The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein Page B

agitprop techniques, classic authorities such as Clausewitz, Guevera,
Morgenstern, Machiavelli, many others.”
    “Is
that all?”
    “‘Is
that all?’ My dear boy!”
    “Prof,
how many history books have you read?”
    “I
do not know. In excess of a thousand.”
    “Mike
can zip through that many this afternoon, speed limited only by scanning
method—he can store data much faster. Soon—minutes—-he would
have every fact correlated with everything else he knows, discrepancies noted,
probability values assigned to uncertainties. Prof, Mike reads every word of
every newspaper up from Terra. Reads all technical publications. Reads
fiction—knows it’s fiction—because isn’t enough to keep
him busy and is always hungry for more. If is any book he should read to solve
this, say so. He can cram it down fast as I get it to him.”
    Prof
blinked. “I stand corrected. Very well, let us see if he can cope with
it. I still think there is something known as ‘intuition’ and
‘human judgment.’”
    “Mike
has intuition,” Wych said. “Feminine intuition, that is.”
    “As
for ‘human judgment,’” I added, “Mike isn’t
human. But all he knows he got from humans. Let’s get you acquainted and
you judge his judgment.”
    So
I phoned. “Hi, Mike!”
    “Hello,
Man my only male friend. Greetings, Wyoh my only female friend. I heard a third
person. I conjecture that it may be Professor Bernardo de la Paz.”
    Prof
looked startled, then delighted. I said, “Too right, Mike. That’s
why I called you; Professor is not-stupid.”
    “Thank
you, Man! Professor Bernardo de la Paz, I am delighted to meet you.”
    “I
am delighted to meet you, too, sir.” Prof hesitated, went on
“Mi—
Señor
Holmes, may I ask how you knew that I was
here?”
    “I
am sorry, sir; I cannot answer. Man? ‘You know my methods.’”
    “Mike
is being crafty, Prof. It involves something he learned doing a confidential
job for me. So he threw me a hint to let you think that he had identified you
by hearing your presence—and he can indeed tell much from respiration and
heartbeat … mass, approximate age, sex, and quite a bit about health;
Mike’s medical storage is as full as any other.”
    “I
am happy to say,” Mike added seriously, “that I detect no signs of
cardiac or respiratory trouble, unusual for a man of the Professor’s age
who has spent so many years Earthside. I congratulate you, sir.”
    “Thank
you,
Señor
Holmes.”
    “My
pleasure, Professor Bernardo de la Paz.”
    “Once
he knew your identity, he knew how old you are, when you were shipped and what
for, anything that ever appeared about you in Lunatic or Moonglow or any Lunar
publication, including pictures—your bank balance, whether you pay bills
on time, and much more. Mike retrieved this in a split second once he had your
name. What he didn’t tell—because was my business—is that he
knew I had invited you here, so it’s a short jump to guess that
you’re still here when he heard heartbeat and breathing that matched you.
Mike, no need to say ‘Professor Bernardo de la Paz’ each time; ‘Professor’
or”Prof’ is enough.”
    “Noted,
Man. But he addressed me formally, with honorific.”
    “So
both of you relax. Prof, you scan it? Mike knows much, doesn’t tell all,
knows when to keep mouth shut.”
    “I
am impressed!”
    “Mike
is a fair dinkum thinkum—you’ll see. Mike, I bet Professor three to
two that Yankees would win pennant again. How chances?”
    “I
am sorry to hear it, Man. The correct odds, this early in the year and based on
past performances of teams and players, are one to four point seven two the other
way.”
    “Can’t
be that bad!”
    “I’m
sorry, Man. I will print out the calculations if you wish. But I recommend that
you buy back your wager. The Yankees have a favorable chance to defeat any
single team … but the combined chances of defeating all teams in the
league, including such factors as weather,