ct, "you'll know what to expect."

"Good idea," said the man from CIA.

"We told you that this is the most modern, most complex and delicate
computer in the world ... nothing like it has ever been attempted
before--anywhere."

"I know that They don't have anything like it," the CIA man agreed.

"And you also know, I suppose, that it was built to simulate actual war
situations. We fight wars in this computer ... wars with missiles and
bombs and gas. Real wars, complete down to the tiniest detail. The
computer tells us what will actually happen to every missile, every city,
every man ... who dies, how many planes are lost, how many trucks will
fail to start on a cold morning, whether a battle is won or lost ..."

General LeRoy interrupted. "The computer runs these analyses for both
sides, so we can see what's happening to Them, too."

The CIA man gestured impatiently. "War games simulations aren't new.
You've been doing them for years."

"Yes, but this machine is different," Ford pointed out. "It not only
gives a much more detailed war game. It's the next logical step in the
development of machine-simulated war games." He hesitated dramatically.

"Well, what is it?"

"We've added a variation of the electro-encephalograph ..."

The CIA man stopped walking. "The electro-what?"

"Electro-encephalograph. You know, a recording device that reads the
electrical patterns of your brain. Like the electro-cardiograph."

"Oh."

"But you see, we've given the EEG a reverse twist. Instead of using a
machine that makes a recording of the brain's electrical wave output,
we've developed a device that will take the computer's readout tapes,
and turn them into electrical patterns that are put _into_ your brain!"

"I don't get it."

General LeRoy took over. "You sit at the machine's control console. A
helmet is placed over your head. You set the machine in operation. You
_see_ the results."

"Yes," Ford went on. "Instead of reading rows of figures from the
computer's printer ... you actually see the war being fought. Complete
visual and auditory hallucinations. You can watch the progress of the
battles, and as you change strategy and tactics you can see the results
before your eyes."

"The idea, originally, was to make it easier for the General Staff to
visualize strategic situations," General LeRoy said.

"But every one who's used the machine has either resigned his commission
or gone insane," Ford added.

The CIA man