by Isaac Asimov
Prescott, who had maintained an ominous silence, now puffed furiously at his noxious cigar and said, 'Changes like this have to be considered carefully and implemented, if at all, with the greatest of caution. What seems logical on paper can lose out in the human equation.'
John said, 'Prescott, if this reorganization is not accepted within a week, and if I am not placed in charge of its implementation, I will resign. I will have no trouble in finding employment with a smaller firm where this plan can be far more easily put into practice. Beginning with a small group of management people, I can expand in both quantity and efficiency of performance without additional hiring and within a year I'll drive Quantum into bankruptcy. It would be fun to do this if I am driven to it, so consider carefully. My half-hour is up. Good-bye.' And he left.
11
Prescott looked after him with a glance of frigid calculation. He said to the other two, 'I think he means what he says and that he knows every facet of our operations better than we do. We can't let him go.'
'You mean we've got to accept his plan,' said Randall, shocked.
'I didn't say that. You two go, and remember this whole thing is confidential.'
Gluck said, 'I have the feeling that if we don't do something, all three of us will find ourselves on our butts in the street within a month.'
'Very likely,' said Prescott, 'so we'll do something.'
'What?'
'If you don't know, you won't get hurt. Leave it to me. Forget it for now and have a nice weekend.'
When they were gone, he thought a while, chewing furiously on his cigar. He then turned to his telephone and dialled an extension. 'Prescott here. I want you in my office first thing Monday morning. First thing. Hear me?'
12
Anderson looked a trifle dishevelled. He had had a bad weekend. Prescott, who had had a worse, said to him, malevolently, 'You and Kupfer tried again, didn't you?'
Anderson said, softly, 'It's better not to discuss that, Mr Prescott. You remember it was agreed that in certain aspects of research, a distance was to be established. We were to take the risks or the glory, and Quantum was to share in the latter but not in the former.'
'And your salary was doubled with a guarantee of all legal payments to be Quantum's responsibility; don't forget that. This man, John Heath, was treated by you and Kupfer, wasn't he? Come on. There's no mistaking it. There's no point in hiding it.'
'Well, yes.'
'And you were so brilliant that you turned him loose on us - this - this - tarantula.'
'We didn't anticipate this would happen. When he didn't go into instant shock, we thought it was our first chance to test the process in the field. We thought he would break down after two or three days, or it would pass.'
Prescott said, 'If I hadn't been protected so damned well, I wouldn't have put the whole thing out of my mind and I would have guessed what had happened when that bastard first pulled the computer bit and produced the details of correspondence he had no business remembering. - All right, we know where we are now. He's holding the company to ransom with a new plan of operations he can't be allowed to put through. Also, he can't be allowed to walk away from us.'
Anderson said, 'Considering Heath's capacity for recall and synthesis, is it possible that his plan of operations may be a good one?'
'I don't care if it is. That bastard is after my job and who knows what else and we've got to get rid of him.'
'How do you mean, rid of him? He could be of vital importance to the cerebro-chemical project.'
'Forget that. It's a disaster. You're creating a super-Hitler.'
Anderson said, in soft-voiced anguish, 'The effect will wear off.'
'Yes? When?'
'At this moment, I can't be sure.'
'Then I can't take chances. We've got to make our arrangements and do it tomorrow at the latest. We can't wait any longer.'
13
John was in high good-humour. The manner in which Ross avoided him when he could and spoke to him deferentially when he had to affected the entire work force. There was a strange and radical change in the pecking order, with himself at the top.
Nor could John deny to himself that he liked it. He revelled in it. The tide was moving strongly and unbelievably swiftly. It was only nine days since the injection of the disinhibitor and every step had been forward.
Well, no, there had been Susan's silly rage at him, but he would deal with her later. When he showed her the heights to which he would climb in nine additional days - in ninety--
He looked up. Ross was at his desk, waiting for his attention but reluctant to do anything as crass as to attract that attention by as much as clearing his throat. John swivelled his chair, put his feet out before him in an attitude of relaxation, and said, 'Well, Ross?'
Ross said, carefully, 'I would like to see you in my office, Heath. Something important has come up and, frankly, you're the only one who can set it straight.'
John got slowly to his feet. 'Yes? What is it?'
Ross looked about mutely at the busy room, with at least five men in reasonable earshot. Then he looked towards his office door and held out an inviting arm.
John hesitated, but for years Ross had held unquestioned authority over him, and at this moment he reacted to habit.
Ross held his door open for John politely, stepped through himself and closed the door behind him, locking it unobtrusively and remaining in front of it. Anderson stepped out from the other side of the bookcase.
John said sharply, 'What's all this about?'
'Nothing at all, Heath,' said Ross, his smile turning into a vulpine grin. 'We're just going to help you out of your state - take you back to normality. Don't move, Heath.'
Anderson had a hypodermic in his hand. 'Please, Heath, do not struggle. We wish you no harm.'
'If I yell--' said John.
'If you make any sound,' said Ross, 'I will put a hammerlock on you and hold it till your eyes bug out. I would like to do that, so please try to yell.'
John said, 'I have the goods on both of you, safe on deposit. Anything that happens to me--'
'Mr Heath,' said Anderson, 'nothing will happen to you. Something is going to unhappen to you. We will put you back to where you were. That would happen anyway, but we will hurry it up just a little.'
'So I'm going to hold you, Heath,' said Ross, 'and you won't move because if you do, you will disturb our friend with the needle and he might slip and give you more than the carefully calculated dose, and you might end up unable to remember anything at all.'
Heath was backing away, breathless. 'That's what you're planning. You think you'll be safe that way. If I forget all about you, all about the information, all about its storage. But--'
'We're not going to hurt you, Heath,' said Anderson.
John's forehead glistened with sweat. A near-paralysis gripped him.
'An amnesiac!' he said, huskily, and with a terror that only someone could feel at the possibility who himself had perfect recall.
'Then you won't remember this either, will you?' said Ross. 'Go ahead, Anderson.'
'Well,' muttered Anderson, in resignation. 'I'm destroying a perfect test-subject.' He lifted John's flaccid arm and readied the hypodermic.
There was a knock at the door. A clear voice called, 'John!'
Anderson froze almost automatically, looking up questioningly.
Ross had turned to look at the door. Now he turned back. 'Shoot that stuff into him, doc,' he said in an urgent whisper.
The voice came again, 'Johnny, I know you're in there. I've called the police. They're on the way.'
Ross whispered again, 'Go ahead. She's lying. And by the time they come, it's over. Who can prove anything?'
But Anderson was shaking his head vigorously. 'It's his fiancee. She knows he was treated. She was there.'
'You jackass.'
There was the sound of a kick against the door and then the voice sounded in a muffled, 'Let go of me. They've got - let go!'
John had collapsed in a corner, eyes glazed, and clearly in a state of unconscious trance.
Anderson said, 'He's been terrified and that can produce a shock that will interfere with recall under normal conditions. I think the disinhibitor has been wiped out. Let her in and let me talk to her.'
14
Susan looked pale as she sat with her arm protectively about the shoulders of her ex-fiance. 'What happened?'
'You remember the injection of--'
'Yes, yes. What happened?'
'He was supposed to come to our office day before yesterday, Sunday, for a thorough examination. He didn't come. We worried and the reports from his superiors had me very perturbed. He was becoming arrogant, megalo-maniacal, irascible - perhaps you noticed. - You're not wearing your engagement ring.'
'We - quarrelled,' said Susan.
'Then you understand. He was - well, if he were an inanimate device, we might say his motor was overheating as it sped faster and faster. This morning it seemed absolutely essential to treat him. We persuaded him to come here, locked the door and--'
'Injected him with something while I howled and kicked outside.'
'Not at all,' said Anderson. 'We would have used a sedative, but we were too late. He had what I can only describe as a breakdown. You may search his body for fresh punctures, which, as his fiancee, I presume you may do without embarrassment, and you will find none.'
Susan said, 'I'll see about that. What happens, now?'
'I am sure he will recover. He will be his old self again.'
'Dead average?'
'He will not have perfect recall, but until ten days ago, he never had. - Naturally, the firm will give him indefinite leave on full salary. If any medical treatment is required, all medical expenses will be paid. And when he feels like it, he can return to active duty.'
'Yes? Well, I will want all that in writing before the day is out, or I see my lawyer tomorrow.'
'But Miss Collins,' said Anderson, 'you know that Mr Heath volunteered. You were willing too.'
'I think', said Susan, 'that you know the situation was misrepresented to us and that you won't welcome an investigation. Just see to it that what you've just promised is in writing.'
'You will have to, in return, sign an agreement to hold us guiltless of any misadventure your fiance may have suffered.'
'Possibly. I prefer to see what kind of misadventure it is first. - Can you walk, Johnny?'
John nodded and said, a little huskily, 'Yes, Sue.'
'Then let's go.'
15
John had put himself outside a cup of good coffee and an omelet before Susan permitted discussion. Then he said, 'What I don't understand is how you happened to be there?'
'Shall we say woman's intuition?'
'Let's say Susan's brains.'
'All right. Let's! After I threw the ring at you, I felt self-pitying and aggrieved and after that wore off, I felt a severe sense of loss because, odd though it might seem to the average sensible person, I'm very fond of you.'
'I'm sorry, Sue,' said John, humbly.
'As well you should be. God, you were insupportable. But then I got to thinking that if you could get poor loving me that furious, what must you be doing to your co-workers. The more I thought about it, the more I thought they might have a strong impulse to kill you. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm willing to admit you deserved killing, but only at my hands. I wouldn't dream of allowing anyone else to do it. I didn't hear from you--'
'I know, Sue. I had plans and I had no time---'
'You had to do it all in two weeks. I know, you idiot. By this morning I couldn't stand it anymore. I came to see how you were and found you behind a locked door.'
John shuddered. 'I never thought I'd welcome your kicking and screaming, but I did then. You stopped them.'
'Will it upset you to talk about it?'
'I don't think so. I'm all right.'
'Then what were they doing?'
'They were going to re-inhibit me. I thought they might be giving me an overdose and make me an amnesiac.'
'Why?'
'Because they knew I had them all. I could ruin them and the company.'
'You really could.'
'Absolutely.'
'But they didn't actually inject you, did they? Or was that another of Anderson's lies?'
'They really didn't.'
'Are you all right?'
'I'm not an amnesiac.'
'Well, I hate to sound like a Victorian damsel, but I hope you have learned your lesson.'
'If you mean, do I realize you were right, I do.'
'Then just let me lecture you for one minute, so you don't forget again. You went about everything too rapidly, too openly, and with too much disregard for the possible violent counteraction of others. You had total recall and you mistook it for intelligence. If you had someone who was really intelligent to guide you--'
'I needed you, Sue.'
'Well, you've got me now, Johnny.'
'What do we do next, Sue?'
'First, we get that paper from Quantum and, since you're all right, we'll sign the release for them. Second, we get married on Saturday, just as we originally planned. Third, we'll see - but, Johnny?'
'Yes?'
'You're all right?'
'Couldn't be better, Sue. Now we're together, everything's fine.'
16
It wasn't a formal wedding. Less formal than they had originally planned and fewer guests. No one was there from Quantum, for instance - Susan had pointed out, quite firmly, that that would be a bad idea.
A neighbour of Susan's had brought a video-camera to record the proceedings, something that seemed to John to be the height of schlock, but Susan had wanted it.
And then the neighbour had said to him with a tragic shrug, 'Can't get the damn thing to turn on. You'd think they'd give me one in working order. I'll have to make a phone call.' He hastened down the steps to the pay phone in the chapel lobby.
John advanced to look at the camera curiously. An instruction booklet lay on a small table to one side. He picked it up and leafed through the pages with moderate speed, then put it back. He looked about him, but everyone was busy. No one seemed to be paying attention to him.
He slid the rear panel to one side, unobtrusively, and peered inside. He then turned away and gazed at the opposite wall thoughtfully. He was still gazing even as his right hand snaked in towards the mechanism and made a quick adjustment. After a brief interval he put the rear panel back and flicked a toggle switch.
The neighbour came bustling back, looking exasperated. 'How am I going to follow directions I can't make head or--' He frowned, then said, 'Funny. It's on. It must have been working all the time.'
17
'You may kiss the bride,' said the minister, benignly, and John took Susan in his arms and followed orders with enthusiasm.
Susan whispered through unmoving lips, 'You fixed that camera. Why?'
He whispered back, 'I wanted everything right for the wedding.'
She whispered, 'You wanted to show off.'
They broke apart, looking at each other through love-misted eyes, then fell into another embrace, while the small audience stirred and tittered.
Susan whispered, 'You do it again, and I'll skin you. As long as no one knows you still have it, no one will stop you. We'll have it all within a year, if you follow directions.'
'Yes, dear,' whispered John, humbly.
Introduction to NOTHING FOR NOTHING
Many times, people come to me with ideas. Usually, I can't use them for any of a variety of reasons. They don't appeal to me, perhaps, because they don't match my mind-set. Or they would involve the kind of development I'm not particularly good at. Or I don't see consequences of the type that interest me. But once in a long, long while, something clicks. In July 1978, I
was having lunch with Alexander Marshak, the Paleolithic archaeologist, at Tavern on the Green. He had, at that time, arranged an enormously successful display of Ice Age art at the Museum of Natural History, and he said to me, ' Why don't you try to write a story, Isaac, about--.'
I listened to him in astonishment and said, 'Alex, that's a great idea. I'll incorporate it into a story, but don't worry, I won't give you any credit.' 'That's all right,' he said But, what the heck - I might as well. 'Nothing for Nothing' was built up from his idea which in turn came out of his dealings with Ice Age art, as you will see. I submitted it to George Scithers, and it appeared in the February 1979 Asimov's.
16
Nothing for Nothing
The scene was Earth.
Not that the beings on the starship thought of it as Earth. To them it was a series of symbols stored in a computer; it was the third planet of a star located at a certain position with respect to the line connecting their home planet with the black hole that marked the Galaxy's centre, and moving at a certain velocity with reference to it.
The time was 15000 B.C., more or less.
Not that the beings on the starship thought of it as 15000 B.C. To them, it was a certain period of time marked off according to their local system of measurement.
The captain of the starship said, rather petulantly. 'This is a waste of time. The planet is largely frozen. Let us leave.'
But the ship's explorer quietly said, 'No, Captain,' and that was that.
As long as a starship was in space, or in hyperspace for that matter, the captain was supreme, but place that ship in orbit about a planet and the explorer could not be challenged. He knew worlds! That was his speciality.
And this explorer was in an impregnable position. He had what amounted to a sure instinct for profitable trade. It had been he and he alone who was responsible for the fact that this particular starship had won three Awards for Excellence for the work done in its three last expeditions. Three for three.
So when the explorer said, 'No,' the captain could not dream of 'Yes.' Even in the unlikely case that he had, the crew would have mutinied. An Award for Excellence might be, to the captain, a pleasant spectral disc to suspend in the main salon, but to the crew it meant a spectacular addition to take-home pay and an even more welcome addition to vacation time and pension benefits. And this explorer had brought them that three times. Three for three.