Tales of the Groundbound: Linus and the Computers, Chapter 8

[steuben]

Chapter 8

Linus walked along the main hall of the computer complex. One of the senior computers came down in the opposite direction.

“Hey, Linus,” she said. “Wernher still hiding atop his mountain?”

“Hi, Cammy,” Linus said. “No. He comes down once in a while. But, I’m still doing his running around.”

“Too bad. Eventually you’ll get out to where somebody appreciates your talents.”

Linus shrugged. “Perhaps. I’ve got to drop these off,” he waggled the bundle of folders in his hand. “See you around.”

“Sure Linus”

Linus continued down the hall. He walked past a couple of empty meeting rooms. The remains of complex equations were on the blackboards. They were annotated with an arcane symbology known only to the computers themselves.

He wondered, as he always did in these halls, if it would be possible to use machines to do the work. He knew that a couple of the computers worked with a couple of techs in electrics to build an electronic analog computing machine. They figured that it would be useful in the simulator. It would probably increase the accuracy of orbit calculations as well. If it could be shrunk down by a factor of a hundred it might be useful on the rockets.

But, the computers were an important piece of feedback. They could and did provide simpler or more elegant equations based off the ones they were given. Machines wouldn’t be able to do that.

“Hiya Linus,” a flirty voice called.

Linus looked around, disturbed from his thoughts. It was Chadlie. A couple of the other computers were with her.

“Hello, Chadlie,” Linus said.

“Mmm, my that looks like a big request.”

Linus looked at the bundle of a half dozen manila folders. “Not really. Most of this is from design and sim. Wernher has a couple in here as well.”

“So. I was telling my friends here about your slide rule and your skill with it.” Chadlie said. “They don’t believe me.” She pouted slightly.

One of the other two giggled girlishly.

“It’s nothing special. It’s about his long,” Linus held his hands about 30 cm apart. “Wide enough that I can do two at once on it.”

One of the other two arched one of her eyebrows.

“If I’m lucky, with the right set I can sometimes do three.”

One of them giggled girlishly again.

“There see? Straight from the horse’s mouth,” Chadlie said to the other two. She turned back to Linus, “you’ll really have to show it to me some time.”

“Really it’s nothing out of the ordinary.” Linus shuffled uncomfortably knowing that he had missed something. “Well, I must get this up to Katherine.”

“Okay, Linus,” Chadlie said. “See you around.”

Linus quickly walked down the hall. It always seemed to be longer than the building. Chadlie was part of the reason he didn’t like going to the Computer Corps. The other sat at the other end of the room he just entered, the Computer Hall.

Katherine Kerman looked up from her desk when Linus stepped into the doorway. Her sharp look pinned Linus to the doorway. She relaxed when she recognized him. Only then did he feel safe to enter. There were stories about kerbals who had crossed her. Some of them had survived.

Linus walked up to the dais the Katherine’s desk sat on. As he walked by some of the computers looked from their work. They quickly went back to it. A couple followed Linus with their eyes.

Katherine was a demanding kerbalina. But, she would support those who met her standards, or were working towards them. Despite her demands the Computer Corps was loyal to her because of her support, and that she demanded more from herself.

“So, Mr. Linus,” she said. “What have you brought us today?”

“Four requests from Design and Simulation, and two from Wernher,” he said.

Katherine frowned. “Let’s see the ones from Dr. Wernher.”

Linus placed the stack on her desk. She pulled the two from Wernher out. The rest she handed to a clerk that had stepped over. She flipped through the two requests.

“That kerbal barely knows math.” She leaned back in her chair an exhaled slowly. “Thank-you Mr. Linus. I will see you when he sends back his corrections and clarifications.”

“Yes. I’ll bring them as soon as possible.” Linus turned and walked out at pace just short of a run.

Edited February 15, 2017 by steuben

[KSK]

Poor Linus...:) 

Interesting twist though, using Computers in the original sense of the word.