The Cosmic Computer · Chapter
Chapter VI explained
Rodney Maxwell returns to Litchfield to organize the Litchfield Exploration & Salvage corporation, with Kurt Fawzi as president, Dolf Kellton as secretary, Lester Dawes as treasurer, and himself as vice-president.
What happens
Rodney Maxwell returns to Litchfield to organize the Litchfield Exploration & Salvage corporation, with Kurt Fawzi as president, Dolf Kellton as secretary, Lester Dawes as treasurer, and himself as vice-president. Conn stays at Tenth Army to oversee operations. The secret about Merlin begins to leak, fueling public speculation. Conn visits his mother in Litchfield, where she fears the housecleaning robot and Merlin alike. Franz Veltrin reports that news services are demanding the Merlin story. Colonel Zareff suspects Wade Lucas is a Federation spy. A ship, the Lester Dawes, is acquired and armed for the expedition.
Themes in this chapter
Deception and Leadership
Rodney Maxwell orchestrates a deliberate leak of the Merlin secret to build credibility, while Conn maintains strict secrecy to protect the plan.
Faith and Credulity
The townspeople's belief in Merlin is exploited by the Maxwells; Conn's mother fears Merlin like the housecleaning robot, reflecting blind faith and fear.
Post-War Society
The corporation's formation and the influx of job-seekers, thugs, and gangsters highlight the economic desperation and social upheaval after the war.
Characters to notice
- Conn Maxwell
Stays at Tenth Army to oversee operations; visits Litchfield and reassures his mother about Merlin; discusses Zareff's suspicions with his father.
- Rodney Maxwell
Returns to Litchfield to organize the corporation; becomes vice-president in charge of operations; flies to Storisende to handle logistics.
- Kurt Fawzi
Appointed president of Litchfield Exploration & Salvage; worries about the cost of the civic cleanup campaign.
- Professor Dolf Kellton
Appointed secretary of the corporation; organizes a research team to study Third Force records at the Planetary Library.
- Lester Dawes
Appointed treasurer; travels to Storisende to find a contragravity ship.
- Colonel Klem Zareff
Drills men as soldiers for the operation; suspects Wade Lucas is a Federation spy; discusses his theory with Conn.
- Franz Veltrin
Reports that news services are demanding the Merlin story; complains about leaks.
- Judge Ledue
Declines an official position in the corporation; plans to leave town to avoid interviews.
Key passages
“It’s leaking like a machine-gunned water tank, and everybody it leaks to is positive that we know exactly where Merlin is or we wouldn’t be trying to keep it a secret.”
The secret about Merlin is spreading rapidly, and people believe the secrecy itself proves the Maxwells know Merlin's location.
Rodney Maxwell reports the ironic success of their deliberate leak strategy.
“I think he’s a Federation spy! I think the Federation’s lost Merlin. That’s why they haven’t come back to get it long ago.”
Colonel Zareff suspects Wade Lucas is a spy for the Terran Federation, which may have lost track of Merlin.
Zareff's paranoid theory about Lucas and the Federation's loss of Merlin.
“The way to keep a secret was to confide it to nobody; every time you did, you doubled, maybe even squared, the chances of exposure.”
Conn believes that telling anyone a secret greatly increases the risk of it being revealed.
Conn's internal reasoning for not telling Flora the truth about the Maxwell Plan.
