They called her and questioned her for some time.
She told them nothing.
She had nothing to tell.
X
On Earth's binary, Glenn Tropile had been reprogrammed for a new task.
The problem was navigation. Earth had been a disappointment to the
Pyramids; it was necessary to move rapidly to a more rewarding planet.
The Pyramids had taken Earth out past Pluto's orbit with a simple
shove, slow and massive. It had been enough merely to approximate the
direction in which they would want to go. There would be plenty of time
for refinements of course later.
But now the time for refinements had come, earlier than they might
have expected. They had now time to travel, they knew where to--a star
cluster reasonably sure to be rich in Componentiferous planets. It was
inherent in the nature of Component mines that eventually they always
played out.
There were always more mines, though. If that had not been so, it would
have been necessary, perhaps, to stock-breed Components against future
needs. But it was easier to work the vein out and move on.
Now the course had to be computed. There were such variables to
be considered as: motion of the star cluster; acceleration of the
binary-planet system; _gravitational influence of every astronomical
object in the island universe, without exception_.
Precise computation on this basis was obviously not practical. That was
not an answer to the problem, since the time required would approach
eternity as one of its parameters.
It was possible to simplify the problem. Only the astronomical bodies
which were relatively nearby need be treated as individuals. Farther
away, the Pyramids began to group them in small bunches, still farther
in large bunches, on to the point where the farthest--and the most
numerous--bodies were lumped together as a vague gravitational "noise"
whose average intensity alone it was required to know and to enter as a
datum.
And still no single Component could handle even its own share of the
problem, were the "computer" they formed to be kept within the range of
permissible size.
It was for this that the Component which had once been Tropile was
taken out of storage.
This was all old stuff to the Pyramids; they knew how to handle it.
They broke the problem down to its essentials, separated even those
into many parts. There was, for example, the subsection of one certain
aspect of the logistical problem which involved locating and procuring
additional Components to handle the load.
Even that tiny specialization was too much for a single Component, but
fortunately the Pyramids had resources to bring to bear. The procedure
in such cases was to hitch several Components together.
This was done.
When the Pyramids finished their neuro-surgery, there floated in an
oversized nutrient tank a thing like a great sea-anemone. It was
composed of eight Components--all human, as it happened--arranged in a
circle, facing inward, joined temple to temple, brain to brain.
At their feet, where sixteen eyes could see it, was the display board
to feed them their Input. Sixteen hands each grasped a molded switch
to handle their binary-coded Output. There would be no storage of
the Output outside of the eight-Component complex itself; it went as
control signals to the electrostatic generators, funneled through
the single Pyramid on Mount Everest, which handled the task of
Component-procurement.
That is, of Translation.
The programming was slow and thorough. Perhaps the Pyramid which
finally activated the octuple unit and went away was pleased with
itself, not knowing that one of its Components was Glenn Tropile.
* * * * *