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"Science fiction represents the modern heresy and the cutting edge of speculative imagination as it grapples with Mysterious Time---linear or non-linear time."
- Frank Herbert
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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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Science Fiction
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'Our planes are going to start bringing in bales of discarded plastics...'
'... completely forgetting the ship at sight of the awesome figure and great head of the giant Gaut...'
'So, Ender, we will now begin your education.'
'What strange sensitivity! What an amazing development of science was manifested in every move and act and word of this Robot!'
'Forget the head atop it, the legs below, feet, arms, hands. It compels erasure.'
'That explains how it was so easy for me to remain motionless in midair or to perch on a flagpole in imitation of a giant bird, even in the windy city of Chicago.'
'The thirty-odd miles of The Factory’s circumference...'
'Wandering mines, you took them out on the edge of the desert, set them down and activated them.'
