Short Fiction · Chapter
Appointment in Tomorrow explained
Jorj Helmuth, a leader of the Thinkers, uses a somno-learner and robots to invite rocket physicists to a conference, including Willard Farquar.
What happens
Jorj Helmuth, a leader of the Thinkers, uses a somno-learner and robots to invite rocket physicists to a conference, including Willard Farquar. The Thinkers' supercomputer Maizie is revered by the President and generals, who see it as a godlike authority. Jan Tregarron manipulates Caddy (Kitty Kaddy) into contacting Farquar, revealing tensions between Thinkers and professional scientists. Tregarron dismisses Helmuth's plans for a neutron-drive rocket and cooperation with scientists, instead plotting to send Helmuth to Mars and replace him with Farquar, using bribery and subversion.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
This moment is the story's dramatic climax because it presents the emotional and psychological peak of the pro…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Technology and Control
Maizie the supercomputer is used for social control and political power, with leaders treating it as a godlike authority; the Thinkers manipulate technology to maintain dominance.
- Identity and Illusion
The big lie of Maizie and the Mars rocket project is maintained by the Thinkers; Helmuth believes in his own self-improvement techniques while being deceived by Tregarron.
- Conformity and Rebellion
Professional scientists are portrayed as jealous and stuffy, resisting the Thinkers' control; Helmuth's plan to cooperate represents a rebellion against Tregarron's strategy of subversion.
Characters to notice
- Jorj Helmuth
A Thinker leader who uses somno-learning and robots to arrange a conference with rocket physicists; he is later outmaneuvered by Tregarron and threatened with exile to Mars.
- Jan Tregarron
A Thinker's salesman and manipulator who plots to replace Helmuth with Farquar; he uses Caddy as a contact and wields an ultrasonic pistol to enforce his orders.
- Catherine
Also called Caddy or Kitty Kaddy; she is Tregarron's assistant and former acquaintance of Farquar, reluctantly assigned to be the contact girl for him.
- Willard Farquar
A rocket physicist whom Helmuth invites; Tregarron plans to use him as a replacement for Helmuth, exploiting his past connection with Caddy.
- Mr. Ellenby
The President's secretary who discusses the possibility of a man inside Maizie and the political power of the Thinkers.
- Morton Opperly
Mentioned as possibly having knowledge about an odd question regarding Maizie in Section Five, part of the feud between physicists and Thinkers.
Key passages
“Huge as a primitive nuclear reactor, the great electronic brain loomed above the knot of hush-voiced men.”
The enormous computer Maizie dominated the room where the men spoke in whispers.
Describes the imposing presence of the supercomputer and the awe it inspires.
“This was the machine that really thought—a million-plus!”
Maizie was a thinking machine with over a million times the synapses of a human brain.
Highlights the advanced intelligence of the machine.
“The big liar must never fall for his own big lie.”
A deceiver should never believe the deception he creates.
Tregarron's philosophy justifying his manipulation of Helmuth.
