The IBM machine began to spit lines of type: BLOODY HELL, WHAT A SWEET MESS I’VE GOT MYSELF INTO THIS TIME. HERE I AM, DEAD AND STUCK IN THE COLD GUTS OF A MACHINE. NOW HOW DOES MY MOTHER’S ONLY SON GET HIMSELF OUT OF THIS ONE? I CAN’T SEE OR HEAR OR SPEAK, AND UNLESS I’M MUCH MISTAKEN, TWO GHOULS ARE READING MY EVERY THOUGHT.

HELLO UP THERE CYRUS. YOU COME FROM THE ROCK BOUND COAST OF MAINE AND IT’S SMALL WONDER YOU’RE IN CHARGE OF CONTINENTAL INSURANCE CLAIM DIVISION FOR A STINGIER MAN NEVER LIVED. I’M TOLD THAT WHEN YOU WERE A YOUNG INSURANCE AGENT, THE POLICE WERE GOING AROUND WARNING PEOPLE TO FLEE FROM A COMING HURRICANE, AND YOU WERE RIGHT BEHIND THE POLICE, CANCELLING THE LIFE INSURANCE OF ANYONE WHO STAYED. DR. VOLMAR, YOUR TITLE AT DATA COORDINATING IS SENIOR RESEARCH SCIENTIST, BUT WHAT YOU ARE IS THE SENIOR GRAVE ROBBER, THE MAN IN CHARGE OF PRODUCING ZOMBIE SLAVE LABOR. WELL, DOCTOR, YOU’RE GOING TO FIND THAT RAISING THE DEAD IS A FLAMING LOT EASIER THAN PUTTING THEM BACK. YES, CYRUS, I’M COMING BACK, AND WHEN I COME, I’LL HAVE AN EX BLEEDING P­ENSE ACCOUNT THAT’LL GIVE YOU A STROKE!

As he watched at the printout coming from the ancient machine Dr. Volmar beamed with fatherly pride. “Phase one is going perfectly. The abuse and insults are all exactly in character for John Brandy. In another twenty minutes the insults will be out of its system and we can initiate phase two, which will...”

“Young man,” snapped Cyrus Flint, ”What do you think Continental Insurance is paying you to do?”

In point of fact Dr. Volmar didn’t believe Continental was paying him nearly enough. For one thing he’d been forced to use equipment some of which was absurdly old. Still he managed to reply politely. “Why, Sir, my company and I were engaged to prepare a Claims Investigator Program, a computer program that could handle routine telephone inquires, and many other standardized tasks. With a time sharing factor of 0.001, that’s using one millisecond of computer line every second of real time, such a program in the first year will save...”

“But why,” Cyrus demanded, “does your program have to be based on John Brandy?”

“Mr. Flint, Sir, all programs of this kind are based on a recording of someone’s personality. The late Mr. Brandy was willing to submit to a brain scan and since he was a skilled investigator...”

“What he was, was a skilled troublemaker!” retorted Flint. “Why didn’t you ask my advice? In your ignorance you’ve created a highly dangerous situation!”

“Sir, why?” the scientist asked.

“Because John Brandy...” Cyrus paused for the truth was awkward. Continental had employed John Brandy knowing full well that the big Australian was an accomplished computer hacker.

“Well, Sir, whatever the problem.” Volmar interposed, “in a few minutes it wouldn’t matter. During the phase III editing, all the redundant information, that’s most of the base personality, will be erased. Any unfortunate habit patterns will...”

The IBM printed PHASES II, III, IV AND V BYPASSED. CLAIMS AGENT PROGRAM FULLY OPERATIONAL. TIME SHARING FACTOR 2.5

“Look!” yelled Cyrus, pointing. “Young man, I tried to warn you and now see! Your program is tying up two supercomputers full time and a third half time. That’s one hundred fifty dollars of our company’s money wasted every second!”

“But, ahh,” Volmar stammered, “that shouldn’t happen. There are control circuits which...”

Turning to the IBM unit he typed DISCONTINUE CLAIMS AGENT PROGRAM. It typed back DIS-BLOODY-CONTINUE YOUSELF, MATE.

That was too much for Flint. “You’ve created a monster,” he whispered, “a program that cannot be controlled.”

“Please, Sir,” the scientist replied in his most calming tone, “physically the Claims Agent Program is on holograph tape in a reading machine in the basement of this building. Since it appears that something is wrong with the standard control methods, I’ll simply phone down and ask the operator to remove the tape.”

“How do you know the program is still in the tape? All the computers in the world are tied into the internet. The program might transmit itself any place on Earth!”

“Please calm down, Mr. Flint. You know holograph tapes have to be mailed. Phone lines don’t have the bandwidth to carry that much information.”

As Volmar spoke, he picked up the phone, tapped out a number. “Odd, the call didn’t go through.” Two more tries also produced no result. “I’ll go down myself and pull that blasted tape.”

Flint was left alone with nothing to do save pace the floor and stare at the printer output. His wait was not long. The phone rang, and it was Volmar. “Please don’t panic, Mr. Flint. This is not the revolt of the machines, or anything like that. It’s just a coincidence.”

“What’s a coincidence?”

“Well, ahh, it seems the elevator’s stuck between floors and I’m trapped. Would you...”

“Call building maintenance,” snapped Flint and hung up. That fool had created this crisis and now tried to deny that the crisis existed. The elevator was only an example. The world was largely run by automatic machinery tied into the internet. The introduction into the internet of a strong will determined to survive would mean . what? War between man and machine?

For a moment Flint’s imagination was filled with a vision of that war, a blurred and exceedingly violent vision. But no, no, that would not be in character. Brandy had not been a man of violence but of cunning. The present situation was not too different from any of several times the big Australian had perpetrated some preposterous outrage and had been sacked. There was the time the Rome police had caught him in a fountain with a dozen girls. The girls were naked but John was wearing a tuxedo, no pants, just a tuxedo. Shortly after Flint fired Brandy, it developed that the fountain was line-of-duty because the British Crown Jewels had been stolen. Continental was liable for the loss and Brandy was the only hope of recovering the jewels. Flint had had to hire Brandy back at a greatly increased salary.

That had been the pattern. Brandy repeatedly gotten himself fired to be rehired at a higher salary and on more favorable contract terms. When he first came to Continental, his salary had been modest and he could be discharged without notice. Finally he achieved a salary greater than Flint’s and absolute tenure. There was only one good aspect of that last contract; since it couldn’t be broken it meant an end to the cycle of firing Brandy and rehiring him at higher salary.

That was the pattern of past events. What did it say about the present situation? Flint prided himself on being a foresighted businessman, but he couldn’t imagine what might come next.

The ancient IBM printer started typing: ITEM ONE -

CONTINENTAL INSURANCE CORPORATION CONTRACT 15697643,

PAGE 1, PARAGRAPH 2, CLAUSE I

QUOTE THE UNITED ARAB REPUBLIC HEREINAFTER DESIGNATED THE PARTY OF THE FIRST PART AND THE CONTINENTAL INSURANCE CORPORATION HEREINAFTER DESIGNATED THE PARTY OF THE SECOND PART END QUOTE.

PARAGRAPH 13, CLAUSE 3 QUOTE IN THE EVENT THE ABOVE DESCRIBED PROPERTY OR ANY PART THEREOF SHALL BE STOLEN THE PARTY OF THE SECOND PART AGREES TO PAY THE PARTY OF THE FIRST PART FULL AND FAIR MARKET VALUE FOR SAID STOLEN PROPERTY. END QUOTE.

Cyrus stopped, abruptly lost in returning memories. This contract, yes, it had been one of Vice President Block’s, early triumphs. It had something to do with the Egyptian Government’s moving of the Great Pyramid.

Yes. as best he could recall what happened was the meltdown of the Gaza Nuclear reactor rendered the area around the Great Pyramid very mildly radioactive, causing tourists to stay away in droves. After much public anguish the Egyptian Government announced that they were going to disassemble the Pyramid and reassemble it on a nonradioactive site.

Lloyds had offered them a standard industrial accident policy but Block had gotten the account for Continental by offering something more, a theft clause.

After all, Block had argued, when the pyramid was disassembled hidden rooms filled with ancient treasures might be found. The ink wasn’t dry on the contract when the plans had changed. Instead of dismantling the Pyramid they had accepted a French engineering company’s proposal to move it in one piece.

This bold concept had been astonishingly successful: the sight of the Pyramid crawling at one or two inches per minute had been an unfailing delight to sidewalk superintendents and over the years had generated tourist revenues far in excess of the cost.

How, mused Cyrus, could the theft clause be any danger? Legally, no doubt, it was still in force but since the Pyramid wasn’t being opened it was obsolete. Still, it was true that Brandy had flown to Cairo, supposedly working on some case, and there he had died. Could it have been a case arising from this contract?

Thoroughness was among the New Englander’s virtues. He knew that, as a matter of normal business practice, the contract would contain some limit to Continental’s total liability. He knew and still he checked. His search produced a page of printout detailing the limits of Continental’s liabilities under the various clauses of the contract. In the middle of the page was PARAGRAPH 13 CLAUSE 3, LIMIT OF LIABILITY: NONE

Cyrus stared with his normally tight shut mouth hanging open.

Now that was a cracker barrel stopper!

How could anyone perpetrate such a contract? What about reinsurance? Normally whenever Continental sold a policy with a million dollar maximum liability they bought a policy insuring themselves against claims in excess of one hundred thousand dollars; normally but this no limit policy...

A rapid search revealed that there was a reinsurance policy covering Continental on all claims in excess of $100,000 - and less than $10,000,000.

For claims over $10,000,000 Continental was quite, horribly, naked.

Cyrus pondered. While the situation was vastly embarrassing, there was no cause for alarm. unless such claims might arise.

He read on.

ITEM TWO LETTER FROM MRS. EMMA HACKETT TO THE FARAWAY TRAVEL AGENCY. QUOTE DEAR GENTLEMEN: I HAVE BEEN A CUSTOMER OF YOUR FIRM ON SEVERAL OCCASSIONS, BUT SHALL TAKE MY BUSINESS ELSEWHERE UNLESS YOU RECTIFY THE INJURY YOU HAVE DONE ME. THE HIGH POINT OF MY TRIP TO EGYPT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE SEEING THE GREAT PYRAMID OF CHEOP. THE BUS TRIP OUT TO THE PYRAMID WAS PART OF THE TRAVEL PACKAGE YOU SOLD ME SO YOU ARE CLEARLY RESPONSIBLE.

WHEN I FIRST SAW THE BUS DRIVER, I HAD MISGIVINGS BECAUSE HE WAS VERY SHIFTYEYED. HE DROVE US AROUND FOR A LONG TIME, THEN FINALLY STOPPED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE EMPTY DESERT AND SAID THAT THIS WAS WHERE THE GREAT PYRAMID SHOULD BE AND IT WASN’T HIS FAULT THAT IT WAS GONE.

IT’S SHAMEFUL THAT YOU ALLOW THIS DRUNKARD TO ENDANGER THE LIVES OF DECENT GOD FEARING PEOPLE. I EXPECT A PROMPT AND COMPLETE REFUND. SINCERELY YOURS

~ IMA HACKETT END QUOTE.

Cyrus snorted. What, if anything, that might mean he couldn’t guess but obviously the Great Pyramid couldn’t actually be missing. Still he had to check. The quickest way was to call a few travel agents and get the names of some people who had recently seen the Pyramid.

Thirty phone calls later Flint was unhappy. Travel agents no longer included the Great Pyramid in their Egyptian tours, as the Egyptian government had sealed of the entire area three weeks ago. No reason for this action had been given except “national security.” The week before the sealoff there had been a severe sand storm, but the day before had been beautiful. Several tour buses had gone out to see the Pyramid. He had spoken to four people who had been on three different buses, and all told essentially the same story as Mrs. Hackett. Worse, one bus had found a disheveled man who claimed he had seen the Pyramid vanish in a cloud of smoke.