In Deep by Damon Knight

Author:Damon Knight [Knight, Damon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Short Story Collection, Science Fiction
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

ASK ME ANYTHING

It began with the crutch. Then came the iron hook, then the first mechanical limbs. And finally—

Bedlam. Thin metal legs switching by, a moving forest of scissors. Metal arms flashing in balance; torsos of metal, like bright dented beetles. Round metal skulls—that cupped the swift wink and stare of human eyes.

Krisch, watching them in his desk scanner, kept the volume turned down. The unit walls were deliberately made sound-reflecting; the children grew up in the atmosphere of their own clattering noise, and they learned to shout against it. To soldiers so reared, there would be no terror in the roar of battle. But Krisch, who was only human, wore earplugs when he walked among them.

The river of metal funneled into classrooms, stopped. tights flashed on over the scanners, on the board that covered the twenty-foot wall facing Krisch’s desk. Instruction had begun.

Krisch watched the board for a while, then switched on the illuminated panel that carried his notes and began to dictate his weekly report. He was a small, spare man, with thinning strands of iron-gray hair roached stiffly back over his freckled brown scalp. His mouth was straight, and the lines around it showed that he never smiled; but there was a glint of controlled, ironic humor in his watchful eyes.

A bell spoke and a red light gleamed. Krisch looked up sharply, identified the scanner under the warning light, and transferred its image to his own desk screen. Half a thousand pairs of eyes stared back at him from the massed metal forms in the amphitheater.

Krisch set the playback cube for one minute preceding. The robot instructors were equipped to answer all permissible questions; therefore a nonpermissible question had been asked.

The harsh voice of the robot said, “—along the inguinal canal and enters the abdomen through the internal abdominal ring. Yes? What is your question?”

There was a pause. Krisch scanned the rows of gleaming beads, could not tell which one had signaled “Question.” Then the abnormally loud but still childish voice spoke, and simultaneously the student’s number appeared in the recording circle at the lower left corner of the screen. Krisch statted it automatically. The ten-year-old voice bellowed:

“What is a kiss?”

There was a five-second pause. The robot answered, “Your question is meaningless. It has been reported to the Director and you will hold yourself in readiness for his orders.” Then it resumed its lecture.

Krisch switched the scanner back to normal operation. The robot was now discussing the prostate gland. Krisch waited until it had reached the end of a sentence and then pressed the “Attention” button on his console. He said, “Cadet ER17235 will report to the Director’s office immediately.” He cleared the board and sank into his cushioned chair, frowning.

A nonpermissible question was bad enough in itself; there bad not been one in the oldest class in the last six years of the Project’s existence. It was not only bad; it was indefensible. Logically, it should not have happened—the entire student body of the unit, according to a check made not a week ago, was correctly conditioned.

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