Heinlein, Robert A – Expanded Universe

as good as it used to be-I have trouble making up my mind, of coming to a decision.

Do you think you can do anything for us?”

But Lentz had no immediate relief for his anxiety. “Not so fast,

superintendent,” he countered. “You have given me the background, but I have no real

data as yet. I must look around for a while, smell out the situation for myself,

talk to your engineers, perhaps have a few drinks with them, and get acquainted.

That is possible, is it not? Then in a few days, maybe, we know where we stand.”

King had no alternative but to agree.

“And it is well that your young men do not know what I am here for. Suppose

I am your old friend, a visiting physicist, eh?”

“Why, yes-of course. I can see to it that that idea gets around. But say-”

King was reminded again of something that had bothered him from the time Silard had

first suggested Lentz’ name. “May I ask a personal question?”

The merry eyes were undisturbed. “Go ahead.”

“I can’t help but be surprised that one man should attain eminence in two

such widely differing fields as psychology and mathematics. And right now I’m

perfectly convinced of your ability to pass yourself off as a physicist. I don’t

understand it.”

The smile was more amused, without being in the least patronizing, nor

offensive. “Same subject,” he answered.

“Eh? How’s that-”

“Or rather, both mathematical physics and psychology are branches of the

same subject, symbology. You are a specialist; it’ would not necessarily come to

your attention.”

“I still don’t follow you.”

“No? Man lives in a world of ideas. Any phenomenon is so complex that he

cannot possibly grasp the whole of it. He abstracts certain characteristics of a

given phenomenon as an idea, then represents that idea as a symbol, be it a word or

a mathematical sign. Human reaction is almost entirely reaction to symbols, and only

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negligibly to phenomena. As a matter Of fact,” he continued, removing the cigarette

holder from his mouth and settling into his subject, “it can be demonstrated that

the human mind can think only in terms of symbols.

“When we think, we let symbols operate on other symbols in certain, set

fashions-rules of logic, or rules of mathematics. If the symbols have been

abstracted so that they are structurally similar to the phenomena they stand for,

and if the symbol operations are similar in structure and order to the operations of

phenomena in the ~real~ world, we think sanely. If our logic-mathematics, or our

word-symbols, have been poorly chosen, we think not sanely.

“In mathematical physics you are concerned with making your symbology fit

physical phenomena. In psychiatry I am concerned with precisely the same thing,

except that I am more immediately concerned with the man who does the thinking than

with the phenomena he is thinking about. But the same subject, always the dame

subject.”

“We’re not getting anyplace, Gus.” Harper put down his slide rule and

frowned.

“Seems like it, Cal,” Erickson grudgingly admitted.

“Damn it, though-there ought to be some reasonable way of tackling the

problem. What do we need? Some form of concentrated, controllable power for rocket

fuel. What have we got? Power galore through fission. There must be some way to

bottle that power, and serve it out when we need it-and the answer is some place in

one of the radioactive~ series. I know it.” He stared glumly around the laboratory

as if expecting to find the answer written somewhere on the lead-sheathed walls.

“Don’t be so down in the mouth about it. You’ve got me convinced there is an

answer; let’s figure out how to find it. In the first place the three natural

radioactive series are out, aren’t they?”

“Yes … at least we had agreed that all that ground had been fully covered

before.”

“Okay; we have to assume that previous investigators have done what their

notes show they have done-otherwise we might as well not believe anything, and start

checking on everybody from Archimedes to date. Maybe that is indicated, but

Methuselah himself couldn’t carry out such an assignment. What have we got left?”