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Download ebooks file (Ebook) Computer Systems: Digital Design, Fundamentals of Computer Architecture and ARM Assembly Language 2nd Edition by Ata Elahi ISBN 9783030934484, 3030934489 all chapters

The document provides information about the ebook 'Computer Systems: Digital Design, Fundamentals of Computer Architecture and ARM Assembly Language 2nd Edition' by Ata Elahi, including its ISBN and download link. It outlines the book's structure, intended audience, and significant updates in the second edition, which covers digital design, computer architecture, and ARM assembly language. Additionally, it lists various other related ebooks available for download on the same platform.

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Ata Elahi

Computer Systems
Digital Design, Fundamentals of Computer
Architecture and ARM Assembly Language
2nd ed. 2022
Ata Elahi
Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, CT, USA

ISBN 978-3-030-93448-4 e-ISBN 978-3-030-93449-1


https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-93449-1

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive


license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022

This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively
licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is
concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of
illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in
any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and
retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or
dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed.

The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks,


service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the
absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the
relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general
use.

The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the
advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate
at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the
editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the
material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have
been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional
claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer


Nature Switzerland AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham,
Switzerland
This book is dedicated to Sara, Shabnam, and Aria.
Preface
This textbook is the result of my experiences teaching computer
systems at the Computer Science Department at Southern Connecticut
State University since 1986. The book is divided into three sections:
Digital Design, Introduction to Computer Architecture and Memory, and
ARM Architecture and Assembly Language. The Digital Design section
includes a laboratory manual with 15 experiments using Logisim
software to enforce important concepts. The ARM Architecture and
Assembly Language section includes several examples of assembly
language programs using Keil μVision 5 development tools.

Intended Audience
This book is written primarily for a one-semester course as an
introduction to computer hardware and assembly language for
students majoring in Computer Science, Information Systems, and
Engineering Technology.

Changes in the Second Edition


The expansion of Chap. 1 by adding history of computer and Types of
Computers. Expanded Chap. 6 “Introduction to Computer Architecture”
by adding Computer Abstraction Layers and CPU Instruction Execution
Steps. The most revision done on ARM Architecture and Assembly
Language by incorporating Keil μvision5, reordering Chaps. 9 and 10,
and adding Chap. 11 “C Bitwise and Control Structures used for
Programming with C and ARM Assembly Language.”

Organization
The material of this book is presented in such a way that no special
background is required to understand the topics.
Chapter 1–Signals and Number Systems: Analog Signal, Digital Signal,
Binary Numbers, Addition and Subtraction of binary numbers, IEEE
754 Floating Point representations, ASCII, Unicode, Serial
Transmission, and Parallel Transmission
Chapter 2–Boolean Logics and Logic Gates: Boolean Logics, Boolean
Algebra Theorems, Logic Gates, Integrated Circuit (IC), Boolean
Function, Truth Table of a function and using Boolean Theorems to
simplify Boolean Functions
Chapter 3–Minterms, Maxterms, Karnaugh Map (K-Map) and
Universal Gates: Minterms, Maxterms, Karnaugh Map (K-Map) to
simplify Boolean Functions, Don’t Care Conditions and Universal Gates
Chapter 4–Combinational Logic: Analysis of Combination Logic,
Design of Combinational Logic, Decoder, Encoder, Multiplexer, Half
Adder, Full Adder, Binary Adder, Binary Subtractor, Designing
Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU), and BCD to Seven Segment Decoder
Chapter 5–Synchronous Sequential Logic: Sequential Logic such as S-
R Latch, D-Flip Flop, J-K Flip Flop, T-Flip Flop, Register, Shift Register,
Analysis of Sequential Logic, State Diagram, State Table, Flip Flop
Excitation Table, and Designing Counter
Chapter 6–Introduction to Computer Architecture: Components of a
Microcomputer, CPU Technology, CPU Architecture, Instruction
Execution, Pipelining, PCI, PCI Express, USB, and HDMI
Chapter 7–Memory: Memory including RAM, SRAM, DISK, SSD,
Memory Hierarchy, Cache Memory, Cache Memory Mapping Methods,
Virtual Memory, Page Table, and the memory organization of a
computer
Chapter 8– Assembly Language and ARM Instructions Part I: ARM
Processor Architecture, and ARM Instruction Set such as Data
Processing, Shift, Rotate, Unconditional Instructions and Conditional
Instructions, Stack Operation, Branch, Multiply Instructions, and
several examples of converting HLL to Assembly Language.
Chapter 9–ARM Assembly Language Programming Using Keil
Development Tools: Covers how to use Keil development software for
writing assembly language using ARM Instructions, Compiling
Assembly Language, and Debugging
Chapter 10–ARM Instructions Part II and Instruction Formats: This
chapter is the continuation of Chap. 8 which covers Load and Store
Instructions, Pseudo Instructions, ARM Addressing Mode, and
Instruction formats.
Chapter 11–C Bitwise and Control Structures Used for Programming
with C and ARM Assembly Language
Instruction Resources: The instruction resources contain
15 Laboratory experiments using Logisim.
Solutions to the problems of each chapter.
Power points of each chapter
Ata Elahi
New Haven, CT, USA
Acknowledgments
I would like to express my special thanks to Professor Lancor Chairman
of Computer Science Department at Southern Connecticut State
University for her support as well as Professor Herv Podnar for his
guidance.
I wish to acknowledge and thank Ms. Mary E. James, Senior Editor in
Applied Sciences and her assistant, Ms. Zoe Kennedy, for their support.
My special thanks to Eric Barbin, Alex Cushman, Marc Gajdosik,
Nickolas Santini, Nicholas Bittar, Omar Abid, and Alireza Ghods for their
help in developing the manuscript. Finally, I would like to thank the
students of CSC 207 Computer Systems of Spring 2020.
Contents
1 Signals and Number Systems
1.​1 Introduction
1.​1.​1 CPU
1.​2 Historical Development of the Computer
1.​3 Hardware and Software Components of a Computer
1.​4 Types of Computers
1.​5 Analog Signals
1.​5.​1 Characteristics of an Analog Signal
1.​6 Digital Signals
1.​7 Number System
1.​7.​1 Converting from Binary to Decimal
1.​7.​2 Converting from Decimal Integer to Binary
1.​7.​3 Converting Decimal Fraction to Binary
1.​7.​4 Converting from Hex to Binary
1.​7.​5 Binary Addition
1.​8 Complement and Two’s Complement
1.​8.​1 Subtraction of Unsigned Number Using Two’s
Complement
1.​9 Unsigned, Signed Magnitude, and Signed Two’s Complement
Binary Number
1.​9.​1 Unsigned Number
1.​9.​2 Signed Magnitude Number
1.​9.​3 Signed Two’s Complement
1.​10 Binary Addition Using Signed Two’s Complement
1.​11 Floating Point Representation
1.​11.​1 Single and Double Precision Representations of
Floating Point
1.​12 Binary-Coded Decimal (BCD)
1.​13 Coding Schemes
1.​13.​1 ASCII Code
1.​13.​2 Universal Code or Unicode
1.​14 Parity Bit
1.​14.​1 Even Parity
1.​14.​2 Odd Parity
1.​15 Clock
1.​16 Transmission Modes
1.​16.​1 Asynchronous Transmission
1.​16.​2 Synchronous Transmission
1.​17 Transmission Methods
1.​17.​1 Serial Transmission
1.​17.​2 Parallel Transmission
1.​18 Summary
2 Boolean Logics and Logic Gates
2.​1 Introduction
2.​2 Boolean Logics and Logic Gates
2.​2.​1 AND Logic
2.​2.​2 OR Logic
2.​2.​3 NOT Logic
2.​2.​4 NAND Gate
2.​2.​5 NOR Gate
2.​2.​6 Exclusive OR Gate
2.​2.​7 Exclusive NOR Gate
2.​2.​8 Tri-State Device
2.​2.​9 Multiple Inputs Logic Gates
2.​3 Integrated Circuit (IC) Classifications
2.​3.​1 Small-Scale Integration (SSI)
2.​3.​2 Integrated Circuit Pins Numbering
2.​3.​3 Medium-Scale Integration (MSI)
2.​3.​4 Large-Scale Integration (LSI)
2.​3.​5 Very-Large-Scale Integration (VLSI)
2.​4 Boolean Algebra Theorems
2.​4.​1 Distributive Theorem
2.​4.​2 De Morgan’s Theorem I
2.​4.​3 De Morgan’s Theorem II
2.​4.​4 Commutative Law
2.​4.​5 Associative Law
2.​4.​6 More Theorems
2.​5 Boolean Function
2.​5.​1 Complement of a Function
2.​6 Summary
Problems
3 Minterms, Maxterms, Karnaugh Map (K-Map), and Universal
Gates
3.​1 Introduction
3.​2 Minterms
3.​2.​1 Application of Minterms
3.​2.​2 Three-Variable Minterms
3.​3 Maxterms
3.​4 Karnaugh Map (K-Map)
3.​4.​1 Three-Variable Map
3.​4.​2 Four-Variable K-Map
3.​5 Sum of Products (SOP) and Product of Sums (POS)
3.6 Don’t Care Conditions
3.​7 Universal Gates
3.​7.​1 Using NAND Gates
3.​7.​2 Using NOR Gates
3.​7.​3 Implementation of Logic Functions Using NAND Gates
or NOR Gates Only
3.​7.​4 Using NAND Gates
3.​7.​5 Using NOR Gates
3.​8 Summary
Problems
4 Combinational Logic
4.​1 Introduction
4.​2 Analysis of Combinational Logic
4.​3 Design of Combinational Logic
4.​3.​1 Solution
4.​4 Decoder
4.​4.​1 Implementing a Function Using a Decoder
4.​5 Encoder
4.​6 Multiplexer (MUX)
4.​6.​1 Designing Large Multiplexer Using Smaller
Multiplexers
4.​6.​2 Implementing Functions Using Multiplexer
4.​7 Half Adder, Full Adder, Binary Adder, and Subtractor
4.​7.​1 Full Adder (FA)
4.​7.​2 4-Bit Binary Adder
4.​7.​3 Subtractor
4.​8 ALU (Arithmetic Logic Unit)
4.​9 Seven-Segment Display
4.​10 Summary
Problems
5 Synchronous Sequential Logic
5.​1 Introduction
5.​2 S-R Latch
5.​2.​1 S-R Latch Operation
5.​3 D Flip-Flop
5.​4 J-K Flip-Flop
5.​5 T Flip-Flop
5.​6 Register
5.​6.​1 Shift Register
5.​6.​2 Barrel Shifter
5.​7 Frequency Divider Using J-K Flip-Flop
5.​8 Analysis of Sequential Logic
5.​9 State Diagram
5.​9.​1 D Flip-Flop State Diagram
5.​10 Flip-Flop Excitation Table
5.​10.​1 D Flip-Flop Excitation Table.​
5.​10.​2 Excitation Table Operation
5.​10.​3 J-K Flip-Flop Excitation Table
5.​10.​4 T Flip-Flop Excitation Table
5.​11 Counter
5.​12 Summary
Problems
6 Introduction to Computer Architecture
6.​1 Introduction
6.​1.​1 Abstract Representation of Computer Architecture
6.​2 Components of a Microcomputer
6.​2.​1 Central Processing Unit (CPU)
6.​2.​2 CPU Buses
6.​2.​3 Memory
6.​2.​4 Serial Input/​Output
6.​2.​5 Direct Memory Access (DMA)
6.​2.​6 Programmable I/​O Interrupt
6.​2.​7 32-Bit Versus 64-Bit CPU
6.​3 CPU Technology
6.3.1 CISC (Complex Instruction Set Computer)
6.​3.​2 RISC
6.​4 CPU Architecture
6.​4.​1 Von Neumann Architecture
6.​4.​2 Harvard Architecture
6.​5 Intel Microprocessor Family
6.​5.​1 Upward Compatibility
6.​6 Multicore Processors
6.​7 CPU Instruction Execution Steps
6.​7.​1 Pipelining
6.​8 Disk Controller
6.​9 Microcomputer Bus
6.​9.​1 ISA Bus
6.​9.​2 Microchannel Architecture Bus
6.​9.​3 EISA Bus
6.​9.​4 VESA Bus
6.​9.​5 PCI Bus
6.​9.​6 Universal Serial BUS (USB)
6.​9.​7 USB Architecture
6.​9.​8 PCI Express Bus
6.​10 FireWire
6.10.1 HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface)
6.​11 Summary
Review Questions
7 Memory
7.​1 Introduction
7.​2 Memory
7.​2.​1 RAM
7.​2.​2 DRAM Packaging
7.​2.​3 ROM (Read-Only Memory)
7.​2.​4 Memory Access Time
7.​3 Hard Disk
7.​3.​1 Disk Characteristics
7.​3.​2 Cluster
7.​3.​3 Disk File System
7.​4 Solid-State Drive (SSD)
7.​5 Memory Hierarchy
7.​5.​1 Cache Memory
7.​5.​2 Cache Terminology
7.​5.​3 Cache Memory Mapping Methods
7.​5.​4 Direct Mapping
7.​5.​5 Set Associative Mapping
7.​5.​6 Replacement Method
7.​5.​7 Fully Associative Mapping
7.​5.​8 Cache Update Methods
7.​5.​9 Effective Access Time (EAT) of Memory
7.​5.​10 Virtual Memory
7.​5.​11 Memory Organization of a Computer
Questions and Problems
Problems
8 Assembly Language and ARM Instructions Part I
8.​1 Introduction
8.​2 Instruction Set Architecture (ISA)
8.​2.​1 Classification of Instruction Based on Number of
Operands
8.​3 ARM Processor Architecture
8.​3.​1 Instruction Decoder and Logic Control
8.​3.​2 Address Register
8.​3.​3 Address Increment
8.​3.​4 Register Bank
8.​3.​5 Barrel Shifter
8.​3.​6 ALU
8.​3.​7 Write Data Register
8.​3.​8 Read Data Register
8.​3.​9 ARM Operation Mode
8.​4 ARM Registers
8.​4.​1 Current Program Status Register (CPSR)
8.​4.​2 Flag Bits
8.​4.​3 Control Bits
8.​5 ARM Instructions
8.​5.​1 Data Processing Instructions
8.​5.​2 Compare and Test Instructions
8.​5.​3 Register Swap Instructions (MOV and MVN)
8.​5.​4 Shift and Rotate Instructions
8.​5.​5 ARM Unconditional Instructions and Conditional
Instructions
8.​6 Stack Operation and Instructions
8.​7 Branch (B) and Branch with Link Instruction (BL)
8.​8 Multiply (MUL) and Multiply-Accumulate (MLA)
Instructions
8.​9 Summary
Problems and Questions
9 ARM Assembly Language Programming Using Keil Development
Tools
9.​1 Introduction
9.​2 Keil Development Tools for ARM Assembly
9.​2.​1 Assembling a Program
9.​2.​2 Running the Debugger/​Simulator
9.​3 Program Template
9.​4 Programming Rules
9.​4.​1 CASE Rules
9.​4.​2 Comments
9.​5 Data Representation and Memory
9.​6 Directives
9.​6.​1 Data Directive
9.​7 Memory in μVision v5
9.​8 Summary
Questions and Problems
10 ARM Instructions Part II and Instruction Formats
10.​1 Introduction
10.​2 ARM Data Transfer Instructions
10.​2.​1 ARM Pseudo Instructions
10.​2.​2 Store Instructions (STR)
10.​3 ARM Addressing Mode
10.​3.​1 Immediate Addressing
10.​3.​2 Pre-indexed
10.​3.​3 Pre-indexed with Write Back
10.​3.​4 Post-index Addressing
10.​4 Swap Memory and Register (SWAP)
10.​5 Storing Data Using Keil μVision 5
10.​6 Bits Field Instructions
10.​7 ARM Instruction Formats
10.​7.​1 ARM Data Processing Instruction Format
10.​7.​2 B and BL Instruction Format
10.​7.​3 Multiply Instruction Format
10.​7.​4 Data Transfer Instructions (LDRB, LDR, STRB, and
STR)
10.​7.​5 Data Transfer Half Word and Signed Number (LDRH,
STRH, LDRSB, LDRSH)
10.​7.​6 Swap Memory and Register (SWAP)
10.​8 Summary
Problems
11 Bitwise and Control Structures Used for Programming with C
and ARM Assembly Language
11.​1 Introduction
11.​1.​1 C Bitwise Operations
11.​2 Control Structures
11.​2.​1 If-Then Structure
11.​2.​2 If-Then-Else Structure
11.​2.​3 While Loop Structure
11.​2.​4 For Loop Structure
11.​2.​5 Switch Structure
11.​3 ARM Memory Map
11.​3.​1 Introduction
11.​4 Local and Global Variables
11.​5 Summary
Problems
Appendix A:​List of Digital Design Laboratory Experiments Using
LOGISIM
Appendix B:​Solution to the Even Problems
Bibliography
Index
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022
A. Elahi, Computer Systems
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-93449-1_1

1. Signals and Number Systems


Ata Elahi1
(1) Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, CT, USA

Keywords Components of a computer – Historical development of a


computer – Types of computer – Analog and digital signals – Number
systems – Binary addition and subtraction – Floating point representation
– ASCII code and unicode

Objectives: After Completing this Chapter, you Should Be Able to


Explain the basic components of a computer.
Learn the historical development of the computer.
Represent the hardware and software components of a computer.
List different types of computers.
Distinguish between analog and digital signal.
Learn the characteristics of signal.
Convert decimal numbers to binary and vice versa.
Learn addition and subtraction of binary numbers.
Represent floating numbers in binary.
Convert from binary to hexadecimal and vice versa.
Distinguish between serial and parallel transmission.

1.1 Introduction
Numerical values have become an integral part of our daily lives.
Numerical values can be represented by analog or digital; examples
include an analog watch, digital watch, or thermometer. The following are
advantages of digital representation of numerical values compared to
analog representation:
1. Digital representation is more accurate.

2. Digital information are easier to store.

3. Digital systems are easier to design.

4. Noise has less effect.

5. Digital systems can easily be fabricated in an integrated circuit.

A digital signal is a discrete signal (step by step), and an analog signal


is a continuous signal. Digital systems are widely used and its applications
can be seen in computers, calculators, and cell phones. In a digital system,
information is transferred between components of the digital system in
the form of digital signals.
A computer consists of two components: hardware and software.
Hardware refers to the physical components of a computer such as the
keyboard, CPU, and memory. Software refers to programs run by CPU
including operating systems and application programs. Computers can
come in several different forms such as a desktop, laptop, tablet, server,
and iPhone. Regardless of the form, all computers consist of the same basic
structures. Figure 1.1 shows the basic components of a computer.

Fig. 1.1 Basic components of a computer

1.1.1 CPU
1.1.1.1 CPU Execute Program
Input Device
The input device is used for entering information into memory. Examples
of input devices include the keyboard, mouse, touch pad screen, light pen,
barcode reader, and scanner. The input device converts information into
bits, and the bits are stored in memory.
Output Device
A computer’s memory transfers information to the output device in the
form of bits such as the output device converts bits to characters, images,
and voices which can be interpreted by humans.
Memory
Memory is used to store information and programs. Memory comes in the
form of solid-state electronics such as RAM, ROM, flash drive, or hard disk.

1.2 Historical Development of the Computer


The historical development of the computer can be divided into
distinct generations. The first generation of computer was
constructed using vacuum tubes and was known as ENIAC. ENIAC was
developed by John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert at the University of
Pennsylvania between 1945 and 1953. Figure 1.2 shows an image of a
vacuum tube.

Fig. 1.2 Images of Vacuum Tube, Transistor, IC, and VLSI

The second generation of computer used transistors and were in


use between 1954 and 1965. This generation of computers included
the IBM 7094 (scientific) and the Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC)
PDP-1. An image of a transistor is shown in Fig. 1.2.
The third generation of computer used integrated circuits (IC).
These computers were developed between 1965 and 1980, and
included the IBM 360, DEC PDP-8 and PDP-11, and Cray-1
supercomputer. An image of an integrated circuit is shown in Fig. 1.2.
The fourth generation of computer used VLSI (Very Large Scale
Integration), an evolution of IC technology. This started around 1980 and
can be found in processors like the Intel 8080. Figure 1.2 shows an image
of VLSI .

1.3 Hardware and Software Components of a


Computer
The hardware part of a computer is used for the execution of different
types of software. Figure 1.3 shows that the hardware is the lowest level
component of the computer with different types of software running on
top of it.

Fig. 1.3 Hardware and software components of a computer

Hardware: The hardware consists of the processor, memory, and I/O


controllers.
System Software: The system software consists of the compiler and
operating system.
Application Software: Application software consists of High Level
Languages (HLLs) and application software such as Microsoft Office.
Compiler: The compiler converts HLL to assembly language, and then
the assembler converts that assembly language to machine code (binary)
as shown in Fig. 1.4.
Fig. 1.4 Process converting HLL to machine code
Operating System: An operating system runs on top of a computer’s
hardware. Operating systems manage computer hardware resources such
as input/output operations, managing memory, and scheduling processes
for execution. Some of the most popular operating systems are Windows,
MacOS, and Linux.

1.4 Types of Computers


As mentioned before, computers come in different forms which can target
specific applications. They are:
Personal Computer (PC): Personal computers are used by individuals
and come with a keyboard and display.
Server: A server is a computer with a more powerful CPU than a PC,
having larger memory that supports the execution of large programs.
Multiple users can access this kind of computer.
Embedded Computer: An embedded computer is a computer located
inside a device which is used for controlling the operation of the device
through a fixed program. Embedded computers can be found in many
devices such as dishwashers, laundry machines, automobiles, and robots.
Supercomputer: A supercomputer is a computer with many CPUs for
running big programs such as weather prediction.
Cloud computer: Cloud computing is the delivery of on-demand
computing services to clients. A cloud consists of a number of servers, and
many clients can access the cloud through an Internet connection for
receiving service.
Personnel Mobile Device (PMD): Personal mobile devices are
products like smartphones and tablets which can access a server and
download information or be used for web browsing with a wireless
connection.

1.5 Analog Signals


An analog signal is a signal whose amplitude is a function of time and
changes gradually as time changes. Analog signals can be classified as
nonperiodic and periodic signals.

Nonperiodic Signal
In a nonperiodic signal, there is no repeated pattern in the signal as shown
in Fig. 1.5.

Fig. 1.5 Representation of a nonperiodic analog signal

Periodic Signal
A signal that repeats a pattern within a measurable time period is
called a periodic signal, and completion of a full pattern is called a cycle.
The simplest periodic signal is a sine wave, which is shown in Fig. 1.6. In
the time domain, the sine wave amplitude a(t) can be represented
mathematically as a(t) = A Sin(ω t + θ) where A is the maximum amplitude,
ω is the angular frequency, and θ is the phase angle.

Fig. 1.6 Time domain representation of a sine wave


An electrical signal, usually representing voice, temperature, or a
musical sound, is made of multiple wave forms. These signals have one
fundamental frequency and multiple frequencies that are called
harmonics.

1.5.1 Characteristics of an Analog Signal


The characteristics of a periodic analog signal are frequency, amplitude,
and phase.

Frequency
Frequency (F) is the number of cycles in 1 s, , where T is time of one
cycle in second and F is frequency i represented in Hz (Hertz). If each cycle
of an analog signal is repeated every 1 s, the frequency of the signal is 1 Hz.
If each cycle of an analog signal is repeated 1000 times every second (once
every millisecond), the frequency is

Table 1.1 shows different values for frequency and their corresponding
periods.

Table 1.1 Typical units of frequency and period

Units of frequency Numerical value Units of period Numerical value


Hertz (Hz) 1 Hz Second (s) 1s
Kilohertz (kHz) 103 Hz Millisecond (ms) 10−3 s

Megahertz (MHz) 106 Hz Microsecond (μs) 10−6 s

Gigahertz (GHz) 109 Hz Nanosecond (ns) 10−9 s

Terahertz (THz) 1012 Hz Picosecond (ps) 10−12 s

Amplitude
The amplitude of an analog signal is a function of time as shown in Fig. 1.7
and may be represented in volts (unit of voltage). In other words, the
amplitude is its voltage value at any given time. At the time t1, the
amplitude of the signal is V1.
Fig. 1.7 A sine wave signal over one cycle
Phase
Two signals with the same frequency can differ in phase. This means
that one of the signals starts at a different time from the other one. This
difference can be represented in degrees (0° to 360°) or by radians. A
phase angle of 0° indicates that the sine wave starts at time 0, and a phase
angle of 90° indicates that the signal starts at 90° as shown in Fig. 1.8.

Fig. 1.8 Three sine waves with different phases


Example 1.1 Find the equation for a sine wave signal with a frequency of
10 Hz, maximum amplitude of 20 V, and phase angle of 0°:

1.6 Digital Signals


Modern computers communicate by using digital signals. Digital signals
are represented by two voltages: one voltage represents the number 0 in
binary, and the other voltage represents the number 1 in binary. An
example of a digital signal is shown in Fig. 1.9, where 0 volts represents 0
in binary and +5 volts represents 1. 0 or 1 is called a bit and 8 bits is called
a byte.

Fig. 1.9 Digital signal

1.7 Number System


Numbers can be represented in different bases. A base of ten is called a
decimal. In the example, below consider 356 in decimal:

In general, a number can be represented in the form:

where r is the base of the number and ai must be less than r.


(10011)2 is a valid number but (211.01)2 is not.
Equation 1.1 can be used to convert a number in a given base to
decimal:
(1.1)

Example 1.2 Convert (27.35)8 to the base of 10.

Example 1.3 Convert 1101111 to decimal.

1.7.1 Converting from Binary to Decimal


Equation 1.2 represents the general form of a binary number:
(1.2)
where ai is a binary digit or bit (either 0 or 1).
Equation 1.2 can be converted to decimal number by using Eq. 1.1:

(1.3)

Example 1.4 Convert (110111.101)2 to decimal.

Or

25 24 23 22 21 20 2−1 2−2 2−3


1 1 0 1 1 1 . 1 0 1
If a binary value is made of n bits of ones, then its decimal value is
n
2 − 1.

Example 1.5

Binary, or base of 2 numbers, is represented by 0 s and 1 s. A binary


digit, 0 or 1, is called a bit, 8 bits is called a byte , 16 bits is called a half
word, and 4 bytes is called a word.

1.7.2 Converting from Decimal Integer to Binary


To convert an integer number from decimal to binary, divide the decimal
number by the new base (2 for binary), which will result in a quotient and
a remainder (either 0 or 1). The first remainder will be the least significant
bit of the binary number. Continually divide the quotient by the new base,
while taking the remainders as each subsequent bit in the binary number,
until the quotient becomes 0.

Example 1.6 Convert 34 in decimal to binary.

Quotient Remainder
34/2 = 17 0 = a0
17/2= 8 1 = a1
8/2 4 0 = a2
4/2 2 0 = a3
2/2 1 0 = a4
1/2 0 1 = a5
Therefore 34 = (100010)2

If a binary number is made of all ones, then by using the equation


n
2 − 1, it can be converted to decimal.
Examples

Binary number 2n − 1 Decimal number

11 22 – 1 3
111 23 – 1 7
1111 24 – 1 15
11111 25 – 1 32

A binary number is represented by a5 a4 a3 a2 a1 a0 where a0 is 20, a1 is


21, and a5 is 25. Table 1.2 shows 2n.

Table 1.2 2n with different values of n

2n Decimal value 2n Decimal value 2n Decimal value

20 1 28 256 216 65,536 = 64 K

21 2 29 512 217 131,072 = 128 K

22 4 210 1024 = 1 K 218 262,144 = 256 K

23 8 211 2048 = 2 K 219 524,288 = 512 K

24 16 212 4096 = 4 K 220 1,048,576 = 1 M

25 32 213 8192 = 8 K 221 2 M

26 64 214 16,384 = 16 K 222 4 M

27 128 215 32,768 = 32 K 223 8 M

1.7.3 Converting Decimal Fraction to Binary


A decimal number representation of (0.XY)10 can be converted into base of
2 and represented by (0.a−1, a−2, a−3, etc.)2.
The fraction number is multiplied by 2, the result of integer part is a−1
and fraction part multiply by 2, and then separate integer part from
fraction, the integer part represents a−2; this process continues until the
fraction becomes 0.
(0.35) 10 = ( )2
0.35*2 = 0.7 = 0 + 0.7 a−1 = 0
0.7*2 = 1.4 = 1 + 0.4 a−2 = 1
0.4*2 = 0.8 = 0 + 0.8 a−3 = 0
0.8*2 = 1.6 = 1 + 0.6 a−4 = 1
0.6*2 = 1.2 = 1 + 0.2 a−5 = 1
Sometimes, the fraction does not reach 0 and the number of bits use
for the fraction depends on the accuracy that the user defines, therefore
0.35 = 0.010011 in binary.
The hexadecimal number system has a base of 16 and therefore has 16
symbols (0 through 9, and A through F). Table 1.3 shows the decimal
numbers, their binary values from 0 to 15, and their hexadecimal
equivalents.

Table 1.3 Decimal numbers with binary and hexadecimal equivalents

Decimal Binary (base of 2) Hexadecimal (base of 16) or HEX


0 0000 0
1 0001 1
2 0010 2
3 0011 3
4 0100 4
5 0101 5
6 0110 6
7 0111 7
8 1000 8
9 1001 9
10 1010 A
11 1011 B
12 1100 C
13 1101 D
14 1110 E
15 1111 F
1.7.4 Converting from Hex to Binary
Table 1.3 can also be used to convert a number from hexadecimal to binary
and from binary to hexadecimal.

Example 1.7 Convert the binary number 001010011010 to


hexadecimal. Each 4 bits are grouped from right to left. By using Table 2.2,
each 4-bit group can be converted to its hexadecimal equivalent.

0010 1001 1010


2 9 A

Example 1.8 Convert (3D5)16 to binary. By using Table 2.2, the result in
binary is

3 D 5
0011 1101 0101

The resulting binary number is 001111010101.

Example 1.9 Convert 6DB from hexadecimal to binary. By using Table


1.3, the result in binary is

6 D B
0110 1101 1011

The resulting binary number is 011011011011.

Example 1.10 Convert (110111.101)2 to decimal.

1.7.5 Binary Addition


Carry bits

In a binary number, the first bit from the left of number is called the
most significant bit (MSb), and the first bit from the right of number is
called least significant bit (LSb).

1.8 Complement and Two’s Complement


The idea of the complement makes it simple for a digital computer to
perform subtraction and addition. The complement of 1 is 0 and the
complement of 0 is 1.
The complement of a binary number is calculated by complementing
each bit of the number.

Example 1.11 The complement of 101101 is 010010.

Example 1.12 The two’s complement of 101011 is

Example 1.13 Find the two’s complement of 10000:

1.8.1 Subtraction of Unsigned Number Using Two’s


Complement
The following procedure is used to subtract B = b5 b4 b3 b2 b1 b0 from
A = a5 a4 a3 a2 a1 a0:
1. Add two’s complement of B to the A.

2. Check to see if the result produces a carry:


(a) If the result produces a carry, discard the carry and the result is
positive.

(b) If the result does not produce a carry, take two’s complement of
the result, and the result is negative.

Example 1.14 Subtract B = 101010 from A = 110101.

Two’s complement of B = 010101 + 1 = 010110.


Add two’s complement of B to A.

Carry, discard the carry and the result is +001011.

Example 1.15 Subtract B = 110101 from A = 101010.


Two’s complement of B is 001010 + 1 = 001011.
Add two’s complement of B to A.

As we can see, adding two 6-bit number results in a 6-bit answer. There
is no carry; we just take the two’s complement of the result.

1.9 Unsigned, Signed Magnitude, and Signed Two’s


Complement Binary Number
A binary number can be represented in form unsigned number or signed
number or signed two’s complement, + sign represented by 0 and − sign
represented by 1.

1.9.1 Unsigned Number


In an unsigned number, all bits of a number are used to represent the
number, but in a signed number, the most significant bit of the number
represents the sign. A 1 in the most significant position of number
represents a negative sign, and 0 in the most significant position of
number represents a positive sign.
The 1101 unsigned value is 13.

1.9.2 Signed Magnitude Number


In a signed number, the most significant bit represents the sign, where
1101 = −5 or 0101 = +5.
In unsigned number, 1101 = 13.

1.9.3 Signed Two’s Complement


A signed two’s complement applies to a negative number. If the sign of the
number is one, then the number is represented by signed two’s
complement.

Example 1.16 Representing (−5)10 with 4 bits in signed two’s


complement.
(−5)10 in signed number is 1101, then the two’s complement of 101 is
011, and by adding sign bit results in 1011 which represents −5 in signed
two’s complement.

Example 1.17 Represent (−23)10 with an 8-bit signed two’s


complement.
(23)10 = (1 0 1 1 1)2 in unsigned base-2
(1 00 10111)2 – Extended to signed 8 bits (notice the MSb is 1)
the two’s complement of (0010111)2 is (1101001)2
(11101001)2 is (−23)10 in signed two’s complement .

1.10 Binary Addition Using Signed Two’s


Complement
The following examples show the results of the addition of two signed
numbers:
(a) (+3) + (+4)
Represent both numbers in binary, and the most significant bit
represents the sign, and the result is positive.

(b) (+ 3)10 + (−4)10


(−4)10 in signed two’s complement is 1100, then
0011 + 1100 = 1111; result does not generate carry of then take
two’s complement of result which is −1

(c) (−7)10 + (−5)10


By representing both numbers in 4-bit signed two’s complement,

The addition of two negative numbers results positive, and it is called


overflow:

The addition of two positive numbers results negative, and it is called


overflow:

Example 1.18 A. The following addition using 8-bit signed two’s


complement
(−38)10 + (44)10
B. Add −38 to −44 using 8 bit signed two’s complement
−38 = 11011010
−44 = 11010100
------------
10101110 = −82
C. Add +100 to +44
100 = 01100100
44 = 00101100
-------------
10010000 the sign of result is negative then results produce overflow.

Addition Overflow
The following cases result overflow for adding two signed numbers if:
(a) Both numbers are negative, and results of addition become positive:

(b) Both numbers are positive, and results of addition become negative:

1.11 Floating Point Representation


The central processing unit (CPU) typically consists of an arithmetic logic
unit (ALU ) , floating point unit (FLU/FPU ) , registers, control unit, and the
cache memory.
The arithmetic logic unit performs integer arithmetic operations such
as addition, subtraction, and logic operations such as AND, OR, XOR, etc.
Integers are whole numbers without fractional components. 1, 2, and 3 are
integers, while 0.1, 2.2, and 3.0001 all have fractional components are
called floating point numbers.
The floating point unit performs floating point operations. Floating
point numbers have a sign, a mantissa, and an exponent. The Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) developed a standard to
represent floating point numbers, referred to as IEEE 754. This standard
defines a format for both single (32-bit) and double (64-bit) precision
floating point numbers. Decimal floating points are represented by
M × 10E, where M is the signed mantissa and E is the exponent.
1.11.1 Single and Double Precision Representations
of Floating Point
Floating point numbers in single precision represented by 32 bits are as
shown in Fig. 1.10

Fig. 1.10 IEEE 745 floating point single precision (S = represent sign of mantissa. S = 0
means mantissa is positive, and S = 1 means mantissa is negative)

1.11.1.1 Biased Exponent


The biased exponent is the exponent + 127 (01111111)2; therefore, the
exponent is represented by a positive number.

1.11.1.2 Normalized Mantissa


The mantissa is represented by 1. M, where M is called normalized
mantissa; if M = 00101, then mantissa is 1.00101.

Example 1.19 Find normalized mantissa and biased exponent of


(111.0000111)2.
111.0000111 can be written in the form of 1.110000111 * 210
where
M = 110000111
Biased exponent = 10 + 01111111 = 10000001
The representation of 111.0000111 in single precision is

1bit 8 bits 23 bits


0 10000001 11000011100000000000000

Example 1.20 Convert the following single precision floating point to


decimal number.
101111101 11001000000000000000000
S = 1 means mantissa is negative.
Biased exponent = 01111101.
Exponent = 01111101–01111111 = −00000010.
Normalized mantissa = 11001000000000000000000.
Mantissa = 1. 11001000000000000000000.
Decimal number = 1.11001000000000000000000
−10
*2 = 0.01110011.

1.11.1.3 Double Precision


In order to increase the accuracy of a floating point number, IEEE 745
offers double precision represented by 64 bits as shown in Fig. 1.11.

Fig. 1.11 IEEE 745 double precision floating point format

Biased exponent = exponent + 1023

Example 1.21 Represent 5.75 in IEEE 745 single precision.


−15. 625 = (1111.101)2
−1111.101 = − 1.11101101 * 211
S=1
Normalized mantissa =0.11101101.
Biased exponent = 11 + 01111111 = 10000010.
IEEE745 single precision is 1 10000010 1110110100000000000000.

1.12 Binary-Coded Decimal (BCD )


In daily life, we use decimal numbers where the largest digit is 9, which is
represented by 1001 in binary. Table 1.4 shows decimal numbers and their
corresponding BCD code.

Table 1.4 Binary-coded decimal (BCD )

Decimal BCD
0 0000
1 0001
2 0010
3 0011
4 0100
Decimal BCD
5 0101
6 0110
7 0111
8 1000
9 1001

Example 1.22 Converting 345 to BCD


Using the table: 0011 0100 0101

Example 1.23 Convert (10100010010)BCD to decimal, separate each 4


bits from right to left, and substitute the corresponding decimal number
with BCD the results in 512.

1.13 Coding Schemes


1.13.1 ASCII Code
Each character in ASCII code has a representation using 8 bits, where the
most significant bit is used for a parity bit. Table 1.5 shows the ASCII code
and its hexadecimal equivalent.
Table 1.5 American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII )

Binary Hex Char Binary Hex Char Binary Hex Char Binary Hex Char
0000000 00 NUL 0100000 20 SP 1000000 40 @ 1100000 60 ,
0000001 01 SOH 0100001 21 ! 1000001 41 A 1100001 61 a
0000010 02 STX 0100010 22 ” 1000010 42 B 1100010 62 b
0000011 03 ETX 0100011 23 # 1000011 43 C 1100011 63 c
0000100 04 EOT 0100100 24 $ 1000100 44 D 1100100 64 d
0000101 05 ENQ 0100101 25 % 1000101 45 E 1100101 65 e
0000110 06 ACK 0100110 26 & 1000110 46 F 1100110 66 f
0000111 07 BEL 0100111 27 ’ 1000111 47 G 1100111 67 g
0001000 08 BS 0101000 28 ( 1001000 8 H 1101000 68 h
0001001 09 HT 0101001 29 ) 1001001 49 I 1101001 69 i
Binary Hex Char Binary Hex Char Binary Hex Char Binary Hex Char
0001010 0A LF 0101010 2A * 1001010 4A J 1101010 6A j
0001011 0B VT 0101011 2B + 1001011 4B K 1101011 6B k
0001100 0C FF 0101100 2C , 1001100 4C L 1101100 6C l
0001101 0D CR 0101101 2D - 1001101 4D M 1101101 6D m
0001110 0E SO 0101110 2E . 1001110 4E N 1101110 6E n
0001111 0F SI 0101111 2F / 1001111 4F O 1101111 6F o
0010000 10 DLE 0110000 30 0 1010000 50 P 1110000 70 P
0010001 11 DC1 0110001 31 1 1010001 51 Q 1110001 71 q
0010010 12 DC2 0110010 32 2 1010010 52 R 1110010 72 r
0010011 13 DC3 0110011 33 3 1010011 53 S 1110011 73 s
0010100 14 DC4 0110100 34 4 1010100 54 T 1110100 74 t
0010101 15 NACK 0110101 35 5 1010101 55 U 1110101 75 u
0010110 16 SYN 0110110 36 6 1010110 56 V 1110110 76 v
0010111 17 ETB 0110111 37 7 1010111 57 W 1110111 77 w
0011000 18 CAN 0111000 38 8 1011000 58 X 1111000 78 x
0011001 19 EM 0111001 39 9 1011001 59 Y 1111001 79 y
0011010 1A SUB 0111010 3A : 1011010 5A Z 1111010 7A z
0011011 1B ESC 0111011 3B ; 1011011 5B [ 1111011 7B [
0011100 1C FS 0111100 3C < 1011100 5C \ 1111100 7C \
0011101 1D GS 0111101 3D = 1011101 5D ] 1111101 7D }
0011110 1E RS 0111110 3E < 1011110 5E ∧ 1111110 7E ~
0011111 1F US 0111111 3F ? 1011111 5F - 1111111 7F DEL
Characters from hexadecimal 00 to 1F and 7F are control characters
which are nonprintable characters, such as NUL, SOH, STX, ETX, ESC, and
DLE (data link escape).
Example 1.24 Convert the word “network” to binary and show the
result in hexadecimal. By using Table 1.4, each character is represented by
7 bits and results in:

1001110 1100101 1110100 1110111 1101111 1110010 1101011


N e t w o r k
Or in hexadecimal
4E 65 74 77 6F 72 6B

1.13.2 Universal Code or Unicode


Unicode is a new 16-bit character-encoding standard for representing
characters and numbers in most languages such as Greek, Arabic, Chinese,
and Japanese. The ASCII code uses 8 bits to represent each character in
Latin, and it can represent 256 characters. The ASCII code does not
support mathematical symbols and scientific symbols. Since Unicode uses
16 bits, it can represent 65,536 characters or symbols. A character in
Unicode is represented by 16-bit binary, equivalent to 4 digits in
hexadecimal. For example, the character B in Unicode is U0042H (U
represents Unicode). The ASCII code is represented between (00)16 and
(FF)16. For converting ASCII code to Unicode, two zeros are added to the
left side of ASCII code; therefore, the Unicode to represent ASCII
characters is between (0000)16 and (00FF)16. Table 1.6 shows some of the
Unicode for Latin and Greek characters. Unicode is divided into blocks of
code, with each block assigned to a specific language. Table 1.7 shows each
block of Unicode for some different languages (Fig.1.12).

Table 1.6 Unicode values for some Latin and Greek characters

Latin Greek
Character Code (hex) Character Code (hex)
A U0041 φ U03C6
B U0042 α U03B1
C U0043 γ U03B3
0 U0030 μ U03 BC
8 U0038 β U03B2
Table 1.7 Unicode block allocations

Start code (hex) End code (hex) Block name


U0000 U007F Basic Latin
U0080 U00FF Latin supplement
U0370 U03FF Greek
U0530 U058F Armenian
U0590 U05FF Hebrew
U0600 U06FF Arabic
U01A0 U10FF Georgian

Fig. 1.12 Example of Unicode


Example of Unicode: open Microsoft Word and click on insert then
symbol will result Fig. 1.12. Click on any character to display the Unicode
value of the character, for example, Unicode for β is 03B2 in hex.

1.14 Parity Bit


A parity bit is used for error detection of information, since a bit or bits
may be changed during the transmission of information from source to
Another Random Document on
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just as well, he said, to let Yarr go on thinking I was a confidential
secretary.
So we came again to that fantastic clockwork room with its myriad
whirling cams and the revolving crystal and the hypnotic bam-bam of
the motors. Yarr met us at the door and escorted us to the viewing
desk with his peculiar absent-minded subservience. The room was
darkened again, and once more we watched the cloud of blackness
seep across the face of the Universe. The sight chilled me more than
ever, now that I knew what it meant.
Groating turned to me and said: "Well, Mr. Carmichael, any
suggestions?"
I said: "The first thing we ought to find out is just what that
spaceship has to do with the black cloud ... don't you think so?"
"Why yes, I do." Groating turned to Yarr and said: "Give us a close-
up of the spaceship and switch in sound. Give us the integration at
normal speed."
Yarr said: "It would take a week to run the whole thing off. Any
special moment you want, sir?"
I had a hunch. "Give us the moment when the auxiliary ship arrives."
Yarr turned back to his switch-board. We had a close-up of a great
round port. The sound mechanism clicked on, running at high speed
with a peculiar wheetledy-woodeldey-weedledy garble of shrill noises.
Suddenly the cruiser shot into view. Yarr slowed everything down to
normal speed.
The fat needle nosed into place, the ports clanged and hissed as the
suction junction was made. Abruptly, the scene shifted and we were
inside the lock between the two ships. Men in stained dungarees,
stripped to the waist and sweating, were hauling heavy canvas-
wrapped equipment into the mother ship. To one side two elderly
guys were talking swiftly:
"You had difficulty?"
"More than ever. Thank God this is the last shipment."
"How about credits?"
"Exhausted."
"Do you mean that?"
"I do."
"I can't understand it. We had over two millions left."
"We lost all that through indirect purchases and—"
"And what?"
"Bribes, if you must know."
"Bribes?"
"My dear sir, you can't order cyclotrons without making people
suspicious. If you so much as mention an atom today, you accuse
yourself."
"Then we all stand accused here and now."
"I'm not denying that."
"What a terrible thing it is that the most precious part of our
existence should be the most hated."
"You speak of—"
"The atom."
The speaker gazed before him meditatively, then sighed and turned
into the shadowy depths of the spaceship.
I said: "All right, that's enough. Cut into the moment just before the
black-out occurs. Take it inside the ship."
The integrators quickened and the sound track began its shrill babble
again. Quick scenes of the interior of the mother ship flickered across
the crystal. A control chamber, roofed with a transparent dome
passed repeatedly before us, with the darting figures of men
snapping through it. At last the Integrator fixed on that chamber and
stopped. The scene was frozen into a still-photograph—a tableau of
half a dozen half-naked men poised over the controls, heads tilted
back to look through the dome.
Yarr said: "It doesn't take long. Watch closely."
I said: "Shoot."

The scene came to life with a blurp.


"—ready on the tension screens?"
"Ready, sir."
"Power checked?"
"Checked and ready, sir."
"Stand by, all. Time?"
"Two minutes to go."
"Good—" The graybeard in the center of the chamber paced with
hands clasped behind him, very much like a captain on his bridge.
Clearly through the sound mechanism came the thuds of his steps
and the background hum of waiting mechanism.
The graybeard said: "Time?"
"One minute forty seconds."
"Gentlemen: In these brief moments I should like to thank you all for
your splendid assistance. I speak not so much of your technical work,
which speaks for itself, but of your willingness to exile yourselves and
even incriminate yourselves along with me—Time?"
"One twenty-five."
"It is a sad thing that our work which is intended to grant the
greatest boon imaginable to the Universe should have been driven
into secrecy. Limitless power is so vast a concept that even I cannot
speculate on the future it will bring to our worlds. In a few minutes,
after we have succeeded, all of us will be universal heroes. Now,
before our work is done, I want all of you to know that to me you are
already heroes—Time?"
"One ten."
"And now, a warning. When we have set up our spacial partition
membrane and begun the osmotic transfer of energy from
hyperspace to our own there may be effects which I have been
unable to predict. Raw energy pervading our space may also pervade
our nervous systems and engender various unforeseen conditions. Do
not be alarmed. Keep well in mind the fact that the change cannot be
anything but for the better—Time?"
"Fifty seconds."
"The advantages? Up to now mathematics and the sciences have
merely been substitutes for what man should do for himself. So
FitzJohn preached in his first lecture, and so we are about to prove.
The logical evolution of energy mechanics is not toward magnification
and complex engineering development, but toward simplification—
toward the concentration of all those powers within man himself—
Time?"
"Twenty seconds."
"Courage, my friends. This is the moment we have worked for these
past ten years. Secretly. Criminally. So it has always been with those
who have brought man his greatest gifts."
"Ten seconds."
"Stand by, all."
"Ready all, sir."
The seconds ticked off with agonizing slowness. At the moment of
zero the workers were galvanized into quick action. It was impossible
to follow their motions or understand them, but you could see by the
smooth timing and interplay that they were beautifully rehearsed.
There was tragedy in those efforts for us who already knew the
outcome.
As quickly as they had begun, the workers stopped and peered
upward through the crystal dome. Far beyond them, crisp in the
velvet blackness, that star gleamed, and as they watched, it winked
out.
They started and exclaimed, pointing. The graybeard cried:
"It's impossible!"
"What is it, sir?"
"I—"
And in that moment blackness enveloped the scene.
I said: "Hold it—"
Yarr brought up the lights and the others turned to look at me. I
thought for a while, idly watching the shimmering cams and cogs
around me. Then I said: "It's a good start. The reason I imagine you
gentlemen have been slightly bewildered up to now is that you're
busy men with no time for foolishness. Now I'm not so busy and very
foolish, so I read detective stories. This is going to be kind of
backward detective story."
"All right," Groating said. "Go ahead."
"We've got a few clues. First, the Universe has ended through an
attempt to pervade it with energy from hyperspace. Second, the
attempt failed for a number of reasons which we can't discover yet.
Third, the attempt was made in secrecy. Why?"
The controller said: "Why not? Scientists and all that—"
"I don't mean that kind of secrecy. These men were plainly outside
the law, carrying on an illicit experiment. We must find out why
energy experiments or atomic experiments were illegal. That will
carry us back quite a few decades toward the present."
"But how?"
"Why, we trace the auxiliary cruiser, of course. If we can pick them
up when they're purchasing supplies, we'll narrow our backward
search considerably. Can you do it, Dr. Yarr?"
"It'll take time."
"Go ahead—we've got a thousand years."
It took exactly two days. In that time I learned a lot about the
Prognosticator. They had it worked out beautifully. Seems the future
is made up solely of probabilities. The Integrator could push down
any one of these possible avenues, but with a wonderful check. The
less probable the avenue of future was, the more off-focus it was. If
a future event was only remotely possible, it was pictured as a
blurred series of actions. On the other hand, the future that was
almost-positive in the light of present data, was sharply in focus.
When we went back to the Prog Building two days later, Yarr was
almost alive in his excitement. He said: "I really think I've got just the
thing you're looking for."
"What's that?"
"I've picked up an actual moment of bribery. It has additional data
that should put us directly on the track."
We sat down behind the desk with Yarr at the controls. He had a slip
of paper in his hand which he consulted with much muttering as he
adjusted co-ordinates. Once more we saw the preliminary off-focus
shadows, then the sound blooped on like a hundred Stereo records
playing at once. The crystal sharpened abruptly into focus.
The scream and roar of a gigantic foundry blasted our ears. On both
sides of the scene towered the steel girder columns of the foundry
walls, stretching deep into the background like the grim pillars of a
satanic cathedral. Overhead cranes carried enormous blocks of metal
with a ponderous gait. Smoke—black, white and fitfully flared with
crimson from the furnaces, whirled around the tiny figures.
Two men stood before a gigantic casting. One, a foundryman in
soiled overalls, made quick measurements which he called off to the
other carefully checking a blueprint. Over the roar of the foundry the
dialogue was curt and sharp:
"One hundred three point seven."
"Check."
"Short axis. Fifty-two point five."
"Check."
"Tangent on ovate diameter. Three degrees point oh five two."
"Check."
"What specifications for outer convolutions?"
"Y equals cosine X."
"Then that equation resolves to X equals minus one half Pi."
"Check."
The foundryman climbed down from the casting, folding his three-
way gauge. He mopped his face with a bit of waste and eyed the
engineer curiously as the latter carefully rolled up the blueprint and
slid it into a tube of other rolled sheets. The foundryman said: "I
think we did a nice job."
The engineer nodded.
"Only what in blazes do you want it for. Never saw a casting like
that."
"I could explain, but you wouldn't understand. Too complicated."
The foundryman flushed. He said: "You theoretical guys are too
damned snotty. Just because I know how to drop-forge doesn't mean
I can't understand an equation."
"Mebbeso. Let it go at that. I'm ready to ship this casting out at
once."
As the engineer turned to leave, rapping the rolled blueprints
nervously against his calf, a great pig of iron that had been sailing up
from the background swung dangerously toward his head. The
foundryman cried out. He leaped forward, seized the engineer by the
shoulder and sent him tumbling to the concrete floor. The blueprints
went flying.
He pulled the engineer to his feet immediately and tried to straighten
the dazed man who could only stare at the tons of iron that sailed
serenely on. The foundryman picked up the scattered sheets and
started to sort them. Abruptly he stopped and examined one of the
pages closely. He began to look through the others, but before he
could go any further, the blueprints were snatched from his hands.
He said: "What's this casting for?"
The engineer rolled the sheets together with quick, intense motions.
He said: "None of your blasted business."
"I think I know. That's one-quarter a cyclotron. You're getting the
other parts made up in different foundries, aren't you?"
There was no answer.
"Maybe you've forgotten Stabilization Rule 930."
"I haven't forgotten. You're crazy."
"Want me to call for official inspection?"
The engineer took a breath, then shrugged. He said: "I suppose the
only way to convince you is to show you the master drafts. Come on
—"

They left the foundry and trudged across the broad concrete of a
landing field to where the fat needle of the auxiliary ship lay. They
mounted the ramp to the side port and entered the ship. Inside, the
engineer called: "It's happened again, boys. Let's go!"
The port swung shut behind them. Spacemen drifted up from the
surrounding corridors and rooms. They were rangy and tough-looking
and the sub-nosed paralyzers glinted casually in their hands as
though they'd been cleaning them and merely happened to bring
them along. The foundryman looked around for a long time. At last
he said: "So it's this way?"
"Yes, it's this way. Sorry."
"I'd like you to meet some of my friends, some day—"
"Perhaps we will."
"They'll have an easier time with you than you're gonna have with
me!" He clenched fists and poised himself to spring.
The engineer said: "Hey—wait a minute. Don't lose your head. You
did me a good turn back there. I'd like to return the favor. I've got
more credit than I know what to do with."
The foundryman gave him a perplexed glance. He relaxed and began
to rub his chin dubiously.
He said: "Damn if this isn't a sociable ship. I feel friendlier already—"
The engineer grinned.
I called: "O.K., that's enough. Cut it," and the scene vanished.
"Well?" Yarr asked eagerly.
I said: "We're really in the groove now. Let's check back and locate
the Stabilization debates on Rule 930." I turned to the C-S. "What's
the latest rule number, sir?"
Groating said: "Seven fifteen."
The controller had already been figuring. He said: "Figuring the same
law-production rate that would put Rule 930 about six hundred years
from now. Is that right, Mr. Groating?"
The old man nodded and Yarr went back to his keyboard. I'm not
going to bother you with what we all went through because a lot of it
was very dull. For the benefit of the hermit from the Moon I'll just
mention that we hung around the Stability Library until we located
the year S. R. 930 was passed. Then we shifted to Stability
headquarters and quick-timed through from January 1st until we
picked up the debates on the rule.
The reasons for the rule were slightly bewildering on the one hand,
and quite understandable on the other. It seems that in the one
hundred and fifty years preceding, almost every Earth-wide university
had been blown up in the course of an atomic-energy experiment.
The blow-ups were bewildering—the rule understandable. I'd like to
tell you about that debate because—well, because things happened
that touched me.
The Integrator selected a cool, smooth foyer in the Administration
Building at Washington. It had a marble floor like milky ice flecked
with gold. One side was broken by a vast square window studded
with a thousand round-bottle panes that refracted the afternoon
sunlight into showers of warm color. In the background were two
enormous doors of synthetic oak. Before those doors stood a couple
in earnest conversation—a nice-looking boy with a portfolio under his
arm, and a stunning girl. The kind with sleek-shingled head and one
of those clean-cut faces that look fresh and wind-washed.
The controller said: "Why, that's the foyer to the Seminar Room. They
haven't changed it at all in six hundred years."
Groating said: "Stability!" and chuckled.
Yarr said: "The debate is going on inside. I'll shift scene—"
"No—wait," I said. "Let's watch this for a while." I don't know why I
wanted to—except that the girl made my pulse run a little faster and
I felt like looking at her for a couple of years.

She was half crying. She said: "Then, if for no other reason—for my
sake."
"For yours!" The boy looked harassed.
She nodded. "You'll sweep away his life work with a few words and a
few sheets of paper."
"My own work, too."
"Oh, but won't you understand? You're young. I'm young. Youth loves
to shatter the old idols. It feasts on the broken shards of destruction.
It destroys the old ideas to make way for its own. But he's not young
like us. He has only his past work to live on. If you shatter that, he'll
have nothing left but a futile resentment. I'll be pent up with a
broken old man who'll destroy me along with himself. Darling, I'm not
saying you're wrong—I'm only asking you to wait a little."
She was crying openly now. The boy took her by the arm and led her
to the crusted window. She turned her face away from the light—
away from him. The boy said: "He was my teacher. I worship him.
What I'm doing now may seem like treachery, but it's only treachery
to his old age. I'm keeping faith with what he was thirty years ago—
with the man who would have done the same thing to his teacher."
She cried: "But are you keeping faith with me? You, who will have all
the joy of destroying and none of the tedious sweeping away the
pieces. What of my life and all the weary years to come when I must
coddle him and soothe him and lead him through the madness of
forgetting what you've done to him?"
"You'll spend your life with me. I break no faith with you, Barbara."
She laughed bitterly. "How easily you evade reality. I shall spend my
life with you—and in that short sentence, poof!"—she flicked her
hand—"you dismiss everything. Where will he live? Alone? With us?
Where?"
"That can be arranged."
"You're so stubborn, so pig-headed in your smug, righteous truth-
seeking. Steven—for the very last time—please. Wait until he's gone.
A few years, that's all. Leave him in peace. Leave us in peace."
He shook his head and started toward the oaken doors. "A few years
waiting to salvage the pride of an old man, a few more catastrophies,
a few more thousand lives lost—it doesn't add up."
She sagged against the window, silhouetted before the riot of color,
and watched him cross to the doors. All the tears seemed drained out
of her. She was so limp I thought she would fall to the floor at any
instant. And then, as I watched her, I saw her stiffen and I realized
that another figure had entered the foyer and was rushing toward the
boy. It was an oldish man, bald and with an ageless face of carved
ivory. He was tall and terribly thin. His eyes were little pits of embers.
He called: "Steven!"
The boy stopped and turned.

"Steven, I want to talk to you."


"It's no use, sir!"
"You're headstrong, Steven. You pit a few years' research against my
work of a lifetime. Once I respected you. I thought you would carry
on for me as I've carried on for the generations that came before
me."
"I am, sir."
"You are not." The old man clutched at the boy's tunic and spoke
intensely. "You betray all of us. You will cut short a line of research
that promises the salvation of humanity. In five minutes you will wipe
out five centuries of work. You owe it to those who slaved before us
not to let their sweat go in vain."
The boy said: "I have a debt also to those who may die."
"You think too much of death, too little of life. What if a thousand
more are killed—ten thousand—in the end it will be worth it."
"It will never be worth it. There will never be an end. The theory has
always been wrong, faultily premised."
"You fool!" the old man cried. "You damned, blasted young fool. You
can't go in there!"
"I'm going, sir. Let go."
"I won't let you go in."
The boy pulled his arm free and reached for the doorknob. The old
man seized him again and yanked him off balance. The boy muttered
angrily, set himself and thrust the old man back. There was a flailing
blur of motion and a cry from the girl. She left the window, ran
across the room and thrust herself between the two. And in that
instant she screamed again and stepped back. The boy sagged gently
to the floor, his mouth opened to an O of astonishment. He tried to
speak and then relaxed. The girl dropped to her knees alongside him
and tried to get his head on her lap. Then she stopped.
That was all. No shot or anything. I caught a glimpse of a metallic
barrel in the old man's hand as he hovered frantically over the dead
boy. He cried: "I only meant to—I—" and kept on whimpering.
After a while the girl turned her head as though it weighed a ton, and
looked up. Her face was suddenly frostbitten. In dull tones she said:
"Go away, father."
The old man said: "I only—" His lips continued to twitch, but he
made no sound.
The girl picked up the portfolio and got to her feet. Without glancing
again at her father, she opened the doors, stepped in and closed
them behind her with a soft click. The debating voices broke off at
the sight of her. She walked to the head of the table, set the portfolio
down, opened it and took out a sheaf of type-script. Then she looked
at the amazed men who were seated around the table gaping at her.
She said: "I regret to inform the stabilizers that Mr. Steven Wilder has
been unavoidably detained. As his fiancée and co-worker, however, I
have been delegated to carry on his mission and present his evidence
to the committee—" She paused and went rigid, fighting for control.
One of the stabilizers said: "Thank you. Will you give your evidence,
Miss ... Miss?"
"Barbara Leeds."
"Thank you, Miss Leeds. Will you continue?"
With the gray ashes of a voice she went on: "We are heartily in favor
of S. R. 930 prohibiting any further experimentation in atomic energy
dynamics. All such experiments have been based on—almost inspired
by the FitzJohn axioms and mathematic. The catastrophic
detonations which have resulted must invariably result since the basic
premises are incorrect. We shall prove that the backbone of
FitzJohn's equations is entirely in error. I speak of
i = (b/a) π i e/μ..."
She glanced at the notes, hesitated for an instant, and then
continued: "FitzJohn's errors are most easily pointed out if we
consider the Leeds Derivations involving transfinite cardinals—"
The tragic voice droned on.
I said: "C-cut."
There was silence.
We sat there feeling bleak and cold, and for no reason at all, the icy
sea-green opening bars of Debussy's "La Mer" ran through my head.
I thought: "I'm proud to be a human—not because I think or I am,
but because I can feel. Because humanity can reach out to us across
centuries, from the past or future, from facts or imagination, and
touch us—move us."
At last I said: "We're moving along real nice now."
No answer.
I tried again: "Evidently that secret experiment that destroyed
existence was based on this FitzJohn's erroneous theory, eh?"
The C-S stirred and said: "What? Oh—Yes, Carmichael, quite right."
In low tones the controller said: "I wish it hadn't happened. He was a
nice-looking youngster, that Wilder—promising."
I said: "In the name of heaven, sir, it's not going to happen if we pull
ourselves together. If we can locate the very beginning and change it,
he'll probably marry the girl and live happily ever after."
"Of course—" The controller was confused. "I hadn't realized."
I said: "We've got to hunt back a lot more and locate this FitzJohn.
He seems to be the key man in this puzzle."

And how we searched. Boys, it was like working a four-dimensional


jig saw, the fourth dimension in this case being time. We located a
hundred universities that maintained chairs and departments
exclusively devoted to FitzJohn's mathematics and theories. We
slipped back a hundred years toward the present and found only fifty
and in those fifty were studying the men whose pupils were to fill the
chairs a century later.
Another century back and there were only a dozen universities that
followed the FitzJohn theories. They filled the scientific literature with
trenchant, belligerent articles on FitzJohn, and fought gory battles
with his opponents. How we went through the libraries. How many
shoulders we looked over. How many pages of equations we snap-
photographed from the whirling octahedron for future reference. And
finally we worked our way back to Bowdoin College, where FitzJohn
himself had taught, where he worked out his revolutionary theories
and where he made his first converts. We were on the home stretch.
FitzJohn was a fascinating man. Medium height, medium color,
medium build—his body had the rare trick of perfect balance. No
matter what he was doing, standing, sitting, walking, he was always
exquisitely poised. He was like the sculptor's idealization of the
perfect man. FitzJohn never smiled. His face was cut and chiseled, as
though from a roughish sandstone; it had the noble dignity of an
Egyptian carving. His voice was deep, unimpressive in quality, yet
unforgettable for the queer, intense stresses it laid on his words.
Altogether he was an enigmatic creature.
He was enigmatic for another reason, too, for although we traced his
career at Bowdoin backward and forward for all its forty years,
although we watched him teach the scores and scores of disciples
who afterward went out into the scholastic world to take up the fight
for him—we could never trace FitzJohn back into his youth. It was
impossible to pick him up at any point earlier than his first
appearance on the physics staff of the college. It seemed as though
he were deliberately concealing his identity.
Yarr raged with impotent fury. He said: "It's absolutely aggravating.
Here we follow the chain back to less than a half century from today
and we're blocked—" He picked up a small desk phone and called
upstairs to the data floors. "Hullo, Cullen? Get me all available data
on the name FitzJohn. FitzJOHN. What's the matter, you deaf? F-I-T-Z
... That's right. Be quick about it."
I said: "Seems as if FitzJohn didn't want people to know where he
came from."
"Well," Yarr said pettishly, "that's impossible. I'll trace him backward
second by second, if I have to!"
I said: "That would take a little time, wouldn't it?"
"Yes."
"Maybe a couple of years?"
"What of it? You said we had a thousand."
"I didn't mean you to take me seriously, Dr. Yarr."
The small pneumatic at Yarr's desk whirred and clicked. Out popped a
cartridge. Yarr opened it and withdrew a list of figures, and they were
appalling. Something like two hundred thousand FitzJohns on the
Earth alone. It would take a decade to check the entire series
through the Integrator. Yarr threw the figures to the floor in disgust
and swiveled around to face us.
"Well?" he asked.
I said: "Seems hopeless to check FitzJohn back second by second. At
that rate we might just as well go through all the names on the list."
"What else is there to do?"
I said: "Look, the Prognosticator flirted twice with something
interesting when we were conning FitzJohn's career. It was
something mentioned all through the future, too."
"I don't recall—" the C-S began.
"It was a lecture, sir," I explained. "FitzJohn's first big lecture when
he set out to refute criticism. I think we ought to pick that up and go
through it with a fine comb. Something is bound to come out of it."
"Very well."
Images blurred across the spinning crystal as Yarr hunted for the
scene. I caught fuzzy fragments of a demolished Manhattan City with
giant crablike creatures mashing helpless humans, their scarlet chiton
glittering. Then an even blurrier series of images. A city of a single
stupendous building towering like Babel into the heavens; a
catastrophic fire roaring along the Atlantic seaboard; then a sylvan
civilization of odd, naked creatures flitting from one giant flower to
another. But they were all so far off focus they made my eyes ache.
The sound was even worse.
Groating leaned toward me and whispered: "Merely vague
possibilities—"
I nodded and then riveted my attention to the crystal, for it held a
clear scene. Before us lay an amphitheater. It was modeled on the
ancient Greek form, a horseshoe of gleaming white-stone terraces
descending to a small square white rostrum. Behind the rostrum and
surrounding the uppermost tiers of seats was a simple colonnade.
The lovely and yet noble dignity was impressive.
The controller said: "Hel-lo, I don't recognize this."
"Plans are in the architectural offices," Groating said. "It isn't due for
construction for another thirty years. We intend placing it at the north
end of Central Park—"
It was difficult to hear them. The room was filled with the bellow and
roar of shouting from the amphitheater. It was packed from pit to
gallery with quick-jerking figures. They climbed across the terraces;
they fought up and down the broad aisles; they stood on their seats
and waved. Most of all they opened their mouths into gaping black
blots and shouted. The hoarse sound rolled like slow, thunderous
waves, and there was a faint rhythm struggling to emerge from the
chaos.
A figure appeared from behind the columns, walked calmly up to the
platform and began arranging cards on the small table. It was
FitzJohn, icy and self-possessed, statuesque in his white tunic. He
stood alongside the table, carefully sorting his notes, utterly oblivious
of the redoubled roar that went up at his appearance. Out of that
turmoil came the accented beats of a doggerel rhyme:
Neon
Crypton
Ammoniated
FitzJohn
Neon
Crypton
Ammoniated
FitzJohn
When he was finished, FitzJohn straightened and, resting the
fingertips of his right hand lightly on top of the table, he gazed out at
the rioting—un-smiling, motionless. The pandemonium was reaching
unprecedented heights. As the chanting continued, costumed figures
appeared on the terrace tops and began fighting down the aisles
toward the platform. There were men wearing metal-tubed frame-
works representing geometric figures. Cubes, spheres, rhomboids
and tesseracts. They hopped and danced outlandishly.
Two young boys began unreeling a long streamer from a drum
concealed behind the colonnade. It was of white silk and an endless
equation was printed on it that read:
eia = 1 + ia - a2! + a3! - a4!...
and so on, yard after yard after yard. It didn't exactly make sense,
but I understood it to be some kind of cutting reference to FitzJohn's
equations.
There were hundreds of others, some surprising and many obscure.
Lithe contortionists, made up to represent Möbius Strips, grasped
ankles with their hands and went rolling down the aisles. A dozen
girls appeared from nowhere, clad only in black net representing
giant Aleph-Nulls, and began an elaborate ballet. Great gas-filled
balloons, shaped into weird topological manifolds were dragged in
and bounced around.
It was utter insanity and utterly degrading to see how these mad
college kids were turning FitzJohn's lecture into a Mardi Gras. They
were college kids, of course, crazy youngsters who probably couldn't
explain the binomial theorem, but nevertheless were giving their own
form of expression to their teachers' antagonism to FitzJohn. I
thought vaguely of the days centuries back when a thousand Harvard
undergraduates did a very similar thing when Oscar Wilde came to
lecture. Undergraduates whose entire reading probably consisted of
the Police Gazette.
And all the while they danced and shouted and screamed, FitzJohn
stood motionless, fingertips just touching the table, waiting for them
to finish. You began with an admiration for his composure. Then
suddenly you realized what a breathtaking performance was going
on. You glued your eyes to the motionless figure and waited for it to
move—and it never did.
What?
You don't think that was so terrific, eh? Well, one of you get up and
try it. Stand alongside a table and rest your fingertips lightly on the
top—not firmly enough to bear the weight of your arm—but just
enough to make contact. Maybe it sounds simple. Just go ahead and
try it. I'll bet every credit I ever own no one of you can stand there
without moving for sixty seconds. Any takers? I thought not. You
begin to get the idea, eh?
They began to get the same idea in the amphitheater. At first the
excitement died down out of shame. There's not much fun making a
holy show of yourself if your audience doesn't react. They started it
up again purely out of defiance, but it didn't last long. The chanting
died away, the dancers stopped cavorting, and at last that entire
audience of thousands stood silent, uneasily watching FitzJohn. He
never moved a muscle.
After what seemed like hours of trying to outstare him, the kids
suddenly gave in. Spatters of applause broke out across the terraces.
The clapping was taken up and it rose to a thunder of beating palms.
No one is as quick to appreciate a great performance as a youngster.
These kids sat down in their seats and applauded like mad. FitzJohn
never moved until the applause, too, had died down, then he picked
up his card and, without preamble—as though nothing at all had
happened—he began his lecture.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have been accused of creating my theory of


energy-dynamics and my mathematics out of nothing—and my critics
cry: 'From nothing comes nothing.' Let me remind you first that man
does not create in the sense of inventing what never existed before.
Man only discovers. The things we seem to invent, no matter how
novel and revolutionary, we merely discover. They have been waiting
for us all the time.
"Moreover, I was not the sole discoverer of this theory. No scientist is
a lone adventurer, striking out into new fields for himself. The way is
always led by those who precede us, and we who seem to discover
all, actually do no more than add our bit to an accumulated
knowledge.
"To show you how small my own contribution was and how much I
inherited from the past, let me tell you that the basic equation of my
theory is not even my own. It was discovered some fifty years prior
to this day—some ten years before I was born.
"For on the evening of February 9, 2909, in Central Park, on the very
site of this amphitheater, my father, suddenly struck with an idea,
mentioned an equation to my mother. That equation:
i = (b/a) π i e/μ..."
was the inspiration for my own theory. So you can understand just
how little I have contributed to the 'invention' of The Tension Energy-
Dynamics Equations—"
FitzJohn glanced at the first card and went on: "Let us consider, now,
the possible permutations on the factor
e/μ..."
I yelled: "That's plenty. Cut!" and before the first word was out of my
mouth the controller and the C-S were shouting, too. Yarr blanked
out the crystal and brought up the lights. We were all on our feet,
looking at each other excitedly. Yarr jumped up so fast his chair went
over backward with a crash. We were in a fever because, boys, that
day happened to be February 9, 2909, and we had just about two
hours until evening.
The controller said: "Can we locate these FitzJohns?"
"In two hours? Don't be silly. We don't even know if they're named
FitzJohn today."
"Why not?"
"They may have changed their name—it's getting to be a fad
nowadays. The son may have changed his name as a part of that
cover-up of his past. Heaven only knows why not—"
"But we've got to split them up—whoever they are."
The C-S said: "Take hold of yourself. How are we going to separate
eleven million married people? Didn't you ever hear of Stability?"
"Can't we publish a warning and order everybody out of the park?"
"And let everybody know about the Prog Building?" I said. "You keep
forgetting Stability."
"Stability be damned! We can't let them have that conversation—and
if they do anyway, we can't let them have that boy!"
Groating was really angry. He said: "You'd better go home and read
through the Credo. Even if it meant the salvation of the Universe I
would not break up a marriage—nor would I harm the boy."
"Then what do we do?"
"Have patience. We'll think of something."
I said: "Excuse me, sir—I've got an idea."
"Forget ideas," the controller yelled, "we need action."
"This is action."
The C-S said: "Go ahead, Carmichael."
"Well, obviously the important thing is to keep all married couples out
of the north sector of Central Park tonight. Suppose we get a special
detail of police together at once. Then we beat through the park and
get everyone out. We can quarantine it—set up a close cordon
around the park and guard it all night."
The controller yelled: "It may be one of the policemen."
"O.K., then we pick the unmarried ones. Furthermore, we give strict
orders that all women are to stay away."
The C-S said: "It might work—it'll have to work. We can't let that
conversation take place."
I said: "Excuse me, sir, do you happen to be married?"
He grinned: "My wife's in Washington. I'll tell her to stay there."
"And the controller, sir?"
The controller said: "She'll stay home. What about yourself?"
"Me? Strictly bachelor."
Groating laughed. "Unfortunate, but excellent for tonight. Come, let's
hurry."

We took the pneumatic to headquarters and let me tell you, stuff


began to fly, but high! Before we were there ten minutes, three
companies were reported ready for duty. It seemed to satisfy the
controller, but it didn't satisfy me. I said: "Three's not enough. Make
it five."
"Five hundred men? You're mad."
I said: "I wish it could be five thousand. Look, we've knocked our
brains out digging through a thousand years for this clue. Now that
we've got it I don't want us to muff the chance."
The C-S said: "Make it five."
"But I don't think we've got that many unmarried men in the service."
"Then get all you can. Get enough so they can stand close together
in the cordon—close enough so no one can wander through. Look—
this isn't a case of us hunting down a crook who knows we're after
him. We're trying to pick up a couple who are perfectly innocent—
who may wander through the cordon. We're trying to prevent an
accident, not a crime."
They got four hundred and ten all told. The whole little regiment was
mustered before headquarters and the C-S made a beautifully
concocted speech about a criminal and a crime that had to be
prevented and hoopus-gadoopus, I forget most of it. Naturally we
couldn't let them know about the Prog Building any more than we
could the citizens—and I suppose you understand why the secret had
to be kept.
You don't, eh? Well, for the benefit of the hermit from the Moon I'll
explain that, aside from the important matter of Stability, there's the
very human fact that the Prog would be besieged by a million people
a day looking for fortunetelling and hot tips on the races. Most
important of all, there's the question of death. You can't let a man
know when and how he's going to die. You just can't.
There wasn't any sense keeping the news from the papers because
everyone around Central Park was going to know something was up.
While the C-S was giving instructions, I slipped into a booth and
asked for multi-dial. When most of the reporters' faces were on
segments of the screen, I said: "Greetings, friendlies!"
They all yelled indignantly because I'd been out of sight for three
days.
I said: "No more ho-hum, lads. Carmichael sees all and tells all. Hot-
foot it up to the north end of Central Park in an hour or so. Big stuff!"
The Journal said: "Take you three days to find that out?"
"Yep."
The Post said: "Can it, Carmichael. The last time you sent us north,
the south end of the Battery collapsed."
"This is no gag. I'm giving it to you straight."
"Yeah?" The Post was belligerent. "I say Gowan!"
"Gowan yourself," the Ledger said. "This side of the opposition is
credible."
"You mean gullible."
I said: "The word this time is sensational. Four hundred police on the
march. Tramp-tramp-tramp—the beat of the drum—boots—et cetera.
Better get moving if you want to tag along."
The News gave me a nasty smile and said: "Brother, for your sake it
better be good—because I'm preparing a little sensation of my own
to hand over."
I said: "Make it a quick double cross, Newsy. I'm in a hurry," and I
clicked off. It's funny how sometimes you can't get along right with
wrong people.

You know how fast night comes on in February. The blackness


gathers in the sky like a bunched cape. Then someone lets it drop
and it sinks down over you with swiftly spreading black folds. Those
dusky folds were just spreading out toward the corners of the sky
when we got to the park. The cops didn't even bother to park their
helios. They vaulted out and left them blocking the streets. In less
than half a minute, two hundred were beating through the park in a
long line, driving everyone out. The rest were forming the skeleton of
the cordon.
It took an hour to make sure the park was clear. Somehow, if you tell
a hundred citizens to do something, there will always be twenty
who'll fight you—not because they really object to doing what they're
told, but just out of principle or curiosity or cantankerousness.
The all-clear came at six o'clock, and it was just in time because it
was pitch dark. The controller, the C-S and myself stood before the
high iron gates that open onto the path leading into the rock
gardens. Where we stood we could see the jet masses of foliage
standing crisp and still in the chill night. To either side of us stretched
the long, wavering lines of police glow lamps. We could see the ring
of bright dots drawn around the entire north end of the park like a
necklace of glowing pearls.
The silence and the chill waiting was agonizing. Suddenly I said:
"Excuse me, sir, but did you tell the police captain to O.K. the
reporters?"
The C-S said: "I did, Carmichael—" and that was all. It wasn't so
good because I'd hoped we'd have a little talk to ease the tension.
Again there was nothing but the cold night and the waiting. The stars
overhead were like bits of radium and so beautiful you wished they
were candy so you could eat them. I tried to imagine them slowly
blotted out, and I couldn't. It's impossible to visualize the destruction
of any lovely thing. Then I tried counting the police lamps around the
park. I gave that up before I reached twenty.
At last I said: "Couldn't we go in and walk around a bit, sir?"
The C-S said: "I don't see why not—"
So we started through the gate, but we hadn't walked three steps
into the park when there was a shout behind us and the sharp
sounds of running feet.
But it was only old Yarr running up to us with a couple of cops
following him. Yarr looked like a banshee with his coat flying and an
enormous muffler streaming from his neck. He dressed real old-
fashioned. He was all out of breath and just gasped while the C-S
told the cops it was all right.
Yarr panted: "I ... I—"
"Don't worry, Dr. Yarr, everything is safe so far."
Yarr took an enormous breath, held it for a moment and then let it
out with a woosh. In natural tones he said: "I wanted to ask you if
you'd hold on to the couple. I'd like to examine them for a check on
the Prognosticator."
Gently, the C-S explained: "We're not trying to catch them, Dr. Yarr.
We don't know who they are and we may never know. All we want to
do is to prevent this conversation."

So we forgot about taking a walk through the gardens and there was
more cold and more silence and more waiting. I clasped my hands
together and I was so chilled and nervous it felt like I had ice water
between the palms. A quick streak of red slanted up through the sky,
the rocket discharges of the Lunar Transport, and ten seconds later I
heard the wham of the take-off echoing from Governor's Island and
the follow-up drone. Only that drone kept on sounding long after it
should have died away and it was too thin—too small—
I looked up, startled, and there was a helio making lazy circles over
the center of the rock gardens. Its silhouette showed clearly against
the stars and I could see the bright squares of its cabin windows.
Suddenly I realized there was a stretch of lawn in the center of the
gardens where a helio could land—where a couple could get out to
stretch their legs and take an evening stroll.
I didn't want to act scared, so I just said: "I think we'd better go
inside and get that helio out of there."
So we entered the gate and walked briskly toward the gardens, the
two cops right at our heels. I managed to keep on walking for about
ten steps and then I lost all control. I broke into a run and the others
ran right behind me—the controller, the C-S, Yarr and the cops. We
went pelting down the gravel path, circled a dry fountain and climbed
a flight of steps three at a clip.
The helio was just landing when I got to the edge of the lawn. I
yelled: "Keep off! Get out of here!" and started toward them across
the frozen turf. My feet pounded, but not much louder than my heart.
I guess the whole six of us must have sounded like a herd of buffalo.
I was still fifty yards off when dark figures started climbing out of the
cabin. I yelled: "Didn't you hear me? Get out of this park!"
And then the Post called: "That you, Carmichael? What goes on?"
Sure—it was the press.
So I stopped running and the others stopped and I turned to the C-S
and said: "Sorry about the false alarm, sir. What shall I do with the
reporters—have them fly out or can they stay? They think this is a
crime hunt."
Groating was a little short of breath. He said: "Let them stay,
Carmichael, they can help us look for Dr. Yarr. He seems to have lost
himself somewhere in the woods."
I said: "Yes, sir," and walked up to the helio.
The cabin door was open and warm amber light spilled out into the
blackness. All the boys were out by this time, getting into their
coveralls and stamping around and making the usual newspaper
chatter. As I came up, the Post said: "We brung your opposition
along, Carmichael—Hogan of the Trib."
The News said: "Now's as good a time as any for the wrasslin' match,
eh? You been in training, Carmichael?" His voice had a nasty snigger
to it and I thought: "Oh-ho, this Hogan probably scales two twenty
and he'll mop me up, but very good—to the great satisfaction, no
doubt, of my confrere from the News."
Only when they shoved Hogan forward, he wasn't so big, so I
thought: "At a time like this—let's get it over with fast." I took a little
sprint through the dark and grabbed Hogan around the chest and
dumped him to the ground.
I said: "O.K., opposition, that's—"
Suddenly I realized this Hogan'd been soft—soft but firm, if you get
me. I looked down at her, full of astonishment and she looked up at
me, full of indignation, and the rest of the crowd roared with
laughter.
I said: "I'll be a pie-eyed emu!"

And then, my friends, six dozen catastrophes and cataclysms and


volcanoes and hurricanes and everything else hit me. The C-S began
shouting and then the controller and after a moment, the cops. Only
by that time the four of them were on top of me and all over me, so
to speak. Little Yarr came tearing up, screaming at Groating and
Groating yelled back and Yarr tried to bash my head in with his little
fists.
They yanked me to my feet and marched me off while the reporters
and this Halley Hogan girl stared. I can't tell you much about what
happened after that—the debating and the discussing and the
interminable sound and fury, because most of the time I was busy
being locked up. All I can tell you is that I was it. Me. I. I was the
one man we were trying to stop. I—innocent me. I was X, the mad
scientist and Y, the ruthless dictator and Z, the alien planet—all rolled
into one. I was the one guy the Earth was looking to stop.
Sure—because you see if you twist "I'll be a pie-eyed emu" enough,
you get FitzJohn's equation:
i = (b/a) π i e/μ..."
I don't know how my future son is going to figure I was talking
mathematics. I guess it'll just be another one of those incidents that
turn into legend and get pretty well changed in the process. I mean
the way an infant will say "goo" and by the time his pop gets finished
telling about it it's become the Preamble to the Credo.
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