by Roger Elwood
“That is a most sensible way of looking at it.” Speidel moved in front of William Smith, said to him, “You have done well. The Colonel-General approves of you. The High Command will see that you get a thousand brothers.”
William Smith answered in flat, unemotional tones, “You enabled me to think to a certain extent. You built within me the faculty of thought because, as you warned, my tasks would require some enterprise and imagination. Therefore I have been thinking.”
“Of what?”
“Of power. I am as you have made me. You made me with a revulsion of power.”
“Quite rightly. It is a necessary part of your functioning.”
“I have destroyed the power of others at your behest,” William Smith went on. “And by doing so I have given you power.”
“Of course,” agreed Speidel, faintly amused. “Power can be destroyed only by employing power.”
“The conclusion is obvious and unavoidable,” continued William Smith. “I am constructed specifically to bring an end to personal power. By doing so in one place, I have created it afresh in another. Therefore I should now destroy you.”
“Your logic was anticipated.” Speidel was taking an academic interest in the thinking processes of his own creation. “You cannot turn your rays upon your makers, no matter how essential such a deed might seem.”
“I know. I am thwarted by certain crystals, resistors, and other components within me. I should deal with you as I have dealt with the five you named for me. But I cannot. It is prohibited.” He stood there, meditating silently, then added, “Anyway, I would not, even if I could.”
That angle took Speidel completely by surprise, for it implied that the inhibiting circuits were not necessary. “Why wouldn’t you?”
“Because it would merely shift the issue another stage. I would be possessed of power. I would stand alone, burdened with that which I was created to destroy.”
“You’re in quite a fix, aren’t you?” said Speidel, smiling.
Nodding moodily, William Smith confirmed, “My mind says I must kill you. My mind also says that I cannot. My mind also says that even if I could, it would be useless, for I would then be contaminated myself. However, this impasse is more apparent than real. There is one way to escape.” His hand came up and poised over his chest. "This is an unsolvable problem!"
Speidel leaped tigerishly forward in futile effort to grab, while Wurmser howled like a wounded wolf and Kluge flung himself flat on the floor.
Half the street flew apart, and a column of brick dust shot sky-high.
Behind that stud had lurked great power.
