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"Science fiction is the very literature of change. In fact, it is the only such literature we have."
- Frederik Pohl
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| Supercalculator | ||
| Connecting all the computing machines of the universe! |
Well, nobody ever accused science fiction writers of thinking small...
| He straightened and nodded to Dwar Reyn, then moved to a position beside the switch that would complete the contact when he threw it. The switch that would connect, all at once, all of the monster computing machines of all the populated planets in the universe—ninety-six billion planets—into the supercircuit that would connect them all into one supercalculator, one cybernetics machine that would combine all the knowledge of all the galaxies.Dwar Reyn spoke briefly to the watching and listening trillions. Then after a moment’s silence he said, “Now, Dwar Ev.”Dwar Ev threw the switch. There was a mighty hum, the surge of power from ninety-six billion planets. Lights flashed and quieted along the miles-long panel. |
| Technovelgy from Answer,
by Frederic Brown. Published by Dutton in 1954 Additional resources -
|
Thanks to @SFFaudio, here's a brief clip of Michael Crichton describing the Turing test, and Chuck Heston giving away the ending of this very short story.
Michael Crichton talking about ai - then Charlton Heston recounts the end of ANSWER by Fredric Brown pic.twitter.com/wTAmu0L4HX
— SFFaudio (@SFFAudio) May 17, 2026
Compare to metal calculator planet from Limiting Factor (1949) by Clifford Simak and gigagnostotron from The Cyberiad: Fables for the Cybernetic Age (1965) by Stanislaw Lem.
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More Ideas
and Technology from Answer
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Tech news articles related to works by Frederic Brown
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'It hurtled on down with inconceivable speed until it was visible as thousands of tiny robot planes...'
'Then she looked up with a smile and moved closer to the camera.'
'... folios and tapes and playable discs of platinum alloy.'
'... another corner of his mind began to think about the shields.'
'Michel Ardan, as a Frenchman, was declared chief cook, an important function, which raised no rival.'
