he roaring machines and bade the
machines be still. But only hearing the machines, the talking machines
and the printing machines obeyed, for they only understood the word of
Gud. Then he commanded the talking machines and the printing machines to
make words and news and gossip, and to proclaim to the other machines
that they should cease to roar.

And the word machines obeyed Gud and made words, but the other machines
harkened not unto the words of Gud.

Gud feared that if the machines did not cease to be made they might fill
all space, so that nothing else could ever be. Then Gud, remembering
that he was immortal, walked up to a great killing machine which gaped
its terrible maw to swallow him. But Gud feared not and walked into the
terrible maw and into the throat of the killing machine. And when Gud
came out of the bowels of the killing machine he held in his hand a
great sword that was as long as hope deferred and as broad as a liberal
mind. Carrying the sword, Gud fled again from the midst of the machines
and to the outer reaches of space.

And Gud swung the mighty sword and cut off the edges of space. He made
haste, for the machines did fast approach and he feared that they might
fill all space. So Gud ran about swinging his mighty sword, and shearing
the edges of space.

The edges of space Gud trimmed off from the center of space where the
machines were, so that the space occupied by the machines was bounded
about by clean edges of space, beyond which no more space was and not
anything at all.

And it came to pass that there was very little space for Gud to be in,
and the machines came on. Gud stood against the clean edges of space and
brandished his mighty sword and cried: "Come on, ye soulless machines,
for I am Gud and I fear ye not."

As the machines came on, Gud swung his sword with might and valor, and
the machines that fell before the sword of Gud were as many as there are
ways to displease a woman. So great was the destruction of the machines
that the calculating machines did call a halt and asked for a truce. But
Gud would give no quarter. Then the calculating machines, leaving the
others to receive the blows of Gud, hied themselves back to the center
of space where the creating machine was.

As the result of their calculations, reinforcements came to the cause of
the machines. These new recruits came on with whistlings and hummings
and greater roaring than Gud had yet heard; and his courage was