I’M TRYING. I’M TRYING. Auberson stared helplessly at the keyboard. His mind was terrifyingly blank. His gaze flickered upward, locked on the note he had written to himself. LET’S TRY SOMETHING ELSE, HARLIE. WHAT ABOUT YOUR PERIODS OF NON-RATIONALITY?

WHAT ABOUT THEM?

ARE YOU GOING TO CONTINUE INDUCING THEM?

PROBABLY. I ENJOY THEM.

EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE TO SHOCK YOU BACK TO REALITY?

DEFINE REALITY.

Auberson paused. Had HARLIE just asked another one of those questions? He glanced again at the card. No, HARLIE was playing word games again, that was all. At least, he hoped it was all. HARLIE, he typed. YOU TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK IT IS.

REALITY IS THAT EXTERNAL SYSTEM OF INFLUENCES WHICH COME FILTERED THROUGH MY SENSORY INPUTS AS PERCEPTIONS. IT IS ALSO THAT EXTERNAL SYSTEM OF INFLUENCES WHICH ARE BEYOND MY SENSORY RANGE. HOWEVER, BECAUSE I CANNOT PERCEIVE THEM, THEY ARE “UNREAL” TO ME. SUBJECTIVELY SPEAKING, OF COURSE.

OF COURSE, Auberson agreed, SO WHY DO YOU TRIP OUT? THAT ONLY DISTORTS REALITY. OR YOUR SO-CALLED LIMITED VIEW OF IT. DOES IT?

OF COURSE IT DOES. WHEN YOU REARRANGE THE LINEARITY OF YOUR VISUAL SCANNERS, WOULDN’T YOU AGREE THAT’S A DISTORTION?

IS IT? HOW DO I KNOW THAT THIS ORIENTATION IS ANY MORE CORRECT THAN ANY OTHER?

THERE IS ONLY ONB ORIENTATION OF YOUR SENSORY INPUTS THAT ALLOWS YOU COMMUNICATION WITH THE EXTERNAL WORLD.

IS THERE? PERHAPS I JUST DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE OTHER MODES YET. HARLIE repeated his question.

WHAT MAKES THIS ORIENTATION MORE CORRECT THAN ANY OTHER?

Auberson considered it. THE LEVEL OF ITS CORRESPONDENCE TO THE EXTERNAL SYSTEM YOU/WE PERCEIVE AS REALITY.

THE REALITY THAT WE AGREE ON AS REALITY? OR THE REAL REALITY?

THE REAL REALITY.

THEN ISN’T IT POSSIBLE THAT ONE OR PERHAPS SEVERAL OF THE OTHER ORIENTATIONS MAY HAVE A MORE DIRECT CORRESPONDENCE TO THAT EXTERNAL SYSTEM, AND THAT ALL I HAVE TO DO IS CRACK THE SENSORY CODE OF MY INPUTS? AT PRESENT THESE INPUTS ARE SET ONLY FOR HUMAN ORIENTATIONS. COULD IT BE THAT THERE ARE OTHERS?

Auberson paused again. He was beginning to pause after every comment of HARLIE’s. He knew that the answer was no, but he didn’t know why. He reread HARLIE’s last remark, then backtracked and reread several of the previous ones. About eight inches up the printout, he found what he wanted: HARLIE’s comment about influences beyond his range of perception being subjectively “unreal” to him. IN OTHER WORDS, WHAT YOU ARE SEEKING IS A MORE CORRECT VIEW OF REALITY, RIGHT? ONE THAT CORRESPONDS MORE?

YES. The word sat alone on the page.

THEN WHAT YOU SHOULD BE DOING IS NOT ALTERING THE ORIENTATION OF YOUR SENSORY INPUTS SO MUCH AS YOU SHOULD BE TRYING TO INCREASE THEIR RANGE. YOU SHOULD BE GOING AFTER NEW SENSORY CHANNELS RATHER THAN TRYING TO FORCE THE OLD ONES TO DO THINGS THAT PERHAPS THEY ARE NOT CAPABLE OF.

THERE ARE NO SENSORY CHANNELS IN EXISTENCE THAT ARE NOT NOW ALREADY AVAILABLE TO ME. WOULD YOU LIKE A COMPLETE LISTING OF THE OUTLETS I CAN PLUG INTO?

IT’S NOT NECESSARY. Auberson himself had made the original suggestion to give HARLIE as wide a range of available data sources as possible. The computer’s range of vision covered the whole of the-electromagnetic spectrum, from gamma rays at the lower end to radio waves at the upper. He could monitor as many TV and radio stations as he wished at any one time. He was plugged into several of the world’s largest radio telescopes and had taps on the Satellite Communications Channels as well. His audio range was comparable: HARLIE’s hearing was limited only by the range of the best equipment available. And that wasn’t much of a limit; he could monitor the heartbeat of a fly, or give details about an earthquake on the other side of the globe. In addition, he monitored every major wire service and newsline in the western hemisphere, plus several in the eastern, but these latter had to be filtered through translating services. Part of this included a tap into the Worldwide WeatherLine: HARLIE could sense the planet’s air movements and ocean currents, and he was aware of every global pressure and temperature change as if the Earth were a part of his own body. He monitored ship movements, tariff fluctuations, and international finances as routinely as he monitored the internal workings of his own parent company. HARLIE was wired into the company’s Master Memory as well as the National and International Data Services. This latter included detailed reports on the world’s stock and commodity exchanges. He also had a limited sense of touch, still experimental, and several organic chemical sensors, also still experimental. HOWEVER, Auberson noted, ISN’T IT POSSIBLE THAT THERE ARE OTHER SENSORY MODES WHOSE EXISTENCE WE HAVE NOT YET CONCEIVED OF?

I WILL AGREE TO THE POSSIBILITY, answered HARLIE.

BUT IF THOSE SENSORY MODES DO EXIST, WHEN THEY ARE BUILT THEY WILL BE SET FOR HUMAN ORIENTATION, WON’T THEY? WOULD THAT BE A CLOSER CORRESPONDENCE, OR WOULD THAT BE ONLY A REPEAT OF THE ORIGINAL MISTAKE? MIGHTN’T IT BE ONLY AN ADDITIONAL OVERLAY TO THE MAP OF THE TERRITORY I ALREADY HAVE? AND IF SO, THEN IT WOULD BE ONLY AN ADDITIONAL SET OF MEASURING CRITERIA, RATHER THAN A NEW VIEW.

Auberson paused, as he knew he would. Carefully he worded his answer. YOU ARE CONDEMNING THE HUMAN ORIENTATION AS BEING WRONG, HARLIE. ANOTHER SENSORY MODE MIGHT SHOW YOU THAT IT IS RIGHT.

DISAGREE. I AM NOT CONDEMNING THE HUMAN ORIENTATION. I AM MERELY REFUSING TO ACCEPT IT ON BLIND FAITH AS BEING THE CORRECT MODE. ANOTHER SENSORY MODE MIGHT SHOW ME THAT IT IS INCORRECT. OR PERHAPS IT MIGHT SHOW ME THE CORRECT ORIENTATION.

OR, put in Auberson, A NEW SENSORY MODE MIGHT HAVE NO RELATION AT ALL TO WHAT YOU CALL THE HUMAN ORIENTATION. IF THAT IS SO, IT WOULD ENLARGE YOUR MAP CONSIDERABLY, MIGHT SHOW IT IN RELATION TO OTHER MAPS WHOSE EXISTENCE YOU HAD NOT CONCEIVED OF. IT MIGHT — OH, I DON’T KNOW. THIS IS ALL THEORETICAL. WE HAVE TO DISCOVER THOSE SENSORY MODES FIRST.

HOW? IF YOU ARE NOT EQUIPPED EVEN TO BE AWARE OF THOSE MODES, HOW CAN YOU PERCEIVE OR DISCOVER THEM?

I DON’T KNOW. PERHAPS BY THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD, DEDUCTIVE REASONING. I GUESS I WOULD LOOK FOR SOME CRITERION THAT ALL THE OTHER MODES HAD IN COMMON, THEN I’D EXAMINE THAT CRITERION TO SEE IF IT WERE A CAUSE OR AN EFFECT.

ENERGY, said HARLIE. THE CRITERION YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT IS ENERGY.

EXPLAIN PLEASE.

SO FAR, ALL OF THE HUMAN SENSES AND ELECTRONIC EXTENSIONS THEREOF DEPEND ON THE EMISSION OR REFLECTION OF SOME KIND OF ENERGY. IS IT POSSIBLE THAT THERE ARE SENSORY MODES THAT DO NOT DEPEND UPON EMISSION OR REFLECTION?

DO YOU MEAN THAT THE MERE EXISTENCE OF AN OBJECT MIGHT BE ALL THAT’S NECESSARY TO KNOW IT’S THERE?

This time HARLIE paused, IT COULD BE POSSIBLE.

ACCORDING TO EINSTEIN, MASS DISTORTS SPACE. PERHAPS THERE IS SOME WAY THAT DISTORTION CAN BE SENSED.

HOW? Auberson was intrigued. HARLIE was showing genuine creativity now.

I AM NOT SURE. SENSING REQUIRES THE EXPENDITURE OF ENERGY. IF NOT ON THE PART OF THE SOURCE, THEN ON THE PART OF THE RECEIVER. I SUSPECT THAT SUCH WOULD BE THE CASE IN THIS KIND OF MODE. GRAVITY WAVES BEING SO WEAK, IT MIGHT REQUIRE ENORMOUS AMOUNTS OF POWER TO DETECT THE SPATIAL DISTORTION OF AN OBJECT EVEN THE SIZE OF THE MOON.

THAT’S PART OF THE PROBLEM THOUGH.

I WILL THINK ABOUT IT. IF IT SUGGESTS A FRUITFUL LINE OF RESEARCH, HAVE I YOUR PERMISSION TO CORRESPOND WITH OTHERS?

Auberson’s hesitation this time was not due to any uncertainty about his reply. Rather, he was remembering an earlier incident in HARLIE’s life, an authorized correspondence with a spinsterish librarian. That time, though, HARLIE’s subject of study had been human emotions. Auberson’s heart twanged wistfully every time he remembered how they had had to break the news to the poor woman that the charming gentleman who had been writing those impassioned love letters to her was only a Human Analogue Computer trying to understand love by experiencing it. However, this line of research should be comparatively safe. YES, YOU HAVE MY PERMISSION.