Authentic Science Fiction Monthly No. 44 — page 8: what you’re looking at

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

THE LEVER AND THE FULCRUM “Tell me the square root of 23895,” I asked it. There was an instant of pause, just a perceptible pause, and no more, then the grating voice spoke: ““The square root of a number is that other number which, when multi- plied by itself, will give the first number as product.” **That isn’t an answer to my question,” I objected. There was the same per- ceptible pause, then: “I have no information,” the thing Stated. “The second question is beyond the range of its mental powers, my Lord,”’ the sales- man explained. “It has a fund of general information, as you see, but not the ability to perform such calculations. Of course, it will memoris: square roots, or any other sort of tabulated information, and thereafter be able to supply it ~ when required.” “As a matter of fact, I want it simply as a valet- chauffeur,” I told the man, “and this thing is just right for my purpose. I can’t afford a new model, but this has sufficient quaintness to be considered as an antique, while still capable of doing the work I require of it—Pll buy it.” “Very good, my Lord,” the salesman said, bowing. I paid for it on the spot— my credit was not so good that I could have done other- wise—and had it drive me back in the land car to my suite. I had a suite of rooms within the royal precinct, but not in the palace itself, in a structure of three hundred odd storeys occupied chiefly by high-ranking government officials. The royal palace, the administrative buildings, barracks, garages, police head- quarters and such-like offices were all contained within the same precinct, which was bounded by a cleared area of two hundred yards. Within the precinct there was also a hidden underground hangar in which lay three ships capable of transporting the entire royal family and en- tourage, not only to another part of the planet, but to another part of the system if need arose. This secret was shared by very few. I don’t suppose my brother suspected that even I knew of it. Oh, yes, my brother was the tuler of Tauron, second planet in our system. Our father, Margus—on whom be peace— had unified the planet. Uni- conmmicloooks.cohn