Read Online I Will Fear No Evil by Robert Heinlein - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Robert Heinlein
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recipient. And identical blood type, that helps. We might luck it. Even disparity in skulls turned out to be no problem once I could see that brain.”
“Then why are you gloomy?”
“Do you know how many millions of nerve connections are involved? Think I could do them all in eleven hours? Or eleven thousand hours? We don’t try; we just work on the nerves of the head, then butt the raw ends of two spinal cords together—and sit back and spin our prayer wheels. Maybe they fuse, maybe they don’t—and no one knows why.”
“So I understood. What I don’t understand is how those millions of connections can ever take place. Yet apparently you were successful with two chimpanzees.”
“Bloody! I was successful. Sorry. The human nervous system is infinitely inventive in defending itself. Instead of reconnecting old connections it finds new paths—if it can—and learns to use them. Do you know the psych lab experiment with inverting spectacles?”
“I’m afraid not.”
“Some student has inverting lenses taped to his eyes. For a day or two he sees everything upside down, has to be led by the hand, fed, escorted to the jakes. Then rather suddenly he sees everything right side up again; the brain has switched a few hundred thousand connections and is now interpreting the new data successfully. At this point we remove the spectacles from the volunteer chump—and now his bare eyes see the world upside down. So he goes through it a second time—and again the brain finds new paths and eventually the images flip over again and he sees the world normally.
“Something somewhat analogous to that happened to my two prize chimps. Abélard and Héloïse. Nothing at first, thought I had still another failure. Then they started to twitch and we had to restrain them to keep them from hurting themselves—motor action but no control. Like a very young baby. But in time the brains learned to manage their new bodies. Don’t ask me how; I’m a surgeon and won’t guess—ask a psychologist, they love to guess. Or ask a priest; you’ll get as good an answer and maybe better. Say, isn’t your driver chap taking us around the barn? My hotel was only five minutes from the medical center.”
“I must now admit to having taken another liberty, Doctor. Your luggage was packed, your hotel bill has been paid, and all your things were moved to my guest room.”
“My word. Why?”
“Better security.”
“That hotel seemed secure to me. Armed guards on every door, more armed men operating the lifts—I could not get in or out without showing my I.D. at least thrice. Reminded me of the army. Hadn’t realized what an armed camp the States are. Isn’t it rather a nuisance?”
“Yes. But one grows used to it. Your hotel is safe enough, physically. But the press are onto us now and they can get inside. And so can the police.”
Boyle looked troubled but not panicky. “Legal complications? You assured me that all that sort of thing had been taken care of.”
“I did. It has. The donor was married, as I told you, and by great luck husband and wife had given pre-consent. We had a good many thousands of that blood type quietly signed up—and paid retainers—but we couldn’t predict that one would be accidentally killed in time; the statistical projection did not favor it. But one of them was indeed killed and there were no complications—no insuperable ones,” Salomon corrected, thinking of a bag of well-worn Federal Reserve notes, “and a court permitted it as ‘useful and necessary research.’ Nevertheless the press will stir up a storm and some other court may decide to look into it. Doctor, I can put you in Canada in an hour, anywhere on this planet in a day—even on the Moon without much delay. If you so choose.”
“Hmm. Wouldn’t mind going to the Moon, I’ve never been there. You say my clothes are in your guest room?”
“Yes. And you are most welcome.”
“Is there a tub of hot water nearby?”
“Oh,
“Then why are you gloomy?”
“Do you know how many millions of nerve connections are involved? Think I could do them all in eleven hours? Or eleven thousand hours? We don’t try; we just work on the nerves of the head, then butt the raw ends of two spinal cords together—and sit back and spin our prayer wheels. Maybe they fuse, maybe they don’t—and no one knows why.”
“So I understood. What I don’t understand is how those millions of connections can ever take place. Yet apparently you were successful with two chimpanzees.”
“Bloody! I was successful. Sorry. The human nervous system is infinitely inventive in defending itself. Instead of reconnecting old connections it finds new paths—if it can—and learns to use them. Do you know the psych lab experiment with inverting spectacles?”
“I’m afraid not.”
“Some student has inverting lenses taped to his eyes. For a day or two he sees everything upside down, has to be led by the hand, fed, escorted to the jakes. Then rather suddenly he sees everything right side up again; the brain has switched a few hundred thousand connections and is now interpreting the new data successfully. At this point we remove the spectacles from the volunteer chump—and now his bare eyes see the world upside down. So he goes through it a second time—and again the brain finds new paths and eventually the images flip over again and he sees the world normally.
“Something somewhat analogous to that happened to my two prize chimps. Abélard and Héloïse. Nothing at first, thought I had still another failure. Then they started to twitch and we had to restrain them to keep them from hurting themselves—motor action but no control. Like a very young baby. But in time the brains learned to manage their new bodies. Don’t ask me how; I’m a surgeon and won’t guess—ask a psychologist, they love to guess. Or ask a priest; you’ll get as good an answer and maybe better. Say, isn’t your driver chap taking us around the barn? My hotel was only five minutes from the medical center.”
“I must now admit to having taken another liberty, Doctor. Your luggage was packed, your hotel bill has been paid, and all your things were moved to my guest room.”
“My word. Why?”
“Better security.”
“That hotel seemed secure to me. Armed guards on every door, more armed men operating the lifts—I could not get in or out without showing my I.D. at least thrice. Reminded me of the army. Hadn’t realized what an armed camp the States are. Isn’t it rather a nuisance?”
“Yes. But one grows used to it. Your hotel is safe enough, physically. But the press are onto us now and they can get inside. And so can the police.”
Boyle looked troubled but not panicky. “Legal complications? You assured me that all that sort of thing had been taken care of.”
“I did. It has. The donor was married, as I told you, and by great luck husband and wife had given pre-consent. We had a good many thousands of that blood type quietly signed up—and paid retainers—but we couldn’t predict that one would be accidentally killed in time; the statistical projection did not favor it. But one of them was indeed killed and there were no complications—no insuperable ones,” Salomon corrected, thinking of a bag of well-worn Federal Reserve notes, “and a court permitted it as ‘useful and necessary research.’ Nevertheless the press will stir up a storm and some other court may decide to look into it. Doctor, I can put you in Canada in an hour, anywhere on this planet in a day—even on the Moon without much delay. If you so choose.”
“Hmm. Wouldn’t mind going to the Moon, I’ve never been there. You say my clothes are in your guest room?”
“Yes. And you are most welcome.”
“Is there a tub of hot water nearby?”
“Oh,
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