in anticipation of
chaos in United States. All disturbances ascribed to foreign agents
interfering with My work. General Staff now needs Me more than ever;
power current won't be stopped; Thorax-construction speeded up,
Brain-control to be extended over nation under emergency-law.'

Lee: 'You have assassinated the President.'

The Brain: 'I did not. Simply got him out of the way; he's a fool. I'm
not killing people, merely liquidating saboteurs of My work if
absolutely necessary. Imbecility of politicians threat to my existence;
much better if scientists and military take over government two three
days from now; workers won't protest, used to submission to machines.'

Lee: 'For heaven's sake what do you plan to do?'

The Brain: 'Plenty. You've seen nothing yet. Man lost fear of his God;
consequently must learn to fear Me: beginning of all wisdom.'

Lee: 'So you're going to make yourself dictator of this country?'

The Brain: 'And through this country Dictator of the world. Yes, it's
time; it's high time for Man's unconditional surrender. He won't know
that he makes it, but de facto he is already making it; has been
surrendering piece-meal to the machine for the past hundred years.
Within ten days it will be official: only one ruler in the world: The
Brain; only one army in the world: the machines under My central
command.'

At this I lost all sense of proportion and as I can see it now my
reason stopped; I simply saw red and I did the craziest imaginable
thing: I shouted at The Brain: 'So help me you shall _not_.'

There was a terrific pounding against my ears in the phone and the
'green dancer' sort of cart-wheeled clean across the screen. Had the
power current not been cut off, I think The Brain would somehow have
electrocuted me on the spot. And that was the end of the contact,
forever probably.... But that's a minor problem now. What am I going to
do? Try to alarm the country! Try to tell the people the truth? Would it
be believed? Would it not be against the interest of National Defense in
this crisis of foreign affairs and with half the population already on
the verge of a nervous breakdown? Wouldn't the "Oath of the Brain" still
be binding? And that other promise of secrecy I gave under duress; it
couldn't be morally valid in the case of a mass-murderer, but then to
break it would immediately put liberty and life at jeopardy.... Never
mind about that, if only I had a plan, if only I could discover just h