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What was needful was procured instantly, and ordered in the best quality, regardless of the cost. What was u
It hadn't been needful for Nora to have any credit allowance from the Fe
"That way you'll qualify as Computer Technician Grade n by spring instead of wasting your time on u
What he meant, Nora knew now, was it wouldn't be needful for the Fe
Six months at University and Nora Fe
She was gregarious—but she didn't have to be garrulous the way Con was—to enjoy a group situation. She didn't need to maul people with sweaty hands: she could enjoy the sound of voices, the play of emotions on faces, the interaction of brand-new combinations.
Deep in thought, she arrived at the great Computer building. And crossed the magnificent i
Every citizen had the right to Bank-storage: every citizen could apply for additional space, for more programming time, for re-programming: that was as much their right as subsistence, shelter, and education. Free access had ended citizen fear of a computercontrolled society and had proved to the doubtful that science worked for man's good, not his extinction or domination.
Nora took the anti-grav shaft up to the storage banks where the class was being held, and despite her depressing reflections, she experienced that curious sense of elation, of purpose, that usually gripped her on the way to this course.
She knew that as a first-year student she was incredibly lucky to be in Research Scholar SitEert's special course. Master Siffert was the man in Computer Programming. Each student had to be especially recommended by his or her Mentor and then passed on by Siffert himself. (Nora had lost pounds anticipating her qualifying interview with the man.) Their integrity had to be above reproach because the course included lift-lock privileges. All the laboratory work involved the erasure of private records to clear storage for new use, but lift-lock privileges meant the student would have access to any records in the memory banks. Hence the care with which the candidates were chosen.
To clear obsolete records from the memory the students had to cross-check references in Housing and Obituary, audit the old text, and check a variety of items on income, profession, and free individual use of computer access: the last chore was to provide statistical data for a fair apportionment of storage space to citizens. Nora wasn't certain of the exact goal of the course, although she'd learned a lot from the labs about data retrieval and erasure. Research Scholar Siffert was known for his eccentric methods, but undoubtedly all would be clear in the final lecture.
The one aspect of the course she disliked was the attitude of the other students. Granted they'd all passed the same integrity clearance, but she did feel their approach to the lab work was improper. It had become the fashion to try and top each other with ridiculous anecdotes drawn from their auditing. Callous and cruel, Nora thought, to ridicule the dead for their shortcomings and human follies.
As she entered the Data Erasure room, she heard Larry Asher's inane, cawing laughter above the general chuckles.
"Haven't you heard any good ones, Fe
She shook her head.
"Fe
"On the contrary," Nora replied, raising her voice above the laughter as she remembered Con's jibes, "I've had some very interesting ones. But I don't think they're ludicrous."
"Fe
"Humor has nothing to do with your quips, Clas Heineman. It's easy to mock something you've not the sensitivity to appreciate."
"Oho, Fe
Clas Heineman dared her, his eyes sparkling. The rest of the class waited, all too eager to see Heineman score her down.
She took a deep breath and stolidly addressed Heineman:
"What you don't appreciate, Clas Heineman, is what a panorama of the human condition you've been auditing."
"Go on," Clas said in that poisonously quiet tone she'd heard him use before he changed the state of some unwary underclassman.
"I know what you'd find hilarious—the woman who recorded her husband snoring so she could prove to him that he did. After he died, she'd have that played back every night so she could get to sleep." Someone guffawed and she glared in his direction. "That isn't fu
The smirks had faded from some faces, but Clas Heineman's smile remained as fixed as the glittering eyes he focused on her.
"And for all your scholastic honors, I don't think you've realized just what all these so-fu