Project Gutenberg's New Apples in the Garden, by Kris Ottman Neville

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Title: New Apples in the Garden

Author: Kris Ottman Neville

Illustrator: George Schelling

Release Date: December 26, 2009 [EBook #30767]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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Transcriber's Note:

This etext was produced from Analog Science Fact & Fiction July 1963.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S.
copyright on this publication was renewed.

NEW APPLES

IN THE GARDEN

Some problems are
perfectly predictable--yet not
in the sense that allows a
preprogrammed machine to handle them--

BY KRIS NEVILLE

Illustrated by George Schelling

* * * * *

Eddie Hibbs reported for work and was almost immediately called out on
an emergency. It was the third morning in succession for emergencies.

This time a section of distribution cable had blown in West Los
Angeles. Blown cable was routine, but each instance merited the
attention of an assistant underground supervisor.

Eddie climbed down the manhole with the foreman of the maintenance
crew. There were deep pull marks on the lead sheath above where the
cable had blown.

"Where'd they get it?" he asked.

"It came in from a job on the East Side."

"Sloppy work," Eddie said. "Water got in the splice?"

"These new guys...." the foreman said.

Eddie fingered the pull marks. "I think she's about shot anyway. How
much is like this?"

"A couple of hundred feet."

"All this bad?"

"Yep."

Eddie whistled. "About fifteen thousand dollars worth. Well. Cut her
back to here and make splices. Stand over them while they do it."

"I'll need two men for a week."

"I'll try to find them for you. Send through the paper."

"I can probably