Part 30 (1/2)
”Yep, that's right. I'm an inventor specializing in games. I brought out _Triangulate--Or Else!_ last year. It's been pretty popular. Have you seen it?”
”I'm afraid not.”
”Sort of a cute game. It's a simulated lost-in-s.p.a.ce thing. The players are given incomplete data for their miniature computers, additional information as they win it. s.p.a.ce hazards for penalties. Lots of flas.h.i.+ng lights and stuff like that. Very big seller.”
”Do you invent anything else, Citizen Dent?”
”When I was a kid, I worked up an improved seeder harvester. Designed to be approximately three times as efficient as the present models. And would you believe it, I really thought I had a chance of selling it.”
”Did you sell it?”
”Of course not. At that time I didn't realize that the patent office was closed permanently except for the games section.”
”Were you angry about that?”
”A little angry at the time. But I soon realized that the models we have are plenty good enough. There's no need for more efficient or more ingenious inventions. Folks today are satisfied with what they've got.
Besides, new inventions would be of no service to mankind. Earth's birth and death rate are stable, and there's enough for everyone. To produce a new invention, you'd have to retool an entire factory. That would be almost impossible, since all the factories today are automatic and self-repairing. That's why there's a moratorium on invention, except in the novelty game field.”
”How do you feel about it?”
”What's there to feel? That's how things are.”
”Would you like to have things different?”
”Maybe. But being an inventor, I'm cla.s.sified as a potentially unstable character anyhow.”
(_Citizen Barn Threnten, age 41, occupation atomics engineer specializing in s.p.a.cecraft design. A nervous, intelligent-looking man with sad brown eyes._)
”You want to know what I do in my job? I'm sorry you asked that, Citizen, because I don't do a thing except walk around the factory.
Union rules require one stand-by human for every robot or robotized operation. That's what I do. I just stand by.”
”You sound dissatisfied, Citizen Threnten.”
”I am. I wanted to be an atomics engineer. I trained for it. Then when I graduated, I found out my knowledge was fifty years out of date. Even if I learned what was going on now, I'd have no place to use it.”
”Why not?”
”Because everything in atomics is automatized. I don't know if the majority of the population knows that, but it's true. From raw material to finished product, it's all completely automatic. The only human partic.i.p.ation in the program is quant.i.ty-control in terms of population indexes. And even that is minimal.”
”What happens if a part of an automatic factory breaks down?”
”It gets fixed by robot repair units.”
”And if they break down?”
”The d.a.m.ned things are self-repairing. All I can do is stand by and watch, and fill out a report. Which is a ridiculous position for a man who considers himself an engineer.”
”Why don't you turn to some other field?”