"I knew you would be far from indifferent," said Carroad.
* * * * *
Carroad pointed a finger downwards. Cramer, slowly, his jaws set,
twisted the flexible neck of Cervus so that the pronged head pointed
directly at Jane's distended stomach. He adjusted controls on the
board. Immediately the oscilloscope danced with many intricate figures
that were so different from the previous forms that even the untutored
eyes of the Secretary could perceive the change.
"Citizens," said Carroad, "for some time after we'd discovered the
rho waves in the adult and infant, we searched for their presence in
the brain of the unborn child. We had no success for a long time. But
that was not because the rho waves did not exist in the embryo. No,
it was because we did not have delicate enough instruments. However,
a few weeks ago, we succeeded in building one. I experimented upon
my unborn child, and I detected weak traces of the rho waves. Thus,
I demonstrated that the ability to form words is present, though in
undeveloped form, even in the eight-month embryo.
"You're probably wondering what this means. This knowledge does not
enable us to make the infant or the unborn speak any sooner. True. But
what it does allow us to do is...."
Jane, who had been getting more tense with every word, became rigid.
Would he allow this to be done to his own son, his own flesh and blood?
Would he permit his child to become a half-robot, an obedient slave to
the State, incapable in certain fields of wielding the power of free
will? The factor that most marked men from the beasts and the machine?
Numbly, she knew he would.
"... to probe well-defined areas in the undeveloped mind and there
to stamp into it certain inhibitory paths. These inhibitions,
preconditioned reflexes, as it were, will not, of course, take effect
until the child has learned a language. And developed the concepts of
citizen and State.
"But, once that is done, the correlation between the semantic waves and
the inhibitions is such that the subject is unable to harbor any doubts
about the teachings of the State. Or those who interpret the will of
the State for its citizens.
"It is not necessary to perform any direct or physical surgery upon
the unborn. The reflexes will be installed by Cervus III within a few
minutes. As you see, Cervus cannot only receive; it can also transmit.
Place a recording inside that receptacle beneath the 'speaker, actuate
it, and, in a short time, you have traced in the grooves of the
brain--if you will pardon an unscientific comparison--the voice of the
State."
There was a silence. Jane and Cramer were unsuccessful in hiding their
repulsion, but the others did not notice them. The Secretary and his
bodyguards were staring at Carroad.
* * * * *
After several minutes, the Secretary broke the silence.
"Doctor Carroad, are you sure that this treatment will not harm the
creative abilities of the child? After all, we might make a first-class
citizen, in the political sense, out of your child. Yet, we might wreck
his potentialities as a first-class scientist. If we do that to our
children, we lose out in the technological race. Not to mention the
military. We need great generals, too."
"Absolutely not!" replied Carroad, so loudly and flatly that the
Secretary was taken aback. "My computations, rechecked at least a dozen
times, show there is no danger whatsoever. The only part of the brain
affected, a very small area, has nothing to do with the creative
functions. To convince you, I am going to perform the first operation
upon my own son. Surely, I could do nothing more persuasive than that."
"Yes," said the Secretary, stroking his massive chin. "By the way, can
this be done also to the adult?"
"Unfortunately, no," said Carroad.
"Then, we will have to wait a number of years to determine if your
theory is correct. And, if we go ahead on the assumption that the
theory is correct, and treat every unborn child in the country, we
will have spent a tremendous amount of money and time. If you are not
correct...."
"I can't be wrong!" said Carroad. His face began to flush, and he
shook. Then, suddenly, his face was its normal color, and he was
smiling.
_Always in control_, thought Jane. _Of himself and, if circumstances
would allow, of everybody._
"We don't have to build any extra machines," said Carroad. "A certain
amount will be built, anyway, to detect traitors and enemies. These
can be used in hospitals, when not in use elsewhere, to condition the
unborn. Wait. I will show you how simple, inexpensive, and swift the
operation is."
He gestured to Cramer. Cramer, the muscles twitching at the corners
of his mouth, looked at Jane. His eyes tried desperately to tell her
that he had to obey Carroad's orders. But, if he did, would he be
understood, would he be forgiven?
Jane could only sit in the chair with a face as smooth and unmoving
as a robot's and allow him to decide for himself without one sign of
dissent or consent from her. What, after all, could either do unless
they wished to die?
Cramer adjusted the controls.
Even though Jane knew she would feel nothing, she trembled as if a fist
were poised to strike.
* * * * *
Bright peaks and valleys danced on the face of the oscilloscope.
Carroad, watching them, gave orders to Cramer to move the prongs in
minute spirals. When he had located the area he wished, he told Cramer
to stop.
"We have just located the exact chain of neurones which are to be
altered. You will hear nothing from the speaker because the embryo,
of course, has no language. However, to show you some slight portion
of Cervus' capabilities, Cramer will stimulate the area responsible
for the rho waves before we begin the so-called inhibiting. Watch
the 'scope. You'll see the waves go from a regular pulse into a wild
dance."
The cyclopean eye of the oscilloscope became a field of crazed lines,
leaping like a horde of barefooted and wire-thin fakirs on a bed of hot
coals.