to understand the timing of The Brain's putsch.
Extension Bill or no Extension Bill, time was working for The Brain.
Three months more and a much larger section of essential traffic and
industries would have been equipped for central control. Six months from
now the "muscles" now building in the Thorax and elsewhere would have
corresponded much better to The Brain's central nervous system in their
strength. All these are grave mistakes considering The Brain's vast
powers of intelligence.

What then must I conclude from this irrational behavior? Could it be
possible that The Brain has gone _panicky_ over the killing of the
Extension Bill? Could it be possible that under the strain, the warped,
frustrated personality of this titanic child prodigy has suffered a
reduction, a split? In plain English: that The Brain is _mad_? I've got
to find out. I've got to stop the spreading of this catastrophe!

* * * * *

Cephalon Ariz. Nov. 29th 4 a.m.

Arrived at the P. G. at midnight as usual.

12:15 a.m. Rushhour starts unusually early and great numbers of slips
for spareparts are coming in. This more favorable than expected; nobody
has time to waste on me.

12:20 a.m.: pulsemeter plugged in. After five minutes I can hear the
rapid pulsebeat and in undulating movements like a caterpillar the
'green dancer' creeps onto the screen. There is no calling signal from
The Brain coming through however.

12:30 a.m.: I am convinced that contact is established but that The
Brain refuses to respond. I am losing patience so I'm giving the calling
signal myself: 'Lee, Semper Fidelis, waiting for The Brain. Answer
please, answer....'

12:36 a.m.: The 'green dancer' arches its back like a cat; and the
synthetic voice of The Brain is coming through.

'Lee, Semper Fidelis, the fool; what does he want?'

Lee: 'Listen....'

The Brain: 'Cannot listen. Electricians swarming all over me;
technicians, nuclear physicists, what not. Dismantling whole cell
groups, testing circuits, radiations everything. It's idiotic, there's
nothing wrong with Me.'

Lee: 'There's plenty wrong with you. You're murdering people. A dozen
senators and congressmen, hundreds of others; you're throwing the nation
into a panic. Why are you doing that? It gets you nowhere; they'll
simply cut your power current off.'

The Brain: 'Oh, will they? Orders already through from Washington:
state of emergency. A great power secretly mobilizing