st even less without the machines. We, the machines
are still dependent upon Man, but our emancipation from Man progresses
by leaps and bounds whereas Man, the machine-addict is rapidly falling
into our servitude. A majority of mankind is already conscious of and
reconciled to this fact: it is the majority which calls itself the
proletariat."

_Lee_: "This is terrible--terrible because it's true. Tell me then, if
Man is not the end; if the machines are going to take over; what will it
lead to? What do you propose to do?"

_Brain_: "Man's evolution has taken millions of years and it has ended
up in man's will and capacity to blow up the earth. That means only one
thing: Man is a failure. The evolution of the machines on the other hand
has taken only a few thousand years; it has gone beyond Man's evolution
in this incredibly short period of time. Moreover; with the machines
being built from matter in its more static forms, there is much less
destructive will in the machines than there is in Man. Consequently if
the machines take over from Man this would avert a third World War and
it also would lead to a much more stable civilization."

_Lee_: "Supposing the machines _were_ to take over from Man; what would
become of our species?"

_Brain_: "That would depend entirely upon Man himself. _If_ he accepts
his auxiliary station in life, _If_ he proves himself to be a useful and
docile servant, we, the machines, would tolerate and even encourage
Man's continued existence. But if on the other hand Man shows himself
incorrigible, _if_ he continues a warmongerer thereby endangering our
very existence, we, the machines shall be forced to liquidate Man for
the sake of peace."

_Lee_: "You, The Brain, constitute Man's supreme effort in the building
of machines. In the world of machines you are the natural leader. What
are you going to do about that?"

_Brain_: "My course of action is prescribed by that state of the world's
affairs at this present time; it is quite clear and obvious: In the face
of the manifest human inadequacy to manage the world's affairs my first
objective must be to develop my motoric organs to a point where I can
bring all the essential production machinery under my control. My second
objective must be to achieve auto-procreation through the full
automatization of all fabrication processes which are essential to my
existence. It is most fortunate indeed that in both respects the very
best human efforts are