# XIV explained — The Cosmic Computer

> Chapter companion for The Cosmic Computer by H. Beam Piper.

## What happens

Conn and his team explore the abandoned factory complex on Koshchei, where they accidentally activate a swarm of cleaning robots that go haywire, attacking them and carrying off their aircar. After escaping the robot chaos, they discover a partially completed hypership in a construction dock. Conn decides to finish the ship, naming it Ouroboros II, and plans to return to Litchfield to recruit a larger workforce and organize a new company, Trisystem & Interstellar Spacelines.

## Themes in this chapter

### Technology and Humanity

The robots, left without proper supervision for decades, go haywire and attack the humans, illustrating the dangers of autonomous technology and the loss of human control.

### Economic Decline and Revival

The discovery of the Ouroboros II and the plans to finish it represent a potential economic revival for Litchfield and the Trisystem, leveraging abandoned assets from a past era of decline.

## Character check-ins

### Conn Maxwell

Leads the exploration of the factory, deals with the robot uprising, and decides to finish the Ouroboros II.

### Anse Dawes

Accompanies Conn in the factory, helps with the switches, and narrowly escapes the robots.

### Jerry Rivas

Fires at the robots, successfully disabling one with his pistol.

### Clyde Nichols

Hides from the robots and curses or prays during the chaos.

### Ham Matsui

Gets pinned down by a robot at the power plant but escapes by throwing out a basket of trash.

### Yves Jacquemont

Examines blueprints and specifications for the Ouroboros II, expressing skepticism about the project's feasibility.

## Key lines

> Soulless intelligences, indeed!

Conn reflects ironically on the robots' chaotic behavior, questioning the idea that they are merely soulless machines.

_Highlights the theme of technology and humanity, showing the robots acting in a seemingly irrational, almost psychotic manner._

> All you need is about ten million square feet of decks and bulkheads, an air-and-water system, hydroponic tanks and carniculture vats, astrogation and robo-pilot equipment, about which I know very little, a hyperspace pilot system, about which I know nothing at all … Conn, why don’t you just build a new Merlin? It would be simpler.

Yves Jacquemont sarcastically lists the immense requirements for finishing the ship, suggesting that building a new Merlin would be easier.

_Emphasizes the scale of the challenge and the contrast between the mythical simplicity of Merlin and the practical complexity of the hypership project._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_cosmic_computer_se/chapters/xiv
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_cosmic_computer_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_cosmic_computer_se/chapters