Catch That Rabbit (ss) by Isaac Asimov

Author:Isaac Asimov [Asimov, Isaac]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Sci Fi Short Story
Publisher: Astounding Science Fiction
Published: 1944-02-12T00:00:00+00:00

Neither Powell nor Donovan had ever had previous occasion to talk to a “finger.” It could talk; it wasn’t quite the perfect analogy to a human finger. In fact, it had a fairly developed brain, but that brain was tuned primarily to the reception of orders via positronic field, and its reaction to independent stimuli was rather fumbling.

Nor was Powell certain as to its name. Its serial number was DV5-2, but that wasn’t very useful.

He compromised. “Look, pal,” he said, “I’m going to ask you to do some hard thinking and then you can go back to your boss.” The “finger” nodded its head stiffly, but did not exert its limited brainpower on speech.

“Now on four occasions recently,” Powell said, “your boss deviated from brain-scheme. Do you remember those occasions “Yes, sir.”

Donovan growled angrily, “He remembers. I tell you there’s something very sinister—”

“Oh, go bash your skull. Of course the ‘finger’ remembers. There’s nothing wrong with him/9 Powell turned back to the robot, “What were you doing each time…; I mean the whole group.” The “finger” had a curious air of reciting by rote, as if he answered questions by the mechanical pressure of his brain pan, but without any enthusiasm whatever.

He said, “The first time we were at work on a difficult outcropping in Tunnel 17, Level B. The second time we were buttressing the roof against a possible cave-in. The third time we were preparing accurate blasts in order to tunnel further without breaking into a subterranean fissure. The fourth time was just after a minor cave-in.”

“What happened at these times?”

“It is difficult to describe. An order would be issued, but before we could receive and interpret it, a new order came to march in queer formation.”

Powell snapped out, “Why?”

“I don’t know.”

Donovan broke in tensely, “What was the first order…the one that was superseded by the marching directions?”

“I don’t know. I sensed that an order was sent, but there was never time to receive it.”

“Could you tell us anything about it? Was it the same order each time?”

The “finger” shook his head unhappily, “I don’t know.”

Powell leaned back, “All right, get hack to your boss.”

The “finger” left, with visible relief.

Donovan said, “Well, we accomplished a lot that time. That was real sharp dialogue all the way through. Listen, Dave and that imbecile ’finger’ are both holding out on us. There’s too much they don’t know and don’t remember. We’ve got to stop trusting them, Greg.”

Powell brushed his mustache the wrong way, “So help me, Mike, another fool word out of you, and I’ll take away your rattle and teething ring.”

“All right. You’re the genius of the team. I’m just a poor sucker. Where do we stand?”

“Right behind the eight ball. I tried to work it backwards through the ’finger’, and couldn’t. So we’ve got to work it forwards.”

“A great mind,” marveled Donovan. “How simple that makes it. Now translate that into English, master.”

“Translating it into baby talk would suit you better. I mean that we’ve got to find out what order it is that Dave gives just before everything goes black.

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