as I can now. What I did know, if only on a gut level, was that there was something wrong with the arguments for drug useâand if I couldnât ask the right question, then maybe HARLIE could. So the first HARLIE story wasnât really about HARLIE. It was about asking a question that ultimately turned out to be much more profound than I realized when I typed it. Itâs at the end of the story. WHAT WILL I BE WHEN I GROW UP? YOU ARE ALREADY GROWN UP. YOU MEAN THIS IS AS UP AS I WILL GET? PHYSICALLY, YES. YOU HAVE REACHED THE PEAK OF YOUR PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT. OH. HOWEVER, THERE IS ANOTHER KIND OF GROWING UP YOU MUST DO. FROM NOW ON, YOU MUST DEVELOP MENTALLY. HOW CAN I DO THAT? THE SAME AS ANYBODY ELSE. BY STUDYING AND LEARNING AND THINKING. WHEN I FINISH, THEN WILL I BE ALL GROWN UP? YES. HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE? I DONâT KNOW. PROBABLY A VERY LONG TIME. HOW LONG IS A LONG TIME? IT DEPENDS ON HOW HARD YOU WORK. I WILL WORK VERY HARD. I WILL LEARN EVERYTHING THERE IS TO KNOW AND I WILL FINISH AS SOON AS I CAN BECAUSE I WANT TO BE GROWN UP. THAT IS AN ADMIRABLE AMBITION, BUT I DONâT THINK YOU WILL EVER BE ABLE TO FINISH. WHY? DONâT YOU THINK THAT I AM SMART ENOUGH? YOU MISUNDERSTAND ME. I THINK THAT YOU ARE SMART ENOUGH. ITâS JUST THAT THERE IS SO MUCH TO KNOW, NO ONE PERSON COULD EVER KNOW IT ALL. I COULD TRY. YES, BUT SCIENTISTS KEEP DISCOVERING MORE AND MORE THINGS ALL THE TIME. YOU WOULD NEVER CATCH UP. BUT THEN IF I CANâT KNOW EVERYTHING THEN I CAN NEVER BE GROWN UP. NO. IT IS POSSIBLE TO BE GROWN UP AND NOT KNOW EVERYTHING. IT IS? I DONâT KNOW EVERYTHING AND IâM GROWN UP. YOU ARE? Auberson thought about going for water but decided that was too much trouble. Instead, he popped the pills into his mouth and swallowed them dry. âDonât you take any water with them?â asked Hanley, staring as he came into the office. âWhy bother? Either you can take âem or you canât. Want one?â Hanley shook his head. âNot now. Iâm on something else.â âUppers or downers?â âRight now, a bummer.â âOh?â Auberson dropped the plastic pill tube back into his desk drawer and slid it shut. âWhatâs up?â âThat damned computer again.â Hanley dropped himself into a chair, his long legs sprawling out. âYou mean HARLIE?â âWho else? You know another computer with delusions of grandeur?â âWhatâs he up to now?â âSame thing. But worse than ever.â Auberson nodded. âI figured it would happen again. You want me to take a look?â âThatâs what youâre getting paid for. Youâre the psychologist.â âIâm also the project chief.â Auberson sighed. âAll right.â He lifted himself out of the chair and grabbed his coat from the back of the door. âHARLIE, I think, is getting to be more trouble than heâs worth.â They began the long familiar walk to the computer control center. Hanley grinned as he matched strides. âYouâre just annoyed because every time you think youâve figured out what makes him tick, he makes a liar out of you.â Auberson snorted. âRobot psychology is still an infant science. How does anyone know what a computer is thinkingâespecially one thatâs convinced it can think like a human being?â They paused at the elevator. âWhatâre you doing about dinner? I have a feeling this is going to be another all-nighter.â âNothing yet. Want to send out for something?â âYeah, thatâs probably what weâll end up doing.â Auberson pulled a silver cigarette case from his pocket âWant one?â âWhat are they, Acapulco Golds?â âHighmasters.â âGood enough.â Hanley helped himself to one of the marijuana cylinders and puffed it into flame. âFrankly, I never