” "T'havethry or forty minutes” He reseated himself at the table, ring de i hands fo the gover His vole, he noticed, honk; undoubtedly ‘Sarah was fware of it, and he felt anger at Himelf knowing that he’ had alamed fer. "Tar sory.” he sak, irrationally; he ‘wanted to polo. fice to her. "Maybe you ought t9 Fear” fe sald tn panle; again he stood up. So did she, reflenvely, as if imitating hitm; bloated and ner- vous she stood there palpitating "Go away,” he said thickly. "Back to the office where you ought 10 be, Where we both ought to be.” Tm going to fuse the tape-ends together, he told himself; the ten- sion i to great for me to stand. Reaching his hands toward the loves he groped to pull them over his straining fingers. Peering into ing screen, he saw the beam from the photoclectrie gleam snner, at the same time he saw the end of the tape disappearing ‘under the scanner. he saw this, ‘understood it; Im foo late, he rea faed, It has passed through. God, Ihe thought, help me. It has begun winding at a rate greater than I calculated. So it's now that — He saw apples and cobble stones “and zebras. He felt ‘warmth, the silky texture of doth; he felt the ocean lapping at him ‘and a great wind, from the nor, plucking at him as if to lead him Somewhere, Sarah was all around hhim, so was Danceman, New York glowed in. the might, and the squibs about him scuttled and Founced through might skies and daytime and flooding and drought. Butter relaxed into liguid on bis tongue, and at the same time hid ous odors and. tastes assailed Ihim: the bitter presence of poisons and lemons and blades of summer rats. He drowned; he fell; be Ly Jn the arms of a woman in a Yast ipward, pointed directly into the | rite bed which at the same time féaned shrilly im his ear: the saming nolse of a defective eleva- ec in one of the ancient, ruined Jrwntown hotels. Tam living, 1 ive lived, T wil never live, he id to himself, and. with’ his éoughts came every word, every ound; insects squeaked and raced, ad he half sank into complex inv of “homeostatic. machinery licated. somewhere in Tei-Plan's Ss He wanted to say something Je Sarah. Opening his mouth he ted to bring forth words—a spe- sie string of therm cut of the fermous mass of them brilliantly hing his mind, scorching him ih their utter meaning is mouth burned. He won- led why. Frozen against the vall, Sarah baton opened her eyes and savw He curt of snake ascending tm 's half-opened mouth. Then He roby sank down, knelt on Jars and knees, then slowly ped out ina broken, crumpled ip. She knew without examin- Pitthat it had “died.” Poole did it to itself. she reat ‘And it couldn't feel pain so tself. Or atleast not very pln; ‘maybe a litle. Any- had better call Mr. Danceman flict him what's happened, she Still shaky, she made her ‘ross the room to the fone; us Picking it up, she dlised from memory. it thought Twas stimulus: factor omits realty tape, she sald to herself. So it thought 1 would tle when it "died" How stange, She thought, Why did it imaging that? Te had never been plugged Sito the real work it had “ved” Ian eleetonie world of ts own How bizarre “Mr. Danceman,” she said, when the clreuit to his ofce had been put hough, “Poole i gone, destroyed itself right in font of zy eyes, You'd better come ovee” “So we're finally fre of t= “Yes, won't tbe nice?” Danceman ssid) "Ill send couple of men over from the shop = He saw past her, made eut the sight of Poole Iying bythe kitchen fable. "You go home and rest" he instructed Sarah. "You must be wor bale” "Yes" she said. “Thank you, Mr, Danceman,* She hung up and sto, aimless ‘And then she noticed sdme- thing My ands, she thought. She held them up. Why Is iI can see through them? “The wally ofthe room, too, had become il defined “Trembling, she walked back to the Inert roby, stood By Its not Inowing what todo. Through her lege the carpet showed, and then the earpet became dim and she (to page 128)ry Chen glared at Svetz. “All right, lets hear your idea.” ‘Svetz was busy regretting. Why had he spoken? His vicious, beautiful horse, tamely docked of its killer horn. . he had found the thought repulsive. “His im- pulse had betrayed him. What could they do but remove the hom? a He had it, “Change the pic- ture book, not the horse. A com- puter could duplicate the book in detail, but with a horn on horse. Use the center “computer, ‘then wipe the tape afterward.” “Morosely thoughtful, Ra’ Chen said, “That might work, T know someone who could switch the books.” He looked up from under bushy. black brows. "OF course, you'd have to keep quiet.” “Yes, si.” “Don't forget.” Ra Chen got up. “When you get out ofthe diagnos. tician, you start a four weeks vacation.” “Tm sending you back for one of these,” Ra Chen told him four ‘weeks later. He opened the Destiary. “We picked up the book {in a public park around ten Post ‘Atomic; left the kid who was holding it playing with a car borundum egg” Svetz examined the picture. “That's ugly. That's really ugly. You're trying to balance the hhorse, right? “The horse was 30 beautiful, you've got to have one of these ‘or the universe goes off balance.” Ra Chen closed his eyes in pain. “Just go get us the Gila monster, Svetz. ‘The Secretary General wants a Gila monster” “How ig is 2" ‘They both looked atthe ilustra- tom, There was no way to tel. “From the looks of it, we better use the big extension cage Svetz barely made it back that time. He was suffering from total ‘exhaustion and extensive second- degree burns. ‘The thing be brought beck was thiety feet long, hhad vestigial batlike wings, breathed fire, and didn't lok very such like the illustration; but was as close as anything be’ found: ‘The Secretary-General loved it (from page 115) sav, through it, further layers of dlsinterating matter beyond Maybe if 1 can fuse the tape ends back together, she thought But she did not know how. And already Poole had become vague. ‘The wind of early morning blew about her. She did mot feel it; she had begun, now, to cease feel, ‘The winds blew on. ! ie iar Baa | MARKET PLACE ‘amp arn BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES Pes nO ate Hite 55 tro a nd [eins "Bis tetmonBain "Tomee Thatony Ur bast 53‘Steet, Naw York. 10032