The Cosmic Computer · Chapters

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Chapter companions for The Cosmic Computer by H. Beam Piper.

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Chapter 1
I
Conn Maxwell returns to his home planet Poictesme after six years at the University on Terra. He is greeted by a crowd in Litchfield, including his family, Mayor Kurt Fawzi, Colonel Zareff, and others. The planet has fallen into decay after the war, and the townspeople are eager to hear if Conn has discovered the location of a rumored treasure—the secret of Merlin. Conn observes the economic decline and his father's scavenging business, and he grapples with what to tell them.
Chapter 2
II
Conn Maxwell returns to Litchfield and meets with his father's associates in Kurt Fawzi's office. He reveals that despite extensive research, he found no evidence of the giant strategic computer called Merlin. The group, initially hopeful, reacts with shock and denial, but Conn proposes building a hypership to search for Merlin on Koshchei, sparking debate about funding and the need for a ship.
Chapter 3
The Price of Truth
Conn Maxwell reveals to his father Rodney that Merlin is a myth, based on his conversation with General Foxx Travis. They discuss the impossibility of telling the truth to the people of Poictesme, who have made Merlin a religion. Conn proposes building a hypership as a front to salvage war materials and revive the economy, and they agree to lie to everyone, including family, for the cause.
Chapter 4
Breakfast and the Home Guard
Conn Maxwell returns home and faces a tense breakfast with his family, where Flora openly scoffs at the belief in Merlin and his mother expresses deep unease about the nature of a thinking machine. Later, Conn visits Dr. Wade Lucas and encounters Tom Brangwyn and Fred Karski, who discuss the dire state of the planet—rampant outlawry, economic collapse, and the formation of the Home Guard for self-defense.
Chapter 5
The Meeting at the Academy
Conn and Rodney Maxwell attend a large meeting at the Academy to present Conn's findings about abandoned Federation installations and to discuss the search for Merlin. Conn skillfully navigates skepticism from Wade Lucas, who storms out in disgust. The group decides to form a prospecting company, Litchfield Exploration & Salvage, to secretly fund the search for Merlin while publicly focusing on salvage operations. Plans are made to clean up Litchfield as a cover for training workers.

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I

II

The Price of Truth

Breakfast and the Home Guard

The Meeting at the Academy