Authentic Science Fiction Monthly No. 54 — page 120: what you’re looking at

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

DEATH of doubt. In fact the war really -started because they found they could use the human brain in that way and began raiding. To them we’re nothing but robots.’ Auto- matically he kept his voice low, as if afraid of the Head opening its eyes. Carter looked sick. “Then I was right. Long- strom! Can you even guess at what will happen, must happen when Harding returns to base after a successful sortie?” *““They’ll give him a medal.” *““They’ll do more than that. If the Head works on this ship, then why shouldn’t it work on others? The only reason we don’t use them is on purely humanitarian grounds, but once they start to be used ...” Carter looked really il. “Human nature is a peculiar thing, Longstrom. We can deny a thing right up to the moment of it happen- ing; then, to rid ourselves of shame and guilt, we can be proud that we use it. The Head is like that. Now we shudder at the thought of it. Tomorrow? The Head could be standard equipment on every spaceship, in every fac- tory, used whenever and wherever a computor is neces- sary. Why? Because nothing succeeds like success, and once 119 - WISH the first man has broken the taboo, the rest will follow.” “You're forgetting some- thing,” said Longstrom, drily. “‘Where are we going to get the raw material? We can’t capture all we’ll need from the enemy.” *“‘There’s nothing about the unit we couldn’t duplicate, have duplicated in various stages during medical and Surgical research. The only hard part is the brain itself— and we have pleniy of those. Criminals. Law breakers. Even volunteers. In a way the Head is immortal, wastage is slow, and with care, the brain should last for centuries. You’ll find men and women wiiling to lose their bodies for the sake of an extended life- expectancy. But that’s not what I’m afraid of.” “No es “Think of the results of the Head as a punishment. Think of an officer and a ranker. Obey—or else! Not a quick, clean, sudden death, but cen- turies of lingering half-life as a Head. Wouldn’t you think twice before questioning an order ?’’ “IT see what you mean.” Longstrom stared at the blank features of the thing topping the humped machine. “I won- der what it thinks about—if it comiclbooks.conrn