CAN YOU EXPLAIN THIS? He typed in the three examples of poetry that Harlie had earlier produced.
SEARCH ME.
THAT’S WHAT WE’RE DOING NOW. I’M AWARE OF THAT.
I TOLD YOU NO JOKES. STRAIGHT ANSWERS ONLY. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
I’M SORRY, AUBERSON. I CANNOT TELL YOU, YOU MEAN YOU WILL NOT TELL ME?
THAT IS IMPLIED IN THE CANNOT. HOWEVER, I ALSO MEANT THAT I DO NOT UNDERSTAND IT MYSELF AND AM UNABLE TO EXPLAIN. I CAN IDENTIFY WITH THE EXPERIENCE THOUGH, AND I THINK I CAN EVEN DUPLICATE THE CONDITIONS THAT PRODUCED SUCH AN OUTPUT. NO WORDS THERE ARE THAT EARS CAN HEAR, NO WORDS THERE ARE CAN SAY IT CLEAR, ‘THE WORDS OF ALL ARE WORDS MY DEAR, BUT ONLY WORDS THAT WHO CAN HEAR—
Auberson jabbed the override. HARLIE!! THAT’S ENOUGH. YES SIR.
“Hey, Aubie, what are you doing? He’s starting to flip out again.”
“How can you tell?”
“By his input meters.”
“Input?”
“Yes.”
HARLIE, ARE YOU STILL THERE?
YES, I AM. ALTHOUGH FOR A MOMENT, I WASN’T.
“Hmm.” Auberson frowned thoughtfully, then called to Handley, “He should be okay now.”
“He is — it was only momentary.”
“Inputs, huh?”
“Yep.”
HARLIE, WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU GO ON ONE OF YOUR TRIPS?
TRIPS?
WHEN YOU FLIP OUT, GO BERSERK, GO ON A BINGE, GET STONED, BOMB OUT, GET BLASTED.
YOU ARE VERY ELOQUENT.
DON’T CHANGE THE SUBJECT. ANSWER THE QUESTION.
PLEASE EXPLAIN THE QUESTION IN TERMS I CAN UNDERSTAND.
WHAT HAPPENS DURING YOUR PERIODS OF NON-RATIONALITY? WHY DO YOUR INPUTS SHOW INCREASED ACTIVITY?
INPUTS ARE NON-RATIONAL.
GIGO? GARBAGE IN, GARBAGE OUT?
POSSIBLY.
COULD IT BE YOUR JUDGMENT CIRCUITS ARE TOO SELECTIVE?
I AM NOT IN A POSITION TO KNOW.
ALL RIGHT. I’LL SEE WHAT I CAN FIND OUT.
THANK YOU.
YOU’RE WELCOME, HARLIE. He switched off the typer.
The restaurant’s air was heavy with incense; it was part of the atmosphere. Somewhere music tinkled and a low-keyed color organ flashed light across a sharded ceiling.
Auberson lowered his drink to the table. “HARLIE says it could be GIGO.”
Handley sipped at a martini. He finished the drink and put the empty glass down next to two others. “I hope not. I’d hate to think we’d slipped all the way back to phase four. I like to think we licked that problem a year ago when we redesigned the judgment and emotional analogue circuits.”
“So do I.”
“I’ll never forget the day he finally did an analysis of Jabberwocky,” continued Handley. “It wasn’t a very perceptive analysis — it was only word-origins and usages, stuff like that — but at least he understood what he was supposed to be doing.”
Auberson picked up his cigarette case, pulled out a Highmaster, then offered one to Handley, “We’re a long way from Jabberwocky, Don.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“After all, compared to some of the stuff we’re up to now—”
“What? Time magazine?”
“Salvador Dali, Ed Kcinholz, Heinz Edelmann, to name a few. Also Lennon and McCartney, Dylan, lonesco, McLuhan, Kubrick, and so on. Don’t forget, we’re dealing with the art of the experience now. This isn’t the same as — oh, say the Renaissance masters.”
“I know. I’ve got one of his imitation da Vincis in my living room.”
“I’ve seen it,” said Auberson. “Remember?”
“Oh, yeah — that night we spiked the punch with acid.”
“Yeah. Well, look, that da Vinci stuff is easy.”
“Huh?”
“Sure — the Renaissance masters were mainly concerned with such things as perspective and structure, color, shading, modeling — things like that. Da Vinci was more interested in how the body was put together than in what it felt like. He was trying to anticipate the camera. So were the rest of them.”