Part 2 (1/2)
All right; now tell the I could about a secret giant co the War by the Third Fleet-Army Force, code-named Merlin
I went over all the records available to the public; I used your letter, Professor, and the head of our Modern History department secured me access to non-public , I have locations and maps and plans of every Federation installation built here between 842 and 854, the whole period of the War” He turned to his father ”There are incredible things still undiscovered; most of the important installations were built in duplicate, soainst space attack
I knohere all of thenant ”There never was a time we could have attacked Poictes a purely defensive war Aggression was no part of our policy--”
He interrupted: ”Excuseto make is that, with all I was able to learn, I could find nothing, not one single word, about any giant strategic planning computer called Merlin, or any Merlin Project”
There! He'd gotten that out Now go on and tell them about the old man in the dome-house on Luna The room was silent, except for the small insectile hulass on the table, and it sounded like a ha, Conn?”
Kurt Faas incredulous Judge Ledue's hand shook as though palsied as he tried to relight his cigar Dolf Kellton was looking at the drink in his hand as though he had no idea what it was The others found their voices, one by one
”Of course, it was the uarded secret ”
”But after forty years ”
”Hah, don't tell me about security!” Colonel Zareff barked ”You should have seen the lengths our staff went to I remember, once, on Mephistopheles ”
”But there _was_ a co, to convince himself more than anybody else ”Its e It was capable of scanning all its data instantaneously, and co with absolute accuracy, and extrapolating to produce new facts, and predicting future events, and ”
And if you'd asked such a computer, ”Is there a God?” it would have simply answered, ”Present”
”We'd have won the War, except for Merlin,” Zareff was declaring
”Conn, fro would Merlin have to be?” old Professor Kellton asked
”Well, the astrophysics computer at the University occupied a volume of a hundred thousand cubic feet For all Merlin was supposed to do, I'd say so of the order of three million to five million
”Well, it's a cinch they didn't haul that aith them,” Lester Dawes, the banker, said
”Oh, lots of places on Poicteswyn said ”You know, a planet's aplace”
”It doesn't have to be on Poictesan Gatworth pointed out ”It could be anywhere in the Trisystem”
”You knohere I'd have put it?” Lorenzo Menardes asked ”On one of the ruel”
”But that's in the Gaht years away,” Kurt Fawzi objected ”There isn't a hypershi+p on this planet, and it would take half a lifetiet there on norlass to his lips He set it down again and rose to his feet
”Then,” he said, ”ill build a hypershi+p On Koshchei there are shi+pyards and hyperdrive engines and everything ill need We only need one noret out there, and we're in business”
”Well, I don't knoe need one,” Judge Ledue said ”That was only an idea of Lorenzo's I think Merlin's right here on Poictesme”
”We don't know it is,” Conn replied ”And we don't knoon't need a shi+p Merlin may be on Koshchei; that's where the components would be fabricated, and the Ar any farther than they had to Koshchei's only two and a half minutes away by radio; that's practically in the next room Look; here's how they could have done it”