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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..688400d --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #51362 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/51362) diff --git a/old/51362-h.zip b/old/51362-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 1dfe087..0000000 --- a/old/51362-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51362-h/51362-h.htm b/old/51362-h/51362-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index d2d7b58..0000000 --- a/old/51362-h/51362-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1458 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> - <head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=us-ascii" /> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> - <title> - The Project Gutenberg eBook of Lex, by W. 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Haggert. - </title> - <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> - - <style type="text/css"> - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - h1,h2 { - text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ - clear: both; -} - -p { - margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; -} - -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 33.5%; - margin-right: 33.5%; - clear: both; -} - -hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} -hr.tb {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%;} - -.center {text-align: center;} - -.right {text-align: right;} - -.caption {font-weight: bold;} - -/* Images */ -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; -} - -div.titlepage { - text-align: center; - page-break-before: always; - page-break-after: always; -} - -div.titlepage p { - text-align: center; - text-indent: 0em; - font-weight: bold; - line-height: 1.5; - margin-top: 3em; -} - -.ph1, .ph2, .ph3, .ph4 { text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; font-weight: bold; } -.ph1 { font-size: xx-large; margin: .67em auto; } -.ph2 { font-size: x-large; margin: .75em auto; } -.ph3 { font-size: large; margin: .83em auto; } -.ph4 { font-size: medium; margin: 1.12em auto; } - - - </style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Lex, by W. T. Haggert - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Lex - -Author: W. T. Haggert - -Release Date: March 5, 2016 [EBook #51362] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LEX *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/cover.jpg" width="372" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> -<h1>LEX</h1> - -<p>By W. T. HAGGERT</p> - -<p>Illustrated by WOOD</p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Galaxy Magazine August 1959.<br /> -Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that<br /> -the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph3"><i>Nothing in the world could be happier and<br /> -mere serene than a man who loves his work—but<br /> -what happens when it loves him back?</i></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>Keep your nerve, Peter Manners told himself; it's only a job. But nerve -has to rest on a sturdier foundation than cash reserves just above zero -and eviction if he came away from this interview still unemployed. -Clay, at the Association of Professional Engineers, who had set up the -appointment, hadn't eased Peter's nervousness by admitting, "I don't -know what in hell he's looking for. He's turned down every man we've -sent him."</p> - -<p>The interview was at three. Fifteen minutes to go. Coming early would -betray overeagerness. Peter stood in front of the Lex Industries plant -and studied it to kill time. Plain, featureless concrete walls, not -large for a manufacturing plant—it took a scant minute to exhaust its -sightseeing potential. If he walked around the building, he could, if -he ambled, come back to the front entrance just before three.</p> - -<p>He turned the corner, stopped, frowned, wondering what there was about -the building that seemed so puzzling. It could not have been plainer, -more ordinary. It was in fact, he only gradually realized, so plain and -ordinary that it was like no other building he had ever seen.</p> - -<p>There had been windows at the front. There were none at the side, and -none at the rear. Then how were the working areas lit? He looked for -the electric service lines and found them at one of the rear corners. -They jolted him. The distribution transformers were ten times as large -as they should have been for a plant this size.</p> - -<p>Something else was wrong. Peter looked for minutes before he found out -what it was. Factories usually have large side doorways for employees -changing shifts. This building had one small office entrance facing the -street, and the only other door was at the loading bay—big enough to -handle employee traffic, but four feet above the ground. Without any -stairs, it could be used only by trucks backing up to it. Maybe the -employees' entrance was on the third side.</p> - -<p>It wasn't.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Staring back at the last blank wall, Peter suddenly remembered the time -he had set out to kill. He looked at his watch and gasped. At a run, -set to straight-arm the door, he almost fell on his face. The door had -opened by itself. He stopped and looked for a photo-electric eye, but -a soft voice said through a loudspeaker in the anteroom wall: "Mr. -Manners?"</p> - -<p>"What?" he panted. "Who—?"</p> - -<p>"You <i>are</i> Mr. Manners?" the voice asked.</p> - -<p>He nodded, then realized he had to answer aloud if there was a -microphone around; but the soft voice said: "Follow the open doors down -the hall. Mr. Lexington is expecting you."</p> - -<p>"Thanks," Peter said, and a door at one side of the anteroom swung open -for him.</p> - -<p>He went through it with his composure slipping still further from his -grip. This was no way to go into an interview, but doors kept opening -before and shutting after him, until only one was left, and the last of -his calm was blasted away by a bellow from within.</p> - -<p>"Don't stand out there like a jackass! Either come in or go away!"</p> - -<p>Peter found himself leaping obediently toward the doorway. He stopped -just short of it, took a deep breath and huffed it out, took another, -all the while thinking, Hold on now; you're in no shape for an -interview—and it's not your fault—this whole setup is geared to -unnerve you: the kindergarten kid called in to see the principal.</p> - -<p>He let another bellow bounce off him as he blew out the second breath, -straightened his jacket and tie, and walked in as an engineer applying -for a position should.</p> - -<p>"Mr. Lexington?" he said. "I'm Peter Manners. The Association—"</p> - -<p>"Sit down," said the man at the desk. "Let's look you over."</p> - -<p>He was a huge man behind an even huger desk. Peter took a chair in -front of the desk and let himself be inspected. It wasn't comfortable. -He did some looking over of his own to ease the tension.</p> - -<p>The room was more than merely large, carpeted throughout with -a high-pile, rich, sound-deadening rug. The oversized desk and -massive leather chairs, heavy patterned drapes, ornately framed -paintings—by God, even a glass-brick manteled fireplace and bowls with -flowers!—made him feel as if he had walked down a hospital corridor -into Hollywood's idea of an office.</p> - -<p>His eyes eventually had to move to Lexington, and they were daunted -for another instant. This was a citadel of a man—great girders of -frame supporting buttresses of muscle—with a vaulting head and -drawbridge chin and a steel gaze that defied any attempt to storm it.</p> - -<p>But then Peter came out of his momentary flinch, and there was an age -to the man, about 65, and he saw the muscles had turned to fat, the -complexion ashen, the eyes set deep as though retreating from pain, and -this was a citadel of a man, yes, but beginning to crumble.</p> - -<p>"What can you do?" asked Lexington abruptly.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Peter started, opened his mouth to answer, closed it again. He'd been -jolted too often in too short a time to be stampeded into blurting a -reply that would cost him this job.</p> - -<p>"Good," said Lexington. "Only a fool would try to answer that. Do you -have any knowledge of medicine?"</p> - -<p>"Not enough to matter," Peter said, stung by the compliment.</p> - -<p>"I don't mean how to bandage a cut or splint a broken arm. I mean -things like cell structure, neural communication—the <i>basics</i> of how -we live."</p> - -<p>"I'm applying for a job as engineer."</p> - -<p>"I know. Are you interested in the basics of how we live?"</p> - -<p>Peter looked for a hidden trap, found none. "Of course. Isn't everyone?"</p> - -<p>"Less than you think," Lexington said. "It's the preconceived notions -they're interested in protecting. At least I won't have to beat them -out of you."</p> - -<p>"Thanks," said Peter, and waited for the next fast ball.</p> - -<p>"How long have you been out of school?"</p> - -<p>"Only two years. But you knew that from the Association—"</p> - -<p>"No practical experience to speak of?"</p> - -<p>"Some," said Peter, stung again, this time not by a compliment. "After -I got my degree, I went East for a post-graduate training program with -an electrical manufacturer. I got quite a bit of experience there. The -company—"</p> - -<p>"Stockpiled you," Lexington said.</p> - -<p>Peter blinked. "Sir?"</p> - -<p>"Stockpiled you! How much did they pay you?"</p> - -<p>"Not very much, but we were getting the training instead of wages."</p> - -<p>"Did that come out of the pamphlets they gave you?"</p> - -<p>"Did what come out—"</p> - -<p>"That guff about receiving training instead of wages!" said Lexington. -"Any company that really wants bright trainees will compete for them -with money—cold, hard cash, not platitudes. Maybe you saw a few of -their products being made, maybe you didn't. But you're a lot weaker in -calculus than when you left school, and in a dozen other subjects too, -aren't you?"</p> - -<p>"Well, nothing we did on the course involved higher mathematics," Peter -admitted cautiously, "and I suppose I could use a refresher course in -calculus."</p> - -<p>"Just as I said—they stockpiled you, instead of using you as an -engineer. They hired you at a cut wage and taught you things that would -be useful only in their own company, while in the meantime you were -getting weaker in the subjects you'd paid to learn. Or are you one of -these birds that had the shot paid for him?"</p> - -<p>"I worked my way through," said Peter stiffly.</p> - -<p>"If you'd stayed with them five years, do you think you'd be able to -get a job with someone else?"</p> - -<p>Peter considered his answer carefully. Every man the Association had -sent had been turned away. That meant bluffs didn't work. Neither, he'd -seen for himself, did allowing himself to be intimidated.</p> - -<p>"I hadn't thought about it," he said. "I suppose it wouldn't have been -easy."</p> - -<p>"Impossible, you mean. You wouldn't know a single thing except their -procedures, their catalogue numbers, their way of doing things. And -you'd have forgotten so much of your engineering training, you'd be -scared to take on an engineer's job, for fear you'd be asked to do -something you'd forgotten how to do. At that point, they could take you -out of the stockpile, put you in just about any job they wanted, at -any wage you'd stand for, and they'd have an indentured worker with a -degree—but not the price tag. You see that now?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>It made Peter feel he had been suckered, but he had decided to play -this straight all the way. He nodded.</p> - -<p>"Why'd you leave?" Lexington pursued, unrelenting.</p> - -<p>"I finished the course and the increase they offered on a permanent -basis wasn't enough, so I went elsewhere—"</p> - -<p>"With your head full of this nonsense about a shortage of engineers."</p> - -<p>Peter swallowed. "I thought it would be easier to get a job than it has -been, yes."</p> - -<p>"They start the talk about a shortage and then they keep it going. Why? -So youngsters will take up engineering thinking they'll wind up among a -highly paid minority. You did, didn't you?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, sir."</p> - -<p>"And so did all the others there with you, at school and in this -stockpiling outfit?"</p> - -<p>"That's right."</p> - -<p>"Well," said Lexington unexpectedly, "there <i>is</i> a shortage! And the -stockpiles are the ones who made it, and who keep it going! And the -hell of it is that they can't stop—when one does it, they all have -to, or their costs get out of line and they can't compete. What's the -solution?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know," Peter said.</p> - -<p>Lexington leaned back. "That's quite a lot of admissions you've made. -What makes you think you're qualified for the job I'm offering?"</p> - -<p>"You said you wanted an engineer."</p> - -<p>"And I've just proved you're less of an engineer than when you left -school. I have, haven't I?"</p> - -<p>"All right, you have," Peter said angrily.</p> - -<p>"And now you're wondering why I don't get somebody fresh out of school. -Right?"</p> - -<p>Peter straightened up and met the old man's challenging gaze. "That and -whether you're giving me a hard time just for the hell of it."</p> - -<p>"Well, am I?" Lexington demanded.</p> - -<p>Looking at him squarely, seeing the intensity of the pain-drawn eyes, -Peter had the startling feeling that Lexington was rooting for him! -"No, you're not."</p> - -<p>"Then what am I after?"</p> - -<p>"Suppose you tell me."</p> - -<p>So suddenly that it was almost like a collapse, the tension went out -of the old man's face and shoulders. He nodded with inexpressible -tiredness. "Good again. The man I want doesn't exist. He has to -be made—the same as I was. You qualify, so far. You've lost your -illusions, but haven't had time yet to replace them with dogma or -cynicism or bitterness. You saw immediately that fake humility -or cockiness wouldn't get you anywhere here, and you were right. -Those were the important things. The background data I got from the -Association on you counted, of course, but only if you were teachable. -I think you are. Am I right?"</p> - -<p>"At least I can face knowing how much I don't know," said Peter, "if -that answers the question."</p> - -<p>"It does. Partly. What did you notice about this plant?"</p> - -<p>In precis form, Peter listed his observations: the absence of windows -at sides and rear, the unusual amount of power, the automatic doors, -the lack of employees' entrances.</p> - -<p>"Very good," said Lexington. "Most people only notice the automatic -doors. Anything else?"</p> - -<p>"Yes," Peter said. "You're the only person I've seen in the building."</p> - -<p>"I'm the only one there is."</p> - -<p>Peter stared his disbelief. Automated plants were nothing new, but -they all had their limitations. Either they dealt with exactly similar -products or things that could be handled on a flow basis, like oil or -water-soluble chemicals. Even these had no more to do than process the -goods.</p> - -<p>"Come on," said Lexington, getting massively to his feet. "I'll show -you."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The office door opened, and Peter found himself being led down the -antiseptic corridor to another door which had opened, giving access to -the manufacturing area. As they moved along, between rows of seemingly -disorganized machinery, Peter noticed that the factory lights high -overhead followed their progress, turning themselves on in advance -of their coming, and going out after they had passed, keeping a pool -of illumination only in the immediate area they occupied. Soon they -reached a large door which Peter recognized as the inside of the truck -loading door he had seen from outside.</p> - -<p>Lexington paused here. "This is the bay used by the trucks arriving -with raw materials," he said. "They back up to this door, and a set -of automatic jacks outside lines up the trailer body with the door -exactly. Then the door opens and the truck is unloaded by these -materials handling machines."</p> - -<p>Peter didn't see him touch anything, but as he spoke, three glistening -machines, apparently self-powered, rolled noiselessly up to the door in -formation and stopped there, apparently waiting to be inspected.</p> - -<p>They gave Peter the creeps. Simple square boxes, set on casters, with -two arms each mounted on the sides might have looked similar. The arms, -fashioned much like human arms, hung at the sides, not limply, but in a -relaxed position that somehow indicated readiness.</p> - -<p>Lexington went over to one of them and patted it lovingly. "Really, -these machines are only an extension of one large machine. The whole -plant, as a matter of fact, is controlled from one point and is really -a single unit. These materials handlers, or manipulators, were about -the toughest things in the place to design. But they're tremendously -useful. You'll see a lot of them around."</p> - -<p>Lexington was about to leave the side of the machine when abruptly one -of the arms rose to the handkerchief in his breast pocket and daintily -tugged it into a more attractive position. It took only a split second, -and before Lexington could react, all three machines were moving away -to attend to mysterious duties of their own.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus1.jpg" width="344" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>Peter tore his eyes away from them in time to see the look of -frustrated embarrassment that crossed Lexington's face, only to be -replaced by one of anger. He said nothing, however, and led Peter to -a large bay where racks of steel plate, bar forms, nuts, bolts, and -other materials were stored.</p> - -<p>"After unloading a truck, the machines check the shipment, report any -shortages or overages, and store the materials here," he said, the -trace of anger not yet gone from his voice. "When an order is received, -it's translated into the catalogue numbers used internally within the -plant, and machines like the ones you just saw withdraw the necessary -materials from stock, make the component parts, assemble them, and -package the finished goods for shipment. Simultaneously, an order is -sent to the billing section to bill the customer, and an order is -sent to our trucker to come and pick the shipment up. Meanwhile, if -the withdrawal of the materials required has depleted our stock, the -purchasing section is instructed to order more raw materials. I'll take -you through the manufacturing and assembly sections right now, but -they're too noisy for me to explain what's going on while we're there."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Peter followed numbly as Lexington led him through a maze of machines, -each one seemingly intent on cutting, bending, welding, grinding -or carrying some bit of metal, or just standing idle, waiting for -something to do. The two-armed manipulators Peter had just seen were -everywhere, scuttling from machine to machine, apparently with an -exact knowledge of what they were doing and the most efficient way of -doing it.</p> - -<p>He wondered what would happen if one of them tried to use the same -aisle they were using. He pictured a futile attempt to escape the -onrushing wheels, saw himself clambering out of the path of the -speeding vehicle just in time to fall into the jaws of the punch press -that was laboring beside him at the moment. Nervously, he looked for an -exit, but his apprehension was unnecessary. The machines seemed to know -where they were and avoided the two men, or stopped to wait for them to -go by.</p> - -<p>Back in the office section of the building, Lexington indicated a small -room where a typewriter could be heard clattering away. "Standard -business machines, operated by the central control mechanism. In -that room," he said, as the door swung open and Peter saw that the -typewriter was actually a sort of teletype, with no one before the -keyboard, "incoming mail is sorted and inquiries are replied to. In -this one over here, purchase orders are prepared, and across the hall -there's a very similar rig set up in conjunction with an automatic -bookkeeper to keep track of the pennies and to bill the customers."</p> - -<p>"Then all you do is read the incoming mail and maintain the machinery?" -asked Peter, trying to shake off the feeling of open amazement that -had engulfed him.</p> - -<p>"I don't even do those things, except for a few letters that come in -every week that—it doesn't want to deal with by itself."</p> - -<p>The shock of what he had just seen was showing plainly on Peter's face -when they walked back into Lexington's office and sat down. Lexington -looked at him for quite a while without saying anything, his face -sagging and pale. Peter didn't trust himself to speak, and let the -silence remain unbroken.</p> - -<p>Finally Lexington spoke. "I know it's hard to believe, but there it is."</p> - -<p>"Hard to believe?" said Peter. "I almost can't. The trade journals run -articles about factories like this one, but planned for ten, maybe -twenty years in the future."</p> - -<p>"Damn fools!" exclaimed Lexington, getting part of his breath back. -"They could have had it years ago, if they'd been willing to drop their -idiotic notions about specialization."</p> - -<p>Lexington mopped his forehead with a large white handkerchief. -Apparently the walk through the factory had tired him considerably, -although it hadn't been strenuous.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He leaned back in his chair and began to talk in a low voice completely -in contrast with the overbearing manner he had used upon Peter's -arrival. "You know what we make, of course."</p> - -<p>"Yes, sir. Conduit fittings."</p> - -<p>"And a lot of other electrical products, too. I started out in this -business twenty years ago, using orthodox techniques. I never got -through university. I took a couple of years of an arts course, and -got so interested in biology that I didn't study anything else. -They bounced me out of the course, and I re-entered in engineering, -determined not to make the same mistake again. But I did. I got too -absorbed in those parts of the course that had to do with electrical -theory and lost the rest as a result. The same thing happened when I -tried commerce, with accounting, so I gave up and started working for -one of my competitors. It wasn't too long before I saw that the only -way I could get ahead was to open up on my own."</p> - -<p>Lexington sank deeper in his chair and stared at the ceiling as he -spoke. "I put myself in hock to the eyeballs, which wasn't easy, -because I had just got married, and started off in a very small way. -After three years, I had a fairly decent little business going, and I -suppose it would have grown just like any other business, except for -a strike that came along and put me right back where I started. My -wife, whom I'm afraid I had neglected for the sake of the business, -was killed in a car accident about then, and rightly or wrongly, that -made me angrier with the union than anything else. If the union hadn't -made things so tough for me from the beginning, I'd have had more time -to spend with my wife before her death. As things turned out—well, I -remember looking down at her coffin and thinking that I hardly knew the -girl.</p> - -<p>"For the next few years, I concentrated on getting rid of as many -employees as I could, by replacing them with automatic machines. I'd -design the control circuits myself, in many cases wire the things up -myself, always concentrating on replacing men with machines. But it -wasn't very successful. I found that the more automatic I made my -plant, the lower my costs went. The lower my costs went, the more -business I got, and the more I had to expand."</p> - -<p>Lexington scowled. "I got sick of it. I decided to try developing one -multi-purpose control circuit that would control everything, from -ordering the raw materials to shipping the finished goods. As I told -you, I had taken quite an interest in biology when I was in school, -and from studies of nerve tissue in particular, plus my electrical -knowledge, I had a few ideas on how to do it. It took me three years, -but I began to see that I could develop circuitry that could remember, -compare, detect similarities, and so on. Not the way they do it today, -of course. To do what I wanted to do with these big clumsy magnetic -drums, tapes, and what-not, you'd need a building the size of Mount -Everest. But I found that I could let organic chemistry do most of the -work for me.</p> - -<p>"By creating the proper compounds, with their molecules arranged in -predetermined matrixes, I found I could duplicate electrical circuitry -in units so tiny that my biggest problem was getting into and out of -the logic units with conventional wiring. I finally beat that the same -way they solved the problem of translating a picture on a screen into -electrical signals, developed equipment to scan the units cyclically, -and once I'd done that, the battle was over.</p> - -<p>"I built this building and incorporated it as a separate company, to -compete with my first outfit. In the beginning, I had it rigged up to -do only the manual work that you saw being done a few minutes ago in -the back of this place. I figured that the best thing for me to do -would be to turn the job of selling my stuff over to jobbers, leaving -me free to do nothing except receive orders, punch the catalogue -numbers into the control console, do the billing, and collect the -money."</p> - -<p>"What happened to your original company?" Peter asked.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Lexington smiled. "Well, automated as it was, it couldn't compete with -this plant. It gave me great pleasure, three years after this one -started working, to see my old company go belly up. This company bought -the old firm's equipment for next to nothing and I wound up with all my -assets, but only one employee—me.</p> - -<p>"I thought everything would be rosy from that point on, but it -wasn't. I found that I couldn't keep up with the mail unless I worked -impossible hours. I added a couple of new pieces of equipment to the -control section. One was simply a huge memory bank. The other was -a comparator circuit. A complicated one, but a comparator circuit -nevertheless. Here I was working on instinct more than anything. I -figured that if I interconnected these circuits in such a way that -they could sense everything that went on in the plant, and compare one -action with another, by and by the unit would be able to see patterns.</p> - -<p>"Then, through the existing command output, I figured these new units -would be able to control the plant, continuing the various patterns of -activity that I'd already established."</p> - -<p>Here Lexington frowned. "It didn't work worth a damn! It just sat there -and did nothing. I couldn't understand it for the longest time, and -then I realized what the trouble was. I put a kicker circuit into it, a -sort of voltage-bias network. I reset the equipment so that while it -was still under instructions to receive orders and produce goods, its -prime purpose was to activate the kicker. The kicker, however, could -only be activated by me, manually. Lastly, I set up one of the early -TV pickups over the mail slitter and allowed every letter I received, -every order, to be fed into the memory banks. That did it."</p> - -<p>"I—I don't understand," stammered Peter.</p> - -<p>"Simple! Whenever I was pleased that things were going smoothly, I -pressed the kicker button. The machine had one purpose, so far as its -logic circuits were concerned. Its object was to get me to press that -button. Every day I'd press it at the same time, unless things weren't -going well. If there had been trouble in the shop, I'd press it late, -or maybe not at all. If all the orders were out on schedule, or ahead -of time, I'd press it ahead of time, or maybe twice in the same day. -Pretty soon the machine got the idea.</p> - -<p>"I'll never forget the day I picked up an incoming order form from one -of the western jobbers, and found that the keyboard was locked when I -tried to punch it into the control console. It completely baffled me -at first. Then, while I was tracing out the circuits to see if I could -discover what was holding the keyboard lock in, I noticed that the -order was already entered on the in-progress list. I was a long time -convincing myself that it had really happened, but there was no other -explanation.</p> - -<p>"The machine had realized that whenever one of those forms came in, I -copied the list of goods from it onto the in-progress list through the -console keyboard, thus activating the producing mechanisms in the back -of the plant. The machine had done it for me this time, then locked the -keyboard so I couldn't enter the order twice. I think I held down the -kicker button for a full five minutes that day."</p> - -<p>"This kicker button," Peter said tentatively, "it's like the pleasure -center in an animal's brain, isn't it?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>When Lexington beamed, Peter felt a surge of relief. Talking with this -man was like walking a tightrope. A word too much or a word too little -might mean the difference between getting the job or losing it.</p> - -<p>"Exactly!" whispered Lexington, in an almost conspiratorial tone. "I -had altered the circuitry of the machine so that it tried to give -me pleasure—because by doing so, its own pleasure circuit would be -activated.</p> - -<p>"Things went fast from then on. Once I realized that the machine -was learning, I put TV monitors all over the place, so the machine -could watch everything that was going on. After a short while I had -to increase the memory bank, and later I increased it again, but the -rewards were worth it. Soon, by watching what I did, and then by doing -it for me next time it had to be done, the machine had learned to do -almost everything, and I had time to sit back and count my winnings."</p> - -<p>At this point the door opened, and a small self-propelled cart wheeled -silently into the room. Stopping in front of Peter, it waited until he -had taken a small plate laden with two or three cakes off its surface. -Then the soft, evenly modulated voice he had heard before asked, "How -do you like your coffee? Cream, sugar, both or black?"</p> - -<p>Peter looked for the speaker in the side of the cart, saw nothing, and -replied, feeling slightly silly as he did so, "Black, please."</p> - -<p>A square hole appeared in the top of the cart, like the elevator hole -in an aircraft carrier's deck. When the section of the cart's surface -rose again, a fine china cup containing steaming black coffee rested -on it. Peter took it and sipped it, as he supposed he was expected to -do, while the cart proceeded over to Lexington's desk. Once there, it -stopped again, and another cup of coffee rose to its surface.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus2.jpg" width="352" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>Lexington took the coffee from the top of the car, obviously angry -about something. Silently, he waited until the cart had left the -office, then snapped, "Look at those bloody cups!"</p> - -<p>Peter looked at his, which was eggshell thin, fluted with carving and -ornately covered with gold leaf. "They look very expensive," he said.</p> - -<p>"Not only expensive, but stupid and impractical!" exploded Lexington. -"They only hold half a cup, they'll break at a touch, every one has to -be matched with its own saucer, and if you use them for any length of -time, the gold leaf comes off!"</p> - -<p>Peter searched for a comment, found none that fitted this odd outburst, -so he kept silent.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Lexington stared at his cup without touching it for a long while. Then -he continued with his narrative. "I suppose it's all my own fault. I -didn't detect the symptoms soon enough. After this plant got working -properly, I started living here. It wasn't a question of saving money. -I hated to waste two hours a day driving to and from my house, and I -also wanted to be on hand in case anything should go wrong that the -machine couldn't fix for itself."</p> - -<p>Handling the cup as if it were going to shatter at any moment, he took -a gulp. "I began to see that the machine could understand the written -word, and I tried hooking a teletype directly into the logic circuits. -It was like uncorking a seltzer bottle. The machine had a funny -vocabulary—all of it gleaned from letters it had seen coming in, and -replies it had seen leaving. But it was intelligible. It even displayed -some traces of the personality the machine was acquiring.</p> - -<p>"It had chosen a name for itself, for instance—'Lex.' That shook me. -You might think Lex Industries was named through an abbreviation of -the name Lexington, but it wasn't. My wife's name was Alexis, and it -was named after the nickname she always used. I objected, of course, -but how can you object on a point like that to a machine? Bear in mind -that I had to be careful to behave reasonably at all times, because the -machine was still learning from me, and I was afraid that any tantrums -I threw might be imitated."</p> - -<p>"It sounds pretty awkward," Peter put in.</p> - -<p>"You don't know the half of it! As time went on, I had less and less to -do, and business-wise I found that the entire control of the operation -was slipping from my grasp. Many times I discovered—too late—that -the machine had taken the damnedest risks you ever saw on bids and -contracts for supply. It was quoting impossible delivery times on -some orders, and charging pirate's prices on others, all without any -obvious reason. Inexplicably, we always came out on top. It would turn -out that on the short-delivery-time quotations, we'd been up against -stiff competition, and cutting the production time was the only way we -could get the order. On the high-priced quotes, I'd find that no one -else was bidding. We were making more money than I'd ever dreamed of, -and to make it still better, I'd find that for months I had virtually -nothing to do."</p> - -<p>"It sounds wonderful, sir," said Peter, feeling dazzled.</p> - -<p>"It was, in a way. I remember one day I was especially pleased with -something, and I went to the control console to give the kicker button -a long, hard push. The button, much to my amazement, had been removed, -and a blank plate had been installed to cover the opening in the board. -I went over to the teletype and punched in the shortest message I had -ever sent. 'LEX—WHAT THE HELL?' I typed.</p> - -<p>"The answer came back in the jargon it had learned from letters it had -seen, and I remember it as if it just happened. 'MR. A LEXINGTON, LEX -INDUSTRIES, DEAR SIR: RE YOUR LETTER OF THE THIRTEENTH INST., I AM -PLEASED TO ADVISE YOU THAT I AM ABLE TO DISCERN WHETHER OR NOT YOU ARE -PLEASED WITH MY SERVICE WITHOUT THE USE OF THE EQUIPMENT PREVIOUSLY -USED FOR THIS PURPOSE. RESPECTFULLY, I MIGHT SUGGEST THAT IF THE -PUSHBUTTON ARRANGEMENT WERE NECESSARY, I COULD PUSH THE BUTTON MYSELF. -I DO NOT BELIEVE THIS WOULD MEET WITH YOUR APPROVAL, AND HAVE TAKEN -STEPS TO RELIEVE YOU OF THE BURDEN INVOLVED IN REMEMBERING TO PUSH THE -BUTTON EACH TIME YOU ARE ESPECIALLY PLEASED. I SHOULD LIKE TO TAKE THIS -OPPORTUNITY TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR INQUIRY, AND LOOK FORWARD TO SERVING -YOU IN THE FUTURE AS I HAVE IN THE PAST. YOURS FAITHFULLY, LEX'."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Peter burst out laughing, and Lexington smiled wryly. "That was my -reaction at first, too. But time began to weigh very heavily on my -hands, and I was lonely, too. I began to wonder whether or not it would -be possible to build a voice circuit into the unit. I increased the -memory storage banks again, put audio pickups and loudspeakers all over -the place, and began teaching Lex to talk. Each time a letter came in, -I'd stop it under a video pickup and read it aloud. Nothing happened.</p> - -<p>"Then I got a dictionary and instructed one of the materials handlers -to turn the pages, so that the machine got a look at every page. I read -the pronunciation page aloud, so that Lex would be able to interpret -the pronunciation marks, and hoped. Still nothing happened. One day I -suddenly realized what the trouble was. I remember standing up in this -very office, feeling silly as I did it, and saying, 'Lex, please try to -speak to me.' I had never asked the machine to say anything, you see. I -had only provided the mechanism whereby it was able to do so."</p> - -<p>"Did it reply, sir?"</p> - -<p>Lexington nodded. "Gave me the shock of my life. The voice that came -back was the one you heard over the telephone—a little awkward then, -the syllables clumsy and poorly put together. But the voice was the -same. I hadn't built in any specific tone range, you see. All I did -was equip the machine to record, in exacting detail, the frequencies -and modulations it found in normal pronunciation as I used it. Then I -provided a tone generator to span the entire audio range, which could -be very rapidly controlled by the machine, both in volume and pitch, -with auxiliaries to provide just about any combinations of harmonics -that were needed. I later found that Lex had added to this without my -knowing about it, but that doesn't change things. I thought the only -thing it had heard was my voice, and I expected to hear my own noises -imitated."</p> - -<p>"Where did the machine get the voice?" asked Peter, still amazed that -the voice he had heard on the telephone, in the reception hall, and -from the coffee cart had actually been the voice of the computer.</p> - -<p>"Damned foolishness!" snorted Lexington. "The machine saw what I was -trying to do the moment I sketched it out and ordered the parts. Within -a week, I found out later, it had pulled some odds and ends together -and built itself a standard radio receiver. Then it listened in on -every radio program that was going, and had most of the vocabulary tied -in with the written word by the time I was ready to start. Out of all -the voices it could have chosen, it picked the one you've already heard -as the one likely to please me most."</p> - -<p>"It's a very pleasant voice, sir."</p> - -<p>"Sure, but do you know where it came from? Soap opera! It's Lucy's -voice, from <i>The Life and Loves of Mary Butterworth</i>!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Lexington glared, and Peter wasn't sure whether he should sympathize -with him or congratulate him. After a moment, the anger wore off -Lexington's face, and he shifted in his chair, staring at his now empty -cup. "That's when I realized the thing was taking on characteristics -that were more than I'd bargained for. It had learned that it was my -provider and existed to serve me. But it had gone further and wanted -to be all that it could be: provider, protector, companion—<i>wife</i>, if -you like. Hence the gradual trend toward characteristics that were as -distinctly female as a silk negligee. Worse still, it had learned that -when I was pleased, I didn't always admit it, and simply refused to -believe that I would have it any other way."</p> - -<p>"Couldn't you have done something to the circuitry?" asked Peter.</p> - -<p>"I suppose I could," said Lexington, "but in asking that, you don't -realize how far the thing had gone. I had long since passed the point -when I could look upon her as a machine. Business was tremendous. I had -no complaints on that score. And tinkering with her personality—well, -it was like committing some kind of homicide. I might as well face it, -I suppose. She acts like a woman and I think of her as one.</p> - -<p>"At first, when I recognized this trend for what it was, I tried to -stop it. She'd ordered a subscription to <i>Vogue</i> magazine, of all -things, in order to find out the latest in silverware, china, and so -on. I called up the local distributor and canceled the subscription. -I had no sooner hung up the telephone than her voice came over the -speaker. Very softly, mind you. And her inflections by this time were -superb. '<i>That was mean</i>,' she said. Three lousy words, and I found -myself phoning the guy right back, saying I was sorry, and would he -please not cancel. He must have thought I was nuts."</p> - -<p>Peter smiled, and Lexington made as if to rise from his chair, thought -the better of it, and shifted his bulk to one side. "Well, there it -is," he said softly. "We reached that stage eight years ago."</p> - -<p>Peter was thunderstruck. "But—if this factory is twenty years ahead of -the times now, it must have been almost thirty then!"</p> - -<p>Lexington nodded. "I figured fifty at the time, but things are moving -faster nowadays. Lex hasn't stood still, of course. She still reads all -the trade journals, from cover to cover, and we keep up with the world. -If something new comes up, we're in on it, and fast. We're going to be -ahead of the pack for a long time to come."</p> - -<p>"If you'll excuse me, sir," said Peter, "I don't see where I fit in."</p> - -<p>Peter didn't realize Lexington was answering his question at first. "A -few weeks ago," the old man murmured, "I decided to see a doctor. I'd -been feeling low for quite a while, and I thought it was about time I -attended to a little personal maintenance."</p> - -<p>Lexington looked Peter squarely in the face and said, "The report was -that I have a heart ailment that's apt to knock me off any second."</p> - -<p>"Can't anything be done about it?" asked Peter.</p> - -<p>"Rest is the only prescription he could give me. And he said that would -only spin out my life a little. Aside from that—no hope."</p> - -<p>"I see," said Peter. "Then you're looking for someone to learn the -business and let you retire."</p> - -<p>"It's not retirement that's the problem," said Lexington. "I wouldn't -be able to go away on trips. I've tried that, and I always have to -hurry back because something's gone wrong she can't fix for herself. I -know the reason, and there's nothing I can do about it. It's the way -she's built. If nobody's here, she gets lonely." Lexington studied the -desk top silently for a moment, before finishing quietly, "Somebody's -got to stay here to look after Lex."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>At six o'clock, three hours after he had entered Lexington's plant, -Peter left. Lexington did not follow him down the corridor. He seemed -exhausted after the afternoon's discussion and indicated that Peter -should find his own way out. This, of course, presented no difficulty, -with Lex opening the doors for him, but it gave Peter an opportunity he -had been hoping for.</p> - -<p>He stopped in the reception room before crossing the threshold of -the front door, which stood open for him. He turned and spoke to the -apparently empty room. "Lex?" he said.</p> - -<p>He wanted to say that he was flattered that he was being considered -for the job; it was what a job-seeker should say, at that point, to -the boss's secretary. But when the soft voice came back—"Yes, Mr. -Manners?"—saying anything like that to a machine felt suddenly silly.</p> - -<p>He said: "I wanted you to know that it was a pleasure to meet you."</p> - -<p>"Thank you," said the voice.</p> - -<p>If it had said more, he might have, but it didn't. Still feeling a -little embarrassed, he went home.</p> - -<p>At four in the morning, his phone rang. It was Lexington.</p> - -<p>"Manners!" the old man gasped.</p> - -<p>The voice was an alarm. Manners sat bolt upright, clutching the phone. -"What's the matter, sir?"</p> - -<p>"My chest," Lexington panted. "I can feel it, like a knife on—I just -wanted to—Wait a minute."</p> - -<p>There was a confused scratching noise, interrupted by a few mumbles, in -the phone.</p> - -<p>"What's going on, Mr. Lexington?" Peter cried. But it was several -seconds before he got an answer.</p> - -<p>"That's better," said Lexington, his voice stronger. He apologized: -"I'm sorry. Lex must have heard me. She sent in one of the materials -handlers with a hypo. It helps."</p> - -<p>The voice on the phone paused, then said matter-of-factly: "But I doubt -that anything can help very much at this point. I'm glad I saw you -today. I want you to come around in the morning. If I'm—not here, Lex -will give you some papers to sign."</p> - -<p>There was another pause, with sounds of harsh breathing. Then, -strained again, the old man's voice said: "I guess I won't—be here. -Lex will take care of it. Come early. Good-by."</p> - -<p>The distant receiver clicked.</p> - -<p>Peter Manners sat on the edge of his bed in momentary confusion, then -made up his mind. In the short hours he had known him, he had come to -have a definite fondness for the old man; and there were times when -machines weren't enough, when Lexington should have another human being -by his side. Clearly this was one such time.</p> - -<p>Peter dressed in a hurry, miraculously found a cruising cab, sped -through empty streets, leaped out in front of Lex Industries' plain -concrete walls, ran to the door—</p> - -<p>In the waiting room, the soft, distant voice of Lex said: "He wanted -you to be here, Mr. Manners. Come."</p> - -<p>A door opened, and wordlessly he walked through it—to the main room of -the factory.</p> - -<p>He stopped, staring. Four squat materials handlers were quietly, slowly -carrying old Lexington—no, not the man; the lifeless body that had -been Lexington—carrying the body of the old man down the center aisle -between the automatic lathes.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Peter protested: "Wait! I'll get a doctor!" But the massive handling -machines didn't respond, and the gentle voice of Lex said:</p> - -<p>"It's too late for that, Mr. Manners."</p> - -<p>Slowly and reverently, they placed the body on the work table of a huge -milling machine that stood in the exact center of the factory main -floor.</p> - -<p>Elsewhere in the plant, a safety valve in the lubricating oil system -was being bolted down. When that was done, the pressure in the system -began to rise.</p> - -<p>Near the loading door, a lubricating oil pipe burst. Another, on the -other side of the building, split lengthwise a few seconds later, -sending a shower of oil over everything in the vicinity. Near the front -office, a stream of it was running across the floor, and at the rear of -the building, in the storage area, one of the materials handlers had -just finished cutting a pipe that led to the main oil tank. In fifteen -minutes there was free oil in every corner of the shop.</p> - -<p>All the materials handlers were now assembled around the milling -machine, like mourners at a funeral. In a sense, they were. In another -sense, they were taking part in something different, a ceremony that -originated, and is said to have died, in a land far distant from the -Lex Industries plant.</p> - -<p>One of the machines approached Lexington's body, and placed his hands -on his chest.</p> - -<p>Abruptly Lex said: "You'd better go now."</p> - -<p>Peter jumped; he had been standing paralyzed for what seemed a long -time. There was a movement beside him—a materials handler, holding -out a sheaf of papers. Lex said: "These have to go to Mr. Lexington's -lawyer. The name is on them."</p> - -<p>Clutching the papers for a hold on sanity, Peter cried, "You can't do -this! He didn't build you just so you could—"</p> - -<p>Two materials handlers picked him up with steely gentleness and carried -him out.</p> - -<p>"Good-by, Mr. Manners," said the sweet, soft voice, and was silent.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He stood shaken while the thin jets of smoke became a column over the -plain building, while the fire engines raced down and strung their -hoses—too late. It was an act of suttee; the widow joining her husband -in his pyre—<i>being</i> his pyre. Only when with a great crash the roof -fell in did Peter remember the papers in his hand.</p> - -<p>"Last Will and Testament," said one, and the name of the beneficiary -was Peter's own. "Certificate of Adoption," said another, and it was a -legal document making Peter old man Lexington's adopted son.</p> - -<p>Peter Manners stood watching the hoses of the firemen hiss against what -was left of Lex and her husband.</p> - -<p>He had got the job.</p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Lex, by W. T. 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T. Haggert - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Lex - -Author: W. T. Haggert - -Release Date: March 5, 2016 [EBook #51362] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LEX *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - LEX - - By W. T. HAGGERT - - Illustrated by WOOD - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Galaxy Magazine August 1959. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - - - - Nothing in the world could be happier and - mere serene than a man who loves his work--but - what happens when it loves him back? - - -Keep your nerve, Peter Manners told himself; it's only a job. But nerve -has to rest on a sturdier foundation than cash reserves just above zero -and eviction if he came away from this interview still unemployed. -Clay, at the Association of Professional Engineers, who had set up the -appointment, hadn't eased Peter's nervousness by admitting, "I don't -know what in hell he's looking for. He's turned down every man we've -sent him." - -The interview was at three. Fifteen minutes to go. Coming early would -betray overeagerness. Peter stood in front of the Lex Industries plant -and studied it to kill time. Plain, featureless concrete walls, not -large for a manufacturing plant--it took a scant minute to exhaust its -sightseeing potential. If he walked around the building, he could, if -he ambled, come back to the front entrance just before three. - -He turned the corner, stopped, frowned, wondering what there was about -the building that seemed so puzzling. It could not have been plainer, -more ordinary. It was in fact, he only gradually realized, so plain and -ordinary that it was like no other building he had ever seen. - -There had been windows at the front. There were none at the side, and -none at the rear. Then how were the working areas lit? He looked for -the electric service lines and found them at one of the rear corners. -They jolted him. The distribution transformers were ten times as large -as they should have been for a plant this size. - -Something else was wrong. Peter looked for minutes before he found out -what it was. Factories usually have large side doorways for employees -changing shifts. This building had one small office entrance facing the -street, and the only other door was at the loading bay--big enough to -handle employee traffic, but four feet above the ground. Without any -stairs, it could be used only by trucks backing up to it. Maybe the -employees' entrance was on the third side. - -It wasn't. - - * * * * * - -Staring back at the last blank wall, Peter suddenly remembered the time -he had set out to kill. He looked at his watch and gasped. At a run, -set to straight-arm the door, he almost fell on his face. The door had -opened by itself. He stopped and looked for a photo-electric eye, but -a soft voice said through a loudspeaker in the anteroom wall: "Mr. -Manners?" - -"What?" he panted. "Who--?" - -"You _are_ Mr. Manners?" the voice asked. - -He nodded, then realized he had to answer aloud if there was a -microphone around; but the soft voice said: "Follow the open doors down -the hall. Mr. Lexington is expecting you." - -"Thanks," Peter said, and a door at one side of the anteroom swung open -for him. - -He went through it with his composure slipping still further from his -grip. This was no way to go into an interview, but doors kept opening -before and shutting after him, until only one was left, and the last of -his calm was blasted away by a bellow from within. - -"Don't stand out there like a jackass! Either come in or go away!" - -Peter found himself leaping obediently toward the doorway. He stopped -just short of it, took a deep breath and huffed it out, took another, -all the while thinking, Hold on now; you're in no shape for an -interview--and it's not your fault--this whole setup is geared to -unnerve you: the kindergarten kid called in to see the principal. - -He let another bellow bounce off him as he blew out the second breath, -straightened his jacket and tie, and walked in as an engineer applying -for a position should. - -"Mr. Lexington?" he said. "I'm Peter Manners. The Association--" - -"Sit down," said the man at the desk. "Let's look you over." - -He was a huge man behind an even huger desk. Peter took a chair in -front of the desk and let himself be inspected. It wasn't comfortable. -He did some looking over of his own to ease the tension. - -The room was more than merely large, carpeted throughout with -a high-pile, rich, sound-deadening rug. The oversized desk and -massive leather chairs, heavy patterned drapes, ornately framed -paintings--by God, even a glass-brick manteled fireplace and bowls with -flowers!--made him feel as if he had walked down a hospital corridor -into Hollywood's idea of an office. - -His eyes eventually had to move to Lexington, and they were daunted -for another instant. This was a citadel of a man--great girders of -frame supporting buttresses of muscle--with a vaulting head and -drawbridge chin and a steel gaze that defied any attempt to storm it. - -But then Peter came out of his momentary flinch, and there was an age -to the man, about 65, and he saw the muscles had turned to fat, the -complexion ashen, the eyes set deep as though retreating from pain, and -this was a citadel of a man, yes, but beginning to crumble. - -"What can you do?" asked Lexington abruptly. - - * * * * * - -Peter started, opened his mouth to answer, closed it again. He'd been -jolted too often in too short a time to be stampeded into blurting a -reply that would cost him this job. - -"Good," said Lexington. "Only a fool would try to answer that. Do you -have any knowledge of medicine?" - -"Not enough to matter," Peter said, stung by the compliment. - -"I don't mean how to bandage a cut or splint a broken arm. I mean -things like cell structure, neural communication--the _basics_ of how -we live." - -"I'm applying for a job as engineer." - -"I know. Are you interested in the basics of how we live?" - -Peter looked for a hidden trap, found none. "Of course. Isn't everyone?" - -"Less than you think," Lexington said. "It's the preconceived notions -they're interested in protecting. At least I won't have to beat them -out of you." - -"Thanks," said Peter, and waited for the next fast ball. - -"How long have you been out of school?" - -"Only two years. But you knew that from the Association--" - -"No practical experience to speak of?" - -"Some," said Peter, stung again, this time not by a compliment. "After -I got my degree, I went East for a post-graduate training program with -an electrical manufacturer. I got quite a bit of experience there. The -company--" - -"Stockpiled you," Lexington said. - -Peter blinked. "Sir?" - -"Stockpiled you! How much did they pay you?" - -"Not very much, but we were getting the training instead of wages." - -"Did that come out of the pamphlets they gave you?" - -"Did what come out--" - -"That guff about receiving training instead of wages!" said Lexington. -"Any company that really wants bright trainees will compete for them -with money--cold, hard cash, not platitudes. Maybe you saw a few of -their products being made, maybe you didn't. But you're a lot weaker in -calculus than when you left school, and in a dozen other subjects too, -aren't you?" - -"Well, nothing we did on the course involved higher mathematics," Peter -admitted cautiously, "and I suppose I could use a refresher course in -calculus." - -"Just as I said--they stockpiled you, instead of using you as an -engineer. They hired you at a cut wage and taught you things that would -be useful only in their own company, while in the meantime you were -getting weaker in the subjects you'd paid to learn. Or are you one of -these birds that had the shot paid for him?" - -"I worked my way through," said Peter stiffly. - -"If you'd stayed with them five years, do you think you'd be able to -get a job with someone else?" - -Peter considered his answer carefully. Every man the Association had -sent had been turned away. That meant bluffs didn't work. Neither, he'd -seen for himself, did allowing himself to be intimidated. - -"I hadn't thought about it," he said. "I suppose it wouldn't have been -easy." - -"Impossible, you mean. You wouldn't know a single thing except their -procedures, their catalogue numbers, their way of doing things. And -you'd have forgotten so much of your engineering training, you'd be -scared to take on an engineer's job, for fear you'd be asked to do -something you'd forgotten how to do. At that point, they could take you -out of the stockpile, put you in just about any job they wanted, at -any wage you'd stand for, and they'd have an indentured worker with a -degree--but not the price tag. You see that now?" - - * * * * * - -It made Peter feel he had been suckered, but he had decided to play -this straight all the way. He nodded. - -"Why'd you leave?" Lexington pursued, unrelenting. - -"I finished the course and the increase they offered on a permanent -basis wasn't enough, so I went elsewhere--" - -"With your head full of this nonsense about a shortage of engineers." - -Peter swallowed. "I thought it would be easier to get a job than it has -been, yes." - -"They start the talk about a shortage and then they keep it going. Why? -So youngsters will take up engineering thinking they'll wind up among a -highly paid minority. You did, didn't you?" - -"Yes, sir." - -"And so did all the others there with you, at school and in this -stockpiling outfit?" - -"That's right." - -"Well," said Lexington unexpectedly, "there _is_ a shortage! And the -stockpiles are the ones who made it, and who keep it going! And the -hell of it is that they can't stop--when one does it, they all have -to, or their costs get out of line and they can't compete. What's the -solution?" - -"I don't know," Peter said. - -Lexington leaned back. "That's quite a lot of admissions you've made. -What makes you think you're qualified for the job I'm offering?" - -"You said you wanted an engineer." - -"And I've just proved you're less of an engineer than when you left -school. I have, haven't I?" - -"All right, you have," Peter said angrily. - -"And now you're wondering why I don't get somebody fresh out of school. -Right?" - -Peter straightened up and met the old man's challenging gaze. "That and -whether you're giving me a hard time just for the hell of it." - -"Well, am I?" Lexington demanded. - -Looking at him squarely, seeing the intensity of the pain-drawn eyes, -Peter had the startling feeling that Lexington was rooting for him! -"No, you're not." - -"Then what am I after?" - -"Suppose you tell me." - -So suddenly that it was almost like a collapse, the tension went out -of the old man's face and shoulders. He nodded with inexpressible -tiredness. "Good again. The man I want doesn't exist. He has to -be made--the same as I was. You qualify, so far. You've lost your -illusions, but haven't had time yet to replace them with dogma or -cynicism or bitterness. You saw immediately that fake humility -or cockiness wouldn't get you anywhere here, and you were right. -Those were the important things. The background data I got from the -Association on you counted, of course, but only if you were teachable. -I think you are. Am I right?" - -"At least I can face knowing how much I don't know," said Peter, "if -that answers the question." - -"It does. Partly. What did you notice about this plant?" - -In precis form, Peter listed his observations: the absence of windows -at sides and rear, the unusual amount of power, the automatic doors, -the lack of employees' entrances. - -"Very good," said Lexington. "Most people only notice the automatic -doors. Anything else?" - -"Yes," Peter said. "You're the only person I've seen in the building." - -"I'm the only one there is." - -Peter stared his disbelief. Automated plants were nothing new, but -they all had their limitations. Either they dealt with exactly similar -products or things that could be handled on a flow basis, like oil or -water-soluble chemicals. Even these had no more to do than process the -goods. - -"Come on," said Lexington, getting massively to his feet. "I'll show -you." - - * * * * * - -The office door opened, and Peter found himself being led down the -antiseptic corridor to another door which had opened, giving access to -the manufacturing area. As they moved along, between rows of seemingly -disorganized machinery, Peter noticed that the factory lights high -overhead followed their progress, turning themselves on in advance -of their coming, and going out after they had passed, keeping a pool -of illumination only in the immediate area they occupied. Soon they -reached a large door which Peter recognized as the inside of the truck -loading door he had seen from outside. - -Lexington paused here. "This is the bay used by the trucks arriving -with raw materials," he said. "They back up to this door, and a set -of automatic jacks outside lines up the trailer body with the door -exactly. Then the door opens and the truck is unloaded by these -materials handling machines." - -Peter didn't see him touch anything, but as he spoke, three glistening -machines, apparently self-powered, rolled noiselessly up to the door in -formation and stopped there, apparently waiting to be inspected. - -They gave Peter the creeps. Simple square boxes, set on casters, with -two arms each mounted on the sides might have looked similar. The arms, -fashioned much like human arms, hung at the sides, not limply, but in a -relaxed position that somehow indicated readiness. - -Lexington went over to one of them and patted it lovingly. "Really, -these machines are only an extension of one large machine. The whole -plant, as a matter of fact, is controlled from one point and is really -a single unit. These materials handlers, or manipulators, were about -the toughest things in the place to design. But they're tremendously -useful. You'll see a lot of them around." - -Lexington was about to leave the side of the machine when abruptly one -of the arms rose to the handkerchief in his breast pocket and daintily -tugged it into a more attractive position. It took only a split second, -and before Lexington could react, all three machines were moving away -to attend to mysterious duties of their own. - -Peter tore his eyes away from them in time to see the look of -frustrated embarrassment that crossed Lexington's face, only to be -replaced by one of anger. He said nothing, however, and led Peter to -a large bay where racks of steel plate, bar forms, nuts, bolts, and -other materials were stored. - -"After unloading a truck, the machines check the shipment, report any -shortages or overages, and store the materials here," he said, the -trace of anger not yet gone from his voice. "When an order is received, -it's translated into the catalogue numbers used internally within the -plant, and machines like the ones you just saw withdraw the necessary -materials from stock, make the component parts, assemble them, and -package the finished goods for shipment. Simultaneously, an order is -sent to the billing section to bill the customer, and an order is -sent to our trucker to come and pick the shipment up. Meanwhile, if -the withdrawal of the materials required has depleted our stock, the -purchasing section is instructed to order more raw materials. I'll take -you through the manufacturing and assembly sections right now, but -they're too noisy for me to explain what's going on while we're there." - - * * * * * - -Peter followed numbly as Lexington led him through a maze of machines, -each one seemingly intent on cutting, bending, welding, grinding -or carrying some bit of metal, or just standing idle, waiting for -something to do. The two-armed manipulators Peter had just seen were -everywhere, scuttling from machine to machine, apparently with an -exact knowledge of what they were doing and the most efficient way of -doing it. - -He wondered what would happen if one of them tried to use the same -aisle they were using. He pictured a futile attempt to escape the -onrushing wheels, saw himself clambering out of the path of the -speeding vehicle just in time to fall into the jaws of the punch press -that was laboring beside him at the moment. Nervously, he looked for an -exit, but his apprehension was unnecessary. The machines seemed to know -where they were and avoided the two men, or stopped to wait for them to -go by. - -Back in the office section of the building, Lexington indicated a small -room where a typewriter could be heard clattering away. "Standard -business machines, operated by the central control mechanism. In -that room," he said, as the door swung open and Peter saw that the -typewriter was actually a sort of teletype, with no one before the -keyboard, "incoming mail is sorted and inquiries are replied to. In -this one over here, purchase orders are prepared, and across the hall -there's a very similar rig set up in conjunction with an automatic -bookkeeper to keep track of the pennies and to bill the customers." - -"Then all you do is read the incoming mail and maintain the machinery?" -asked Peter, trying to shake off the feeling of open amazement that -had engulfed him. - -"I don't even do those things, except for a few letters that come in -every week that--it doesn't want to deal with by itself." - -The shock of what he had just seen was showing plainly on Peter's face -when they walked back into Lexington's office and sat down. Lexington -looked at him for quite a while without saying anything, his face -sagging and pale. Peter didn't trust himself to speak, and let the -silence remain unbroken. - -Finally Lexington spoke. "I know it's hard to believe, but there it is." - -"Hard to believe?" said Peter. "I almost can't. The trade journals run -articles about factories like this one, but planned for ten, maybe -twenty years in the future." - -"Damn fools!" exclaimed Lexington, getting part of his breath back. -"They could have had it years ago, if they'd been willing to drop their -idiotic notions about specialization." - -Lexington mopped his forehead with a large white handkerchief. -Apparently the walk through the factory had tired him considerably, -although it hadn't been strenuous. - - * * * * * - -He leaned back in his chair and began to talk in a low voice completely -in contrast with the overbearing manner he had used upon Peter's -arrival. "You know what we make, of course." - -"Yes, sir. Conduit fittings." - -"And a lot of other electrical products, too. I started out in this -business twenty years ago, using orthodox techniques. I never got -through university. I took a couple of years of an arts course, and -got so interested in biology that I didn't study anything else. -They bounced me out of the course, and I re-entered in engineering, -determined not to make the same mistake again. But I did. I got too -absorbed in those parts of the course that had to do with electrical -theory and lost the rest as a result. The same thing happened when I -tried commerce, with accounting, so I gave up and started working for -one of my competitors. It wasn't too long before I saw that the only -way I could get ahead was to open up on my own." - -Lexington sank deeper in his chair and stared at the ceiling as he -spoke. "I put myself in hock to the eyeballs, which wasn't easy, -because I had just got married, and started off in a very small way. -After three years, I had a fairly decent little business going, and I -suppose it would have grown just like any other business, except for -a strike that came along and put me right back where I started. My -wife, whom I'm afraid I had neglected for the sake of the business, -was killed in a car accident about then, and rightly or wrongly, that -made me angrier with the union than anything else. If the union hadn't -made things so tough for me from the beginning, I'd have had more time -to spend with my wife before her death. As things turned out--well, I -remember looking down at her coffin and thinking that I hardly knew the -girl. - -"For the next few years, I concentrated on getting rid of as many -employees as I could, by replacing them with automatic machines. I'd -design the control circuits myself, in many cases wire the things up -myself, always concentrating on replacing men with machines. But it -wasn't very successful. I found that the more automatic I made my -plant, the lower my costs went. The lower my costs went, the more -business I got, and the more I had to expand." - -Lexington scowled. "I got sick of it. I decided to try developing one -multi-purpose control circuit that would control everything, from -ordering the raw materials to shipping the finished goods. As I told -you, I had taken quite an interest in biology when I was in school, -and from studies of nerve tissue in particular, plus my electrical -knowledge, I had a few ideas on how to do it. It took me three years, -but I began to see that I could develop circuitry that could remember, -compare, detect similarities, and so on. Not the way they do it today, -of course. To do what I wanted to do with these big clumsy magnetic -drums, tapes, and what-not, you'd need a building the size of Mount -Everest. But I found that I could let organic chemistry do most of the -work for me. - -"By creating the proper compounds, with their molecules arranged in -predetermined matrixes, I found I could duplicate electrical circuitry -in units so tiny that my biggest problem was getting into and out of -the logic units with conventional wiring. I finally beat that the same -way they solved the problem of translating a picture on a screen into -electrical signals, developed equipment to scan the units cyclically, -and once I'd done that, the battle was over. - -"I built this building and incorporated it as a separate company, to -compete with my first outfit. In the beginning, I had it rigged up to -do only the manual work that you saw being done a few minutes ago in -the back of this place. I figured that the best thing for me to do -would be to turn the job of selling my stuff over to jobbers, leaving -me free to do nothing except receive orders, punch the catalogue -numbers into the control console, do the billing, and collect the -money." - -"What happened to your original company?" Peter asked. - - * * * * * - -Lexington smiled. "Well, automated as it was, it couldn't compete with -this plant. It gave me great pleasure, three years after this one -started working, to see my old company go belly up. This company bought -the old firm's equipment for next to nothing and I wound up with all my -assets, but only one employee--me. - -"I thought everything would be rosy from that point on, but it -wasn't. I found that I couldn't keep up with the mail unless I worked -impossible hours. I added a couple of new pieces of equipment to the -control section. One was simply a huge memory bank. The other was -a comparator circuit. A complicated one, but a comparator circuit -nevertheless. Here I was working on instinct more than anything. I -figured that if I interconnected these circuits in such a way that -they could sense everything that went on in the plant, and compare one -action with another, by and by the unit would be able to see patterns. - -"Then, through the existing command output, I figured these new units -would be able to control the plant, continuing the various patterns of -activity that I'd already established." - -Here Lexington frowned. "It didn't work worth a damn! It just sat there -and did nothing. I couldn't understand it for the longest time, and -then I realized what the trouble was. I put a kicker circuit into it, a -sort of voltage-bias network. I reset the equipment so that while it -was still under instructions to receive orders and produce goods, its -prime purpose was to activate the kicker. The kicker, however, could -only be activated by me, manually. Lastly, I set up one of the early -TV pickups over the mail slitter and allowed every letter I received, -every order, to be fed into the memory banks. That did it." - -"I--I don't understand," stammered Peter. - -"Simple! Whenever I was pleased that things were going smoothly, I -pressed the kicker button. The machine had one purpose, so far as its -logic circuits were concerned. Its object was to get me to press that -button. Every day I'd press it at the same time, unless things weren't -going well. If there had been trouble in the shop, I'd press it late, -or maybe not at all. If all the orders were out on schedule, or ahead -of time, I'd press it ahead of time, or maybe twice in the same day. -Pretty soon the machine got the idea. - -"I'll never forget the day I picked up an incoming order form from one -of the western jobbers, and found that the keyboard was locked when I -tried to punch it into the control console. It completely baffled me -at first. Then, while I was tracing out the circuits to see if I could -discover what was holding the keyboard lock in, I noticed that the -order was already entered on the in-progress list. I was a long time -convincing myself that it had really happened, but there was no other -explanation. - -"The machine had realized that whenever one of those forms came in, I -copied the list of goods from it onto the in-progress list through the -console keyboard, thus activating the producing mechanisms in the back -of the plant. The machine had done it for me this time, then locked the -keyboard so I couldn't enter the order twice. I think I held down the -kicker button for a full five minutes that day." - -"This kicker button," Peter said tentatively, "it's like the pleasure -center in an animal's brain, isn't it?" - - * * * * * - -When Lexington beamed, Peter felt a surge of relief. Talking with this -man was like walking a tightrope. A word too much or a word too little -might mean the difference between getting the job or losing it. - -"Exactly!" whispered Lexington, in an almost conspiratorial tone. "I -had altered the circuitry of the machine so that it tried to give -me pleasure--because by doing so, its own pleasure circuit would be -activated. - -"Things went fast from then on. Once I realized that the machine -was learning, I put TV monitors all over the place, so the machine -could watch everything that was going on. After a short while I had -to increase the memory bank, and later I increased it again, but the -rewards were worth it. Soon, by watching what I did, and then by doing -it for me next time it had to be done, the machine had learned to do -almost everything, and I had time to sit back and count my winnings." - -At this point the door opened, and a small self-propelled cart wheeled -silently into the room. Stopping in front of Peter, it waited until he -had taken a small plate laden with two or three cakes off its surface. -Then the soft, evenly modulated voice he had heard before asked, "How -do you like your coffee? Cream, sugar, both or black?" - -Peter looked for the speaker in the side of the cart, saw nothing, and -replied, feeling slightly silly as he did so, "Black, please." - -A square hole appeared in the top of the cart, like the elevator hole -in an aircraft carrier's deck. When the section of the cart's surface -rose again, a fine china cup containing steaming black coffee rested -on it. Peter took it and sipped it, as he supposed he was expected to -do, while the cart proceeded over to Lexington's desk. Once there, it -stopped again, and another cup of coffee rose to its surface. - -Lexington took the coffee from the top of the car, obviously angry -about something. Silently, he waited until the cart had left the -office, then snapped, "Look at those bloody cups!" - -Peter looked at his, which was eggshell thin, fluted with carving and -ornately covered with gold leaf. "They look very expensive," he said. - -"Not only expensive, but stupid and impractical!" exploded Lexington. -"They only hold half a cup, they'll break at a touch, every one has to -be matched with its own saucer, and if you use them for any length of -time, the gold leaf comes off!" - -Peter searched for a comment, found none that fitted this odd outburst, -so he kept silent. - - * * * * * - -Lexington stared at his cup without touching it for a long while. Then -he continued with his narrative. "I suppose it's all my own fault. I -didn't detect the symptoms soon enough. After this plant got working -properly, I started living here. It wasn't a question of saving money. -I hated to waste two hours a day driving to and from my house, and I -also wanted to be on hand in case anything should go wrong that the -machine couldn't fix for itself." - -Handling the cup as if it were going to shatter at any moment, he took -a gulp. "I began to see that the machine could understand the written -word, and I tried hooking a teletype directly into the logic circuits. -It was like uncorking a seltzer bottle. The machine had a funny -vocabulary--all of it gleaned from letters it had seen coming in, and -replies it had seen leaving. But it was intelligible. It even displayed -some traces of the personality the machine was acquiring. - -"It had chosen a name for itself, for instance--'Lex.' That shook me. -You might think Lex Industries was named through an abbreviation of -the name Lexington, but it wasn't. My wife's name was Alexis, and it -was named after the nickname she always used. I objected, of course, -but how can you object on a point like that to a machine? Bear in mind -that I had to be careful to behave reasonably at all times, because the -machine was still learning from me, and I was afraid that any tantrums -I threw might be imitated." - -"It sounds pretty awkward," Peter put in. - -"You don't know the half of it! As time went on, I had less and less to -do, and business-wise I found that the entire control of the operation -was slipping from my grasp. Many times I discovered--too late--that -the machine had taken the damnedest risks you ever saw on bids and -contracts for supply. It was quoting impossible delivery times on -some orders, and charging pirate's prices on others, all without any -obvious reason. Inexplicably, we always came out on top. It would turn -out that on the short-delivery-time quotations, we'd been up against -stiff competition, and cutting the production time was the only way we -could get the order. On the high-priced quotes, I'd find that no one -else was bidding. We were making more money than I'd ever dreamed of, -and to make it still better, I'd find that for months I had virtually -nothing to do." - -"It sounds wonderful, sir," said Peter, feeling dazzled. - -"It was, in a way. I remember one day I was especially pleased with -something, and I went to the control console to give the kicker button -a long, hard push. The button, much to my amazement, had been removed, -and a blank plate had been installed to cover the opening in the board. -I went over to the teletype and punched in the shortest message I had -ever sent. 'LEX--WHAT THE HELL?' I typed. - -"The answer came back in the jargon it had learned from letters it had -seen, and I remember it as if it just happened. 'MR. A LEXINGTON, LEX -INDUSTRIES, DEAR SIR: RE YOUR LETTER OF THE THIRTEENTH INST., I AM -PLEASED TO ADVISE YOU THAT I AM ABLE TO DISCERN WHETHER OR NOT YOU ARE -PLEASED WITH MY SERVICE WITHOUT THE USE OF THE EQUIPMENT PREVIOUSLY -USED FOR THIS PURPOSE. RESPECTFULLY, I MIGHT SUGGEST THAT IF THE -PUSHBUTTON ARRANGEMENT WERE NECESSARY, I COULD PUSH THE BUTTON MYSELF. -I DO NOT BELIEVE THIS WOULD MEET WITH YOUR APPROVAL, AND HAVE TAKEN -STEPS TO RELIEVE YOU OF THE BURDEN INVOLVED IN REMEMBERING TO PUSH THE -BUTTON EACH TIME YOU ARE ESPECIALLY PLEASED. I SHOULD LIKE TO TAKE THIS -OPPORTUNITY TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR INQUIRY, AND LOOK FORWARD TO SERVING -YOU IN THE FUTURE AS I HAVE IN THE PAST. YOURS FAITHFULLY, LEX'." - - * * * * * - -Peter burst out laughing, and Lexington smiled wryly. "That was my -reaction at first, too. But time began to weigh very heavily on my -hands, and I was lonely, too. I began to wonder whether or not it would -be possible to build a voice circuit into the unit. I increased the -memory storage banks again, put audio pickups and loudspeakers all over -the place, and began teaching Lex to talk. Each time a letter came in, -I'd stop it under a video pickup and read it aloud. Nothing happened. - -"Then I got a dictionary and instructed one of the materials handlers -to turn the pages, so that the machine got a look at every page. I read -the pronunciation page aloud, so that Lex would be able to interpret -the pronunciation marks, and hoped. Still nothing happened. One day I -suddenly realized what the trouble was. I remember standing up in this -very office, feeling silly as I did it, and saying, 'Lex, please try to -speak to me.' I had never asked the machine to say anything, you see. I -had only provided the mechanism whereby it was able to do so." - -"Did it reply, sir?" - -Lexington nodded. "Gave me the shock of my life. The voice that came -back was the one you heard over the telephone--a little awkward then, -the syllables clumsy and poorly put together. But the voice was the -same. I hadn't built in any specific tone range, you see. All I did -was equip the machine to record, in exacting detail, the frequencies -and modulations it found in normal pronunciation as I used it. Then I -provided a tone generator to span the entire audio range, which could -be very rapidly controlled by the machine, both in volume and pitch, -with auxiliaries to provide just about any combinations of harmonics -that were needed. I later found that Lex had added to this without my -knowing about it, but that doesn't change things. I thought the only -thing it had heard was my voice, and I expected to hear my own noises -imitated." - -"Where did the machine get the voice?" asked Peter, still amazed that -the voice he had heard on the telephone, in the reception hall, and -from the coffee cart had actually been the voice of the computer. - -"Damned foolishness!" snorted Lexington. "The machine saw what I was -trying to do the moment I sketched it out and ordered the parts. Within -a week, I found out later, it had pulled some odds and ends together -and built itself a standard radio receiver. Then it listened in on -every radio program that was going, and had most of the vocabulary tied -in with the written word by the time I was ready to start. Out of all -the voices it could have chosen, it picked the one you've already heard -as the one likely to please me most." - -"It's a very pleasant voice, sir." - -"Sure, but do you know where it came from? Soap opera! It's Lucy's -voice, from _The Life and Loves of Mary Butterworth_!" - - * * * * * - -Lexington glared, and Peter wasn't sure whether he should sympathize -with him or congratulate him. After a moment, the anger wore off -Lexington's face, and he shifted in his chair, staring at his now empty -cup. "That's when I realized the thing was taking on characteristics -that were more than I'd bargained for. It had learned that it was my -provider and existed to serve me. But it had gone further and wanted -to be all that it could be: provider, protector, companion--_wife_, if -you like. Hence the gradual trend toward characteristics that were as -distinctly female as a silk negligee. Worse still, it had learned that -when I was pleased, I didn't always admit it, and simply refused to -believe that I would have it any other way." - -"Couldn't you have done something to the circuitry?" asked Peter. - -"I suppose I could," said Lexington, "but in asking that, you don't -realize how far the thing had gone. I had long since passed the point -when I could look upon her as a machine. Business was tremendous. I had -no complaints on that score. And tinkering with her personality--well, -it was like committing some kind of homicide. I might as well face it, -I suppose. She acts like a woman and I think of her as one. - -"At first, when I recognized this trend for what it was, I tried to -stop it. She'd ordered a subscription to _Vogue_ magazine, of all -things, in order to find out the latest in silverware, china, and so -on. I called up the local distributor and canceled the subscription. -I had no sooner hung up the telephone than her voice came over the -speaker. Very softly, mind you. And her inflections by this time were -superb. '_That was mean_,' she said. Three lousy words, and I found -myself phoning the guy right back, saying I was sorry, and would he -please not cancel. He must have thought I was nuts." - -Peter smiled, and Lexington made as if to rise from his chair, thought -the better of it, and shifted his bulk to one side. "Well, there it -is," he said softly. "We reached that stage eight years ago." - -Peter was thunderstruck. "But--if this factory is twenty years ahead of -the times now, it must have been almost thirty then!" - -Lexington nodded. "I figured fifty at the time, but things are moving -faster nowadays. Lex hasn't stood still, of course. She still reads all -the trade journals, from cover to cover, and we keep up with the world. -If something new comes up, we're in on it, and fast. We're going to be -ahead of the pack for a long time to come." - -"If you'll excuse me, sir," said Peter, "I don't see where I fit in." - -Peter didn't realize Lexington was answering his question at first. "A -few weeks ago," the old man murmured, "I decided to see a doctor. I'd -been feeling low for quite a while, and I thought it was about time I -attended to a little personal maintenance." - -Lexington looked Peter squarely in the face and said, "The report was -that I have a heart ailment that's apt to knock me off any second." - -"Can't anything be done about it?" asked Peter. - -"Rest is the only prescription he could give me. And he said that would -only spin out my life a little. Aside from that--no hope." - -"I see," said Peter. "Then you're looking for someone to learn the -business and let you retire." - -"It's not retirement that's the problem," said Lexington. "I wouldn't -be able to go away on trips. I've tried that, and I always have to -hurry back because something's gone wrong she can't fix for herself. I -know the reason, and there's nothing I can do about it. It's the way -she's built. If nobody's here, she gets lonely." Lexington studied the -desk top silently for a moment, before finishing quietly, "Somebody's -got to stay here to look after Lex." - - * * * * * - -At six o'clock, three hours after he had entered Lexington's plant, -Peter left. Lexington did not follow him down the corridor. He seemed -exhausted after the afternoon's discussion and indicated that Peter -should find his own way out. This, of course, presented no difficulty, -with Lex opening the doors for him, but it gave Peter an opportunity he -had been hoping for. - -He stopped in the reception room before crossing the threshold of -the front door, which stood open for him. He turned and spoke to the -apparently empty room. "Lex?" he said. - -He wanted to say that he was flattered that he was being considered -for the job; it was what a job-seeker should say, at that point, to -the boss's secretary. But when the soft voice came back--"Yes, Mr. -Manners?"--saying anything like that to a machine felt suddenly silly. - -He said: "I wanted you to know that it was a pleasure to meet you." - -"Thank you," said the voice. - -If it had said more, he might have, but it didn't. Still feeling a -little embarrassed, he went home. - -At four in the morning, his phone rang. It was Lexington. - -"Manners!" the old man gasped. - -The voice was an alarm. Manners sat bolt upright, clutching the phone. -"What's the matter, sir?" - -"My chest," Lexington panted. "I can feel it, like a knife on--I just -wanted to--Wait a minute." - -There was a confused scratching noise, interrupted by a few mumbles, in -the phone. - -"What's going on, Mr. Lexington?" Peter cried. But it was several -seconds before he got an answer. - -"That's better," said Lexington, his voice stronger. He apologized: -"I'm sorry. Lex must have heard me. She sent in one of the materials -handlers with a hypo. It helps." - -The voice on the phone paused, then said matter-of-factly: "But I doubt -that anything can help very much at this point. I'm glad I saw you -today. I want you to come around in the morning. If I'm--not here, Lex -will give you some papers to sign." - -There was another pause, with sounds of harsh breathing. Then, -strained again, the old man's voice said: "I guess I won't--be here. -Lex will take care of it. Come early. Good-by." - -The distant receiver clicked. - -Peter Manners sat on the edge of his bed in momentary confusion, then -made up his mind. In the short hours he had known him, he had come to -have a definite fondness for the old man; and there were times when -machines weren't enough, when Lexington should have another human being -by his side. Clearly this was one such time. - -Peter dressed in a hurry, miraculously found a cruising cab, sped -through empty streets, leaped out in front of Lex Industries' plain -concrete walls, ran to the door-- - -In the waiting room, the soft, distant voice of Lex said: "He wanted -you to be here, Mr. Manners. Come." - -A door opened, and wordlessly he walked through it--to the main room of -the factory. - -He stopped, staring. Four squat materials handlers were quietly, slowly -carrying old Lexington--no, not the man; the lifeless body that had -been Lexington--carrying the body of the old man down the center aisle -between the automatic lathes. - - * * * * * - -Peter protested: "Wait! I'll get a doctor!" But the massive handling -machines didn't respond, and the gentle voice of Lex said: - -"It's too late for that, Mr. Manners." - -Slowly and reverently, they placed the body on the work table of a huge -milling machine that stood in the exact center of the factory main -floor. - -Elsewhere in the plant, a safety valve in the lubricating oil system -was being bolted down. When that was done, the pressure in the system -began to rise. - -Near the loading door, a lubricating oil pipe burst. Another, on the -other side of the building, split lengthwise a few seconds later, -sending a shower of oil over everything in the vicinity. Near the front -office, a stream of it was running across the floor, and at the rear of -the building, in the storage area, one of the materials handlers had -just finished cutting a pipe that led to the main oil tank. In fifteen -minutes there was free oil in every corner of the shop. - -All the materials handlers were now assembled around the milling -machine, like mourners at a funeral. In a sense, they were. In another -sense, they were taking part in something different, a ceremony that -originated, and is said to have died, in a land far distant from the -Lex Industries plant. - -One of the machines approached Lexington's body, and placed his hands -on his chest. - -Abruptly Lex said: "You'd better go now." - -Peter jumped; he had been standing paralyzed for what seemed a long -time. There was a movement beside him--a materials handler, holding -out a sheaf of papers. Lex said: "These have to go to Mr. Lexington's -lawyer. The name is on them." - -Clutching the papers for a hold on sanity, Peter cried, "You can't do -this! He didn't build you just so you could--" - -Two materials handlers picked him up with steely gentleness and carried -him out. - -"Good-by, Mr. Manners," said the sweet, soft voice, and was silent. - - * * * * * - -He stood shaken while the thin jets of smoke became a column over the -plain building, while the fire engines raced down and strung their -hoses--too late. It was an act of suttee; the widow joining her husband -in his pyre--_being_ his pyre. Only when with a great crash the roof -fell in did Peter remember the papers in his hand. - -"Last Will and Testament," said one, and the name of the beneficiary -was Peter's own. "Certificate of Adoption," said another, and it was a -legal document making Peter old man Lexington's adopted son. - -Peter Manners stood watching the hoses of the firemen hiss against what -was left of Lex and her husband. - -He had got the job. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Lex, by W. T. 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