THE MAGIC LABYRINTH by Philip Jose Farmer

“We can at least try,” Alice said.

“We’ll try everything, mental or physical,” Loga said. “But, believe me, I’ve thought of everything.”

“I don’t doubt your intelligence,” she said. “But nine heads are better than one.”

“The nine-headed dragon!” Tai-Peng shouted. His face was flushed; he’d been drinking wine throughout the meal.

“I’ll use one of the electronic computers in this room to set up a system,” Loga said. “But it won’t, I believe, be able to beat its own logic. A computer can calculate much faster than a human, if it has all the proper data. But it doesn’t have an imagination. It’s not creative. Still, its data might contain something I’ve overlooked. And it can be set to make combinations in a very short time which it would take me years to write out. Also, it does have some degree of extrapolation.”

After going to his apartment, he went to the control room and seated himself in the chair in the center of the revolving platform. In a very short time, he called to the others.

“I couldn’t resist asking the big computer how many wathans are now in the shaft.”

“How many?” Nur said.

Loga looked at the screen again.

“Eighteen billion and twenty-eight. No. Add three more.”

“Over half the people in The Valley,” Frigate said. “Yes. Add two more now.”

Loga turned the display off.

“For every hour that passes, more people die, more wathans are caught. When the computer dies…”

His voice trailed off.

The Ethical had to have great courage, endurance, determination, and quick wits to do all that he’d done. But his guilt was too crushing for even him.

“Maybe,” Turpin said, “you should throw in the towel. I mean… kill the computer now! That way, you won’t lose any more, and you can continue the project.”

“No!” Loga said, showing fire for the first time since they’d known him. “No! That would be monstrous! I have to save all of them! All!”

“Yes, and maybe you’ll end up losing millions. Or maybe everybody on this planet.”

“No! I can’t!”

“Well,” Turpin said, “I can’t think of anything that’ll help. This is all too deep for me.”

He left for the nearby lounge to play on its piano.

“He’s disgusted with me,” Loga said. “But he doesn’t know the loathing I feel for myself.”

“Recriminations will do no good!” Tai-Peng said, waving a bottle in his hand. “But Tom may be right! I think I’ll go to the lounge and enjoy myself, too! My head aches with thinking!”

“That isn’t what’s making it hurt,” Alice said gently.

Tai-Peng just grinned and kissed her quickly on the cheek as he passed her.

Nur reminded the Ethical that he hadn’t removed the bombs in the cabinets in the other control room.

“I’ll just lock the door,” Loga said. “Now for the logic-versus-logic program. Even if it will be a waste of time.”

Those remaining went off to the language laboratory. The Ethical had given them instructions for the use of the equipment which would teach them to speak and read Gardenworldish or Ghuurrkh. There were also Esperanto-Ghuurrkhian grammars and dictionaries available.

Alice clutched Burton’s arm.

“It is horrible, isn’t it?” she said, her large dark eyes looking into his. “All those souls lost, and they had a chance for immortality! It’s too horrible to think about!”

“Then don’t think about it,” Burton said. “Anyway, even the lost ones will be immortal. They just won’t know it, that’s all.”

She shuddered and said, “Yes. But we could be among them. Do you think you’re Going On? I’d like to believe that I am, but you practically have to be a saint to Go On!”

“Nobody has ever accused me of being a saint unless it was my wife,” Burton said, grinning. “And she knew better.”

Alice wasn’t fooled. She knew that he was as desperate as she.

Two days passed. Loga ran out the results on the console screen while the others watched. When the display was ended, he shook his head.

“No use.”

They conferred again and again and came up with many plans, but these were all dismissed because of flaws in logic or insurmountable facts.