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.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlfeverishly.)The man, however, resembled neither ruler, as Harlan recalled it.He wasalmost cadaverously lean, with skin stretched tightly over a high-bridgednose.His fingers were long and his wrists knobby.As he caressed his smallSummator, he looked like Death weighing a soul in the balance.Harlan found himself staring at the Summator hungrily.It was the heart andblood of Life-Plotting, the skin and bones, sinew, muscle and all else.Feed into it the required data of a personal history, and the equations of theReality Change; do that and it would chuckle away in obscene merriment for anylength of time from a minute to a day, and then spit out the possiblecompanion lives for the person involved (under the new Reality), each neatlyticketed with a probability value.Sociologist Voy introduced Harlan.Feruque, having stared in open annoyance atthe Technician's insigne, nodded his head and let the matter go.Harlan said, "Is the young lady's Life-Plot complete yet?""It is not.I'll let you know when it is." He was one of those who carriedcontempt for the Technician to the point of open rudeness.Voy said, "Take it easy, Life-Plotter."Feruque had eyebrows which were light almost to invisibility.It heightenedthe resemblance of his face to a skull.His eyes rolled in what should havebeen empty sockets as he said, "Killed the spaceships?"Voy nodded."Cut it down a Century."Feruque's lips twisted softly and formed a word.Harlan folded his arms and stared at the Life-Plotter, who looked away ineventual discomfiture.Harlan thought: He _knows_ it's his guilt too.Feruque said to Voy, "Listen, as long as you're here, what in Time am Igoing to do about the anti-cancer serum requests? We're not the only Centurywith anti-cancer.Why do we get all the applications?""All the other Centuries are just as crowded.You know that.""Then they've got to stop sending in applications altogether.""How do we go about making them?""Easy.Let the Allwhen Council stop receiving them.""I have no pull with the Allwhen Council.""You have pull with the old man."Harlan listened to the conversation dully, without real interest.At least itserved to keep his mind on inconsequentials and away from the chucklingSummator.The "old man," he knew, would be the Computer in charge of theSection."I've talked to the old man," said the Sociologist, "and he's talked to theCouncil.""Nuts.He's just sent through a routine tape-strip.He has to fight for this.It's a matter of basic policy.""The Allwhen Council isn't in the mood these days to consider changes in basicpolicy.You know the rumors going round.""Oh, sure.They're busy on a big deal.Whenever there's dodging to do, theword gets round that Council's busy on some big deal."(If Harlan could have found the heart for it, he would have smiled at thatpoint.)Feruque brooded a few moments, and then burst out, "What most people don'tunderstand is that anti-cancer serum isn't a matter of tree seedlings or fieldmotors.I know that every sprig of spruce has to be watched for adverseeffects on Reality, but anti-cancer always involves a human life and that's ahundred times as complicated."Consider! Think how many people a year die of cancer in each Century thatdoesn't have anti-cancer serums of one sort or another.You can imagine howmany of the patients want to die.So the Timer governments in everyCentury are forever forwarding applications to Eternity to 'please, prettyPage 34 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlplease ship them seventy-five thousand ampules of serum on behalf of the mencritically stricken who are absolutely vital to the cultures, enclosed seebiographical data.'"Voy nodded rapidly, "I know.I know."But Feruque was not to be denied his bitterness."So you read the biographicaldata and it's every man a hero.Every man an insupportable loss to his world.So you work it through.You see what would happen to Reality if each manlived, and for Time's sake, if different _combinations_ of men lived."In the last month, I've done 572 cancer requests.Seventeen, count them,seventeen Life-Plots came out to involve no undesirable Reality Changes.Mind you, there wasn't one case of a possible _desirable_ Reality Change, butthe Council says neutral cases get the serum.Humanity, you know.So exactlyseventeen people in assorted Centuries get cured this month."And what happens? Are the Centuries happy? Not on your life.One man getscured and a dozen, same country, same Time, don't.Everyone says, Why_that_ one? Maybe the guys we didn't treat are better characters, maybethey're rosy-cheeked philanthropists beloved by all, while the one man we curekicks his aged mother all around the block whenever he can spare the time frombeating his kids.They don't know about Reality Changes and we can't tellthem."We're just making trouble for ourselves, Voy, unless the AllwhenCouncil decides to screen all applications and approve only those which resultin a desirable Reality Change.That's all.Either curing them does some goodfor humanity, or else it's out.Never mind this business of saying: 'Well, itdoes no harm.'"The Sociologist had been listening with a look of mild pain on his face, andnow he said, "If it were _you_ with cancer.""That's a stupid remark, Voy.Is that what we base decisions on? In that casethere'd never be a Reality Change.Some poor sucker always gets it in theneck, doesn't he? Suppose you were that sucker, hey?"And another thing.Just remember that every time we make a RealityChange it's harder to find a good next one
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