Astounding Science Fiction (British Edition) — page 11: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE GULF BETWEEN 9 where my abilities are duly appre- ciated and rewarded.” : Cullin volunteered no further in- formation and Knight decided it would gain him nothing to ask. Nor would needling Cullin cause him to reveal the reasons for his presence in Punta Azul; a roundabout and non- hostile approach would be better. “T ran across an item in the paper three years ago,” he remarked to Cullin. “According to it, you had missed a curve and plunged off into the Feather River canyon.” ‘““My car went over the cliff and into the river. The papers erroneously assumed I had been in it when it left the road. I never did correct them.” “Why didn’t you?” “Why should I?” “No particular reason to do, I suppose,’ Knight agreed. Cullin studied Knight with a cal- culating look in his eyes, then said in a tone almost friendly, “Obscurity hasn’t been your own lot, Knight. The papers are full of the things being done by the Knight-Clarke Com- puter. They claim it can outthink a thousand men.” Knight kept his face expressionless. He, Knight, wasn’t the only one who wanted information; there was some- thing about the Computer that Cullin wanted to know. “Its knowledge is greater than that of a thousand men,” Knight replied, adopting Cullin’s own attitude of pseudo - friendliness. “Of course, among a thousand men much of the knowledge they possessed would be common to all of them. The Computer is valuable in that it can combine and correlate the specific knowledge of:men in all the different fields of learning.” “IT was especially interested in one article. As the Knight of the Knight- Clarke Computer, perhaps you can give me the true facts.” “Which article was that?” Knight asked, then failed to resist the impulse to add, “From me, you get the dope straight from the horse’s mouth.” Cullin’s face flushed again and the knots of muscle stood out along his im Conniceloooks.e©