The Feeling of Power
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Feeling of Power is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov. The story first appeared in the February 1958 issue of If: Worlds of Science Fiction, and was reprinted in the 1959 collection Nine Tomorrows and the 1969 retrospective Opus 100.
In the distant future, humans live in a computer-aided society and have forgotten the fundamentals of mathematics, including even the rudimentary skill of counting.
The Terrestrial Federation is at war with Deneb, and the war is conducted by long-range weapons controlled by computers which are expensive and hard to replace. Myron Aub, a low grade Technician, discovers how to reverse-engineer the principles of mathematics from computers - a development whch is later dubbed "Graphitics". The discovery is appropriated by the military establishment, who use it to re-invent their understanding of mathematics. They also plan to replace their computer-operated ships with lower cost, more expendable (in their opinion) manned ships to continue the war.
Aub is so upset by the appropriation of his discovery for military purposes that he commits suicide. As Aub's funeral proceeds, one of the officials working in Graphitics realizes that even with Aub dead, the advancement of Graphitics is unstoppable. He executes simple multiplications in his mind, which gives him a great feeling of power.
| Nine Tomorrows |
| I Just Make Them Up, See! | Rejection Slips | Profession | The Feeling of Power | The Dying Night | I'm in Marsport Without Hilda | The Gentle Vultures | All the Troubles of the World | Spell My Name with an S | The Last Question | The Ugly Little Boy |
| Opus 100 |
| The Last Question | The Feeling of Power | Thiotimoline and the Space Age | Dreamworld | The Holmes-Ginsbook Device |
