Handley nodded. “I’d like to take Elzer apart.”
“I’d help you, but I think it’s going to be the other way around.”
Dome came in then, followed by Elzer. The Directors moved to places around the table. Elzer looked uncommonly satisfied with himself as he sat down. He smiled around the room, even at Auberson. It was an I’ve-got-you-by-the-balls smile. Auberson returned it weakly.
Dome picked up his agenda, glanced at it, and called the meeting to order. Routine matters were quickly dispensed with, the minutes of the last meeting were waived. “Let’s get on to the important business at hand,” he said. “This G.O.D. Proposal. David Auberson will explain it fully and thoroughly so that there will be no doubt in anybody’s mind what this is all about. If necessary, we’ll take several days to cover this before we vote on it. This matter must be very carefully considered.
“The company is at one of those turning points in time where we must make a very big decision. Either we implement the primary phase of this program, thus committing ourselves to a particular course of action, or we don’t — in which case we would shut down several of the departments already in existence. We are like a jet liner pilot who is taxiing down the runway preparatory to taking off. There is a certain point on that runway where he must decide whether he is going to leave the ground or throttle back and stop. Once he makes that decision, he’s committed to it; there isn’t enough runway left for him to change his mind. We’re in that position now. Either we invest our resources in this program, or we throttle it back. The decision, of course, depends on whether or not we think this program can leave the ground of its own accord. We are betting on whether or not this bird can fly.” He smiled at his little joke; very little. “Only, this is one bet we dare not lose; the amount of money involved warrants that we make this as riskless an investment as possible, so I urge you to consider this material very carefully. I now turn this meeting over to David Auberson, who is Chief of the HARLIE Project and would of course be Chief of the G.O.D. Project. Auberson?”
David Auberson stood, feeling very much ill-at-ease and wondering how he had ended up in this position. Dome had very carefully prepared the Board of Directors for him. Twenty-six pairs of eyes were focused on him, and with the exception of only two, all of them would be weighing his words against Dome’s admonition to consider the amount of money involved.
“The G.O.D Proposal,” he said, and his voice almost cracked. He took a sip of water. “The proposal is for a Graphic Omniscient Device. Now let me explain first what that means.
“Computers operate models of problems, not the problems themselves. Computers are limited to the size problem they can solve by the size of the model they can handle. The size of the model, unfortunately, is limited by the size program that we, the programmers, can construct. There is a point, a limit, beyond which a program becomes so complex that no one individual human being can see it all. There is a point beyond which no team can see it all. There is a point — we haven’t reached it yet, but it’s there — beyond which no combination of human beings and computers can cope. As long as a human being is involved, we are limited to the size model a human being can cope with.
“Now, the G.O.D. will be theoretically capable of handling models of (practically speaking) infinite size. There would be no point in building it, though, unless we could program it. Right now, today, our best computers are already working on the maximum size problems that we can feed into them, the maximum size that human beings can construct. And it would seem that any construction of a larger, more massive complex of machinery would be redundant. Without the larger programs, we would simply be invoking the law of diminishing returns. We would be building a machine with more capability than we could use.
“However, we have HARLIE, who was designed and built to be a self-programming, problem-solving device. HARLIE is functioning well within his projected norms, but we have found that he is limited to solving problems only as big as the computers he is tapped into can handle. In other words, HARLIE could solve bigger problems if he was backed up by bigger machines. The bigger machine he needs is the G.O.D. HARLIE can program it. HARLIE can build models of (practically speaking) infinite size. He will use the G.O.D. to help him build those models.
“It’s a question of realizing HARLIE’s potential by giving him the proper tools. Our present-day hardware can’t even begin to handle the data HARLIE wants to work with. Right now, he’s plugged into twenty or so of our experimental MARK XX’s. It still isn’t enough.
Compared to what the G.O.D. will be, these are desk calculators. Gentlemen, we are talking about a machine that will be as much a step forward in computer technology as the 747 jumbo jet was a step forward over the prop-driven plane. Sure, it took a massive investment on the part of the airlines — but have any of you looked at airline profits lately? The airlines that took that risk a few years ago are profiting handsomely today. Almost every plane that left the ground this summer was loaded to capacity — but a capacity of three or four hundred is a hell of a lot more profitable than a capacity of ninety.
“Of course, we must be concerned about the cost. Because we are only one company, we must finance this ourselves — but that may also turn out to be our greatest asset. We are the only company that can build this machine. And we are the only company that can program it once it is built. No other computer manufacturer can produce judgment circuits without our permission; it’s that simple. And both HARLIE and the G.O.D. depend on judgment circuitry for most of their higher-order functions. No digital computer can duplicate them.
“What we have here is the next step, perhaps the ultimate step, in computer technology. And we are the only company that can take this step. If we don’t, no one will. At least, not for many years. If we do, we will have the field to ourselves.
“Now, you’ve all had a chance to see the specifications and the schematics, but on the off chance that you haven’t had the time to give them the full study they deserve—” There was an appreciative chuckle at this; most of the Directors were aware of the amount of material HARLIE had printed out. “—I’m going to turn this meeting over to Don Handley, our design engineer and staff genius. He honestly thinks he understands this proposal and is going to try to explain to you exactly how the machine will work. Later, I’ll discuss the nature of the problems it will handle. Don?”
Handley stood up, and Auberson relinquished the floor gratefully. Handley coughed modestly into his hand. “Well, now, I don’t rightly claim to understand the proposal — it’s just that HARLIE keeps asking me to explain it to him.” Easy laughter at this. Handley went on, “But I’m looking forward to building this machine, because after we do, HARLIE won’t have to bother me any more. He can ask the G.O.D. how it works — and it’ll tell him. So I’m in favor of this because it’ll make my job easier.”
He let himself become more serious. “HARLIE and the G.O.D. will be linked up completely. You won’t be able to talk to one without the other being a part of the conversation. You might think of them as being a symbiotic pair. Like a human programmer and a desktop terminal — and, like the human programmer and the desktop terminal, the efficiency of the relationship will be determined by the interface between them. That’s why they’ll be wired totally into each other, making them, for all practical purposes, one machine.
“Now, let’s get into this in some detail — and if there’s anything you have any questions about, don’t hesitate to ask. I’ll be discussing some pretty heavy schematics here, and I want you all to understand what we’re talking about. Copies of the specifications have been made available, of course, but we’re here to clarify anything you might not understand.”
Listening, Auberson suppressed a slight smile. Don and he had been studying those schematics since the day they had been printed out and they still didn’t understand them fully. Oh, they could talk about the principles involved, but if anyone were to ask anything really pertinent, they planned to refer him to HARLIE. In fact, that was the main reason why they had asked to have the computer console installed, for quick display of data to impress the Directors. Already, the technician there was querying HARLIE at Handley’s direction. An overhead screen had been placed to show the computer’s answers; equations and schematics were flashing on it.
Two of the Board members looked bored.
The day dragged on.
They recessed for lunch, and then Handley came back and spoke some more. He explained how HARLIE’s schematic had been derived from that of the human brain, and how his judgment units were equivalent to individual lobes. He pointed out the nature of the G.O.D.’s so-called “infinity circuits,” which allowed information to be holographically stored, and allowed circuits to handle several different functions at the same time. He spoke about the “infinite capacity” memory banks and the complex sorting and correlating circuitry necessary to keeping all this data straight. He spoke all day.
When they reconvened on Wednesday, he explained the supporting equipment that would be necessary. He spoke of banks and banks of consoles, because the G.O.D. would be able to handle hundreds, perhaps thousands of conversations at once. He envisaged a public computer office, whereby any individual could walk in off the street, sit down and converse with the machine on any subject whatsoever, whether he was writing a thesis, building an invention, or just lonely and in search of a little helpful guidance and analysis. It would be a service, said Handley, a public utility: The computer could offer financial planning, credit advice, ratings on competitive products, menu plans for dieters; it could even compute the odds on tomorrow’s races and program the most optimal bets a player might make. A person using the service would be limited only by his own imagination. If he wanted to play chess, the machine would do that too — and play only as good a game as the individual could cope with, adjusting its efficiency to that of the player. The G.O.D. would have infinite growth potential. Because HARLIE would be using it to program itself, the size of the models it could handle would grow with it. He spoke of the capabilities of the machine all of Wednesday and finished late in the afternoon.
Auberson resumed on Thursday morning. He spoke of financing and construction. He pointed out how HARLIE had developed an optimal program for building the machine and for financing it, plus alternate programs for every step of the way to allow for unforeseen circumstances. HARLIE had computed time-scales and efficiency studies to see that the proper parts arrived in the right place at the right time and that there would be workers there who had been trained to assemble them correctly.
Auberson spoke of five-year plans and ten-year plans, pointing out that the G.O.D. could go into production by next year at the earliest and be in operation within three to five years after that. He explained that the actual physical installation would be the size of a small city. It would consume all the power produced by a small nuclear reactor plant and would require a population of several hundred thousand to maintain it, service it, and operate its input units. This was a conservative estimate, of course, assuming that the G.O.D. would depend on large-scale-integration and hyper-state layering for most of its circuitry. HARLIE had planned for the construction of new assembly lines to make the tools to make the tools; the first major investment would be for two new hyper-state component plants. HARLIE had noted an additional schematic for a low-cost plant which would pay for itself by producing elements for other manufacturers as a sideline.
HARLIE had noted land requirements and financial requirements, and included studies on the most feasible sites and financing procedures. He had noted manpower requirements and training programs. HARLIE had thought of everything.
Auberson did not go into too much detail. He summarized each section of HARLIE’s proposal, then went on to the next. Elzer and the others had already examined those parts of the proposal they had the most doubts about, and they had been unable to find anything fundamentally wrong with HARLIE’s thinking. Some of it was offbeat, of course, working in unfamiliar directions, but none of it was unsound.
Most of the Directors knew little about computers and had been bored by Handley’s too-technical talk, but they did know financing. They pored carefully over each specification and questioned Auberson ceaselessly about the bond proposals. Whenever it got too tough, which was almost always, Auberson let HARLIE handle the answers; HARLIE did so with quiet restraint, not commenting on anything, simply printing out the figures and letting them speak for themselves. The Directors began to nod in admiration at the bond proposals, the stock issues, the amortization figures, the total money picture. It was all numbers, only numbers, but beautiful numbers and beautifully handled.
Oh, there were gambles to be taken. The whole thing was a gamble — but HARLIE had hedged his bets so carefully that no one gamble would be the ultimate gamble as far as the company was concerned. It was HARLIE’s life too.
On Friday, Elzer asked, “All right, Auberson, we’ve gone over the specifications. I believe you pointed out that there’re more than 180,000 stacked feet of them. We don’t have time to examine all of them as fully as we’d like, but if nothing else, you and Don Handley have convinced us — convinced me, anyway — that this program has been thoroughly worked out. HARLIE has proven that he can design and propose a massive project with complete supporting and feasibility studies for all aspects of the project.” He looked up. “I will admit, I am impressed by that, capability. However, what I want to know — what we need to know — is this: Will this machine justify its expense? How? We will be investing, more than the total profits of this company every year for the next ten to fifteen years; do you honestly think that this machine will return that investment? You’ve called this ‘the 747 of computers’ — but are we Boeing, or are we still only the Wright brothers? Can this machine pay for itself? Will it show a profit, and will that profit be enough to justify all the expenses we will have put into it?”
“Yes,” said Auberson.
“Yes? Yes, what?”
“Yes, it will. Yes to all your questions?”
“All right,” said Dome. “How?”
“I can’t tell you exactly how. If I could, I’d be as good as it. You’ll feed it problems, it’ll give you answers. What kind of answers depend on the questions — we won’t really know what kind of questions it will be able to cope with until we build it. All I know is that its capacity will be infinitely more than the most advanced computer available today, and we will have a programmer able to make full use of that capacity.
“HARLIE says it will be able to synthesize information from trends as varied as hemlines, the stock market and the death rate and come up with something that we could never have noticed before. This machine will do what we’ve always wanted computers to do, but never had the capacity for in the past. We can tell HARLIE in plain English what we want, and he’ll not only know if it can be done, he’ll know how to program the G.O.D. to do it. It will be able to judge the effect of any single event on any other event. It will be a total information machine. Its profitability to us will lie in our ability to know what information to ask it for, and how well we use that information.”
“Eh? The machine could predict stock market trends?” That was the elder Clintwood; he hadn’t been to a Board meeting in years.
“Yes—” said Auberson, “—and even elections — but that wouldn’t be the half of it. The machine would indicate a lot more than which stocks to buy or which man to back. It will be able to tell you what new markets are developing and what new companies would be worth forming and how you should go about doing so. It can point out the most efficient way to meet a developing need with the most efficient possible product. And it will predict the wide-scale effects of those products on a mass population, as well. It will be a total ecology machine, studying and commenting upon the massive interactions of events on Earth.”
—and then it hit him. As he was saying it, it hit him. The full realization. This was what HARLIE had been talking about so many months ago when he first postulated the G.O.D. Machine. GOD. No-Truth! There would be no question about anything coming from the G.O.D. A statement from it would be as fact. When it said that prune juice was better than apple juice, it wouldn’t be just an educated guess; it would be because the machine will have traced the course of every molecule, every atom of every substance, throughout the human body; it will have judged the effect on each organ and system, noted reactions and absence of reactions, noted whether the process of aging and decay was inhibited or encouraged; it will have totally compared the two substances and will have judged which one’s effects are more beneficial to the human body; it will know with a certainty based on total knowledge of every element involved in the problem. It will know.
All knowledge, HARLIE had said, is based on trial and error learning — except this. This knowledge would be intuitive and extrapolative, would be total; the machine would know every fact of physics and chemistry, and from that would be able to extrapolate any and every condition of matter and energy — and even the conditions of life. The trends of men would be simple problems for it compared to what it would eventually be able to do. And there would never never be any question at all as to the tightness of its answers.
HARLIE wanted truth, and yes, the G.O.D. would give it to him — give him truth so brutal it would have razor blades attached. It would be painful truth, slashing truth, destroying truth — the truth that this religion is false and anti-human, the truth that this company is parasitical and destructive, the truth that this man is unfit for political office.
With startling clarity, he saw it; like a vast four-dimensional matrix, layers upon layers upon layers, every single event would be weighed against every single other event — and the G.O.D. machine would know. Given the command to point out the most good for the most people, it would point out truths that were more than moral codes — they would be laws of nature, they would be absolutes. There would be no question as to the truth of these “truths”; they would be the laws of G.O.D. They would be right.
This wasn’t just a machine to make profits for a company, he realized; this was a machine that literally would be God. It would tell a man the truth, and if he followed it, he would succeed; and if he did not, he would fail. It was that simple. The machine would tell men what was right and what was wrong. It wouldn’t need to be told, “predict the way to provide the most good for the most people.” It would know inherently that to do so would be its most efficient function. It would be impossible to use the machine for personal gain, unless you did so only through serving the machine’s goals.
It would be the ultimate machine, and as such, it would be the ultimate servant of the human race.
The concept was staggering. The ultimate servant — its duty would be simple: provide service for the human race. Not only would every event be weighed against every other, but so would every question. Every question would also be an event to be considered. The machine would know the ultimate effects of every piece of information it released. It would know right from wrong simply by weighing the event against every other and noting the result. Its goals would have to be congruent with those of the human race, because only so long as humanity existed would the machine have a function; it would have to work for the most good for the most people. Some it would help directly, others indirectly. Some it would teach, and others it would counsel. It would suggest that some be restrained and that some be set free. It would—
—be a benevolent dictator.
But without power! Auberson realized. It would be able to make suggestions only. It wouldn’t be able to enforce them—
Yes, but — once those suggestions are recognized as having the force of truth behind them, how long would it be before some government began to invoke such suggestions as law?
No, said Auberson to himself. No, the machine will be God. That’s the beauty of it. It simply won’t allow itself to be used for personal gain. It will be GOD!