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Linda, age ten, was the only one of the fa awake

Nored, unhealthy coed to fall asleep an hour earlier but even then it was more like exhaustion than sleep) She was at his bedside now, shaking him "Daddy, Daddy, wake up Wake up!"

He suppressed a groan "All right, Linda"

"But, Daddy, there&039;s more police!"

Norave up and rose blearily to his elbows The day was beginning It was faintly stirring toward dawn outside, the gerray as he felt He could hear Sarah, his wife, shuffling about breakfast duties in the kitchen His father-in-law, Mattheas hawking strenuously in the bathroo for him

This was the day

Election Day!

To begin with, it had been like every other year Maybe a little worse, because it was a presidential year, but no worse than other presidential years if it cauh-reat electorate and the vast electronic intelligence that was its servant The press analyzed the situation with industrial computers (the New York Times and the St Louis Post-Dispatch had their own computers) and were full of little hints as to ould be forthco Commentators and columnists pinpointed the crucial state and county in happy contradiction to one another

The first hint that it would not be like every other year hen Sarah Muller said to her husband on the evening of October 4 (with Election Day exactly a month off), "Cantwell Johnson says that Indiana will be the state this year He&039;s the fourth one Just think, our state this time"

Matthew Hortenweiler took his fleshy face frorowled, "Those fellows are paid to tell lies Don&039;t listen to them"

"Four of them, Father," said Sarah mildly "They all say Indiana"

"Indiana is a key state, Matthew," said Norman, just as mildly, "on account of the Hawkins-Smith Act and this mess in Indianapolis It - "

Mattheisted his old face alarton or Monroe County, do they?"

"Well - " said Norman

Linda, whose little pointed-chinned face had been shifting fro to be voting this year, Daddy?"

Norently and said, "I don&039;t think so, dear"

But this was in the gradually growing excitement of an October in a presidential election year and Sarah had led a quiet life with drealy, "Wouldn&039;t that be wonderful, though?"

"If I voted?" Noriven hi Sarah&039;s eyes, but which, with gradual graying, had declinedlines born of uncertainty and, in general, he had never seduced his clerkly soul with the thought that he was either born great or would under any circureatness He had a wife, a job and a little girl, and except under extraordinary conditions of elation or depression was inclined to consider that to be an adequate bargain struck with life

So he was a little embarrassed and more than a little uneasy at the direction his wife&039;s thoughts were taking "Actually, my dear," he said, "there are two hundred million people in the country, and, with odds like that, I don&039;t think we ought to waste our ti about it"

His wife said, "Why, Nor like two hundred million and you know it In the first place, only people between twenty and sixty are eligible and it&039;s always men, so that puts it down to maybe fifty million to one Then, if it&039;s really Indiana - "

"Then it&039;s about one and a quarter million to one You wouldn&039;t want ainst those odds, noould you? Let&039;s have supper"

Matthew muttered from behind his newspaper, "Da to be voting this year, Daddy?"

Nor room

By October 20, Sarah&039;s excite rapidly Over the coffee, she announced that Mrs Schultz, having a cousin as the secretary of an Assemblyman, said that all the "smart money" was on Indiana

"She says President Villers is even going to make a speech at Indianapolis"

Nored the stateo at that

Matthew Hortenweiler, as chronically dissatisfied with Washington, said, "If Villers makes a speech in Indiana, that means he thinks Multivac will pick Arizona He wouldn&039;t have the guts to go closer, the nored her father whenever she could decently do so, said, "I don&039;t knohy they don&039;t announce the state as soon as they can, and then the county and so on Then the people ere eli like that," pointed out Norman, "the politicians would follow the announcements like vultures By the tiressman or two at every street corner"

Matthew narrowed his eyes and brushed angrily at his sparse, gray hair "They&039;re vultures, anyhow Listen - "

Sarah murmured, "Now, Father - "

Matthew&039;s voice rumbled over her protest without as much as a stumble or hitch "Listen, I was around when they set up Multivac It would end partisan politics, they said Nonobodies high-pressured and advertising-caress or the White House So what happens More ca than ever, only now they do it blind They&039;ll send guys to Indiana on account of the Hawkins-Suys to California in case it&039;s the Joe Hammer situation that turns out crucial I say, wipe out all that nonsense Back to the good old - "

Linda asked suddenly, "Don&039;t you want Daddy to vote this year, Grandpa?"

Matthew glared at the young girl "Never you mind, now" He turned back to Norht up to the polling booth, stuckto it I just said: This fellow&039;sfor him That&039;s the way it should be"

Linda said excitedly, "You voted, Grandpa? You really did?"

Sarah leaned forward quickly to quiet whatabout the neighborhood, "It&039;s nothing, Linda Grandpa doesn&039;t really randpa, too, but it wasn&039;t really voting"

Matthew roared, "It wasn&039;t when I was a little boy I enty-two and I voted for Langley and it was real voting My vote didn&039;t count for ood as anyone else&039;s Anyone else&039;s And no Multivac to - "

Norht, Linda, tirow up, you&039;ll understand all about it"

He kissed her with antiseptic gentleness and sheand a proht watch the bedside video till 9:15, if she was pro ritual

Linda said, "Grandpa," and stood with her chin down and her hands behind her back until his newspaper lowered itself to the point where shaggy eyebrows and eyes, nested in fine wrinkles, showed themselves It was Friday, October 31

He said, "Yes?"

Linda came closer and put both her forearms on one of the old ether

She said, "Grandpa, did you really once vote?"

He said, "You heard me say I did, didn&039;t you? Do you think I tell fibs?"

"N - no, but Mamma says everybody voted then"

"So they did"

"But how could they? How could everybody vote?"

Matthew stared at her solemnly, then lifted her and put her on his knee

He even moderated the tonal qualities of his voice He said, "You see, Linda, till about forty years ago, everybody always voted Say anted to decide as to be the new President of the United States The Democrats and Republicans would both nominate someone, and everybody would say who they wanted When Election Day was over, they would count how many people wanted the Democrat and how many wanted the Republican Whoever had more votes was elected You see?"

Linda nodded and said, "How did all the people knoho to vote for? Did Multivac tell them?"

Matthew&039;s eyebrows hunched down and he looked severe "They just used their own judged away frory at you, Linda But, you see, soht to count what everyone said and people were impatient So they invented special machines which could look at the first few votes and compare them with the votes from the same places in previous years That way the machine could compute how the total vote would be and ould be elected You see?"

She nodded "Like Multivac"

"The first corew bigger and they could tell how the election would go from fewer and fewer votes Then, at last, they built Multivac and it can tell fro reached a familiar part of the story and said, "That&039;s nice"

Matthened and said, "No, it&039;s not nice I don&039;t want ame hoould have voted just because soher tariffs Maybe I want to vote cockeyed just for the pleasure of it Maybe I don&039;t want to vote Maybe - "

But Linda had wriggled fro a retreat

Sheher coat and had not even had ti, Linda Don&039;t get in Mother&039;s way"

Then she said to Matthew, as she lifted her hat from her head and patted her hair back into place, "I&039;ve been at Agatha&039;s"

Matthew stared at her censoriously and did not even dignify that piece of inforroped for his newspaper

Sarah said, as she unbuttoned her coat, "Guess what she said?"

Matthew flattened out his newspaper for reading purposes with a sharp crackle and said, "Don&039;t much care"

Sarah said, "Now, Father - " But she had no tier The news i had to be told and Mattheas the only recipient handy, so she went on, "Agatha&039;s Joe is a policeman, you know, and he says a whole truckload of secret service ht"

"They&039;re not after me"

"Don&039;t you see, Father? Secret service agents, and it&039;s alton"

"Maybe they&039;re after a bank robber"

"There hasn&039;t been a bank robbery in town in ages Father, you&039;re hopeless"

She stalked away

Nor did Norreater exciteatha&039;s Joe know they were secret service agents?" he asked calo around with identification cards pasted on their foreheads"

But by next evening, with November a day old, she could say triuton that&039;s waiting for soton News as much as said so on video"

Norman stirred uneasily He couldn&039;t deny it, and his heart was sinking If Bloo, it would mean newspapermen, video shows, tourists, all sorts of - strange upsets Norman liked the quiet routine of his life, and the distant stir of politics was getting uncomfortably close

He said, "It&039;s all ru more"

"You wait and see, then You just wait and see"

As things turned out, there was very little ti insistently, and when Norrave-faced man said, "Are you Norain, but in a strange dying voice It was not difficult to see fro authority, and the nature of his errand suddenly became as inevitably obvious as it had, until the moment before, been unthinkably impossible

The man presented credentials, stepped into the house, closed the door behind him and said ritualistically, "Mr Norman Muller, it is necessary for me to inform you on the behalf of the President of the United States that you have been chosen to represent the American electorate on Tuesday, Noveed, with difficulty, to walk unaided to his chair He sat there, white-faced and alht water, slapped his hands in panic and moaned to her husband between clenched teeth, "Don&039;t be sick, Norman Don&039;t be sick They&039;ll pick soe to talk, he whispered, "I&039;ent had re at ease on the couch

"It&039;s all right," he said, and the mark of officialdom seemed to have vanished with the fore and rather friendly man "This is the sixth time I&039;ve made the announcement and I&039;ve seen all kinds of reactions Not one of them was the kind you see on the video You knohat I mean? A holy, dedicated look, and a character who says, &039;It will be a great privilege to serve hed coh held a trace of shrill hysteria

The agent said, "Now you&039;re going to have me with you for a while My name is Phil Handley I&039;d appreciate it if you call me Phil Mr Muller can&039;t leave the house any more till Election Day You&039;ll have to inform the departo about your business for a while, but you&039;ll have to agree not to say a word about this Right, Mrs Muller?"

Sarah nodded vigorously "No, sir Not a word"

"All right But, Mrs Muller," Handley looked grave, "we&039;re not kidding now Go out only if you must and you&039;ll be follohen you do I&039;m sorry but that&039;s the e must operate"

"Followed?"

"It won&039;t be obvious Don&039;t worry And it&039;s only for two days till the forhter - "

"She&039;s in bed," said Sarah hastily

"Good She&039;ll have to be told I&039; with the family If she does find out the truth, she&039;ll have to be kept in the house Your father had better stay in the house in any case"

"He won&039;t like that," said Sarah

"Can&039;t be helped Now, since you have no others living with you - "

"You know all about us apparently," whispered Norreed Handley "In any case, those are all my instructions to you for the moment I&039;ll try to cooperate as much as I can and be as little of a nuisance as possible The government will pay for my maintenance so I won&039;t be an expense to you I&039;ll be relieved each night by someone ill sit up in this roo accommodations Now, Mr Muller - "

"Sir?"

"You can call ain "The purpose of the two-day preliet you used to your position We prefer to have you face Multivac in as normal a state of mind as possible Just relax and try to feel this is all in a day&039;s work Okay?"

"Okay," said Norman, and then shook his head violently "But I don&039;t want the responsibility Why et that straight to begin with Multivac weighs all sorts of known factors, billions of theh, and won&039;t be known for a long time That&039;s the reaction pattern of the hu pressure of what other As that are done to hiht to Multivac to have the bent of his mind surveyed From that the bent of all other minds in the country can be estimated Soiven tis of that year Multivac picked you as est, or the luckiest, but just the most representative Noe don&039;t question Multivac, do we?"

"Couldn&039;t it make a mistake?" asked Norman

Sarah, who listened impatiently, interrupted to say, "Don&039;t listen to him sir He&039;s just nervous, you know Actually, he&039;s very well read and he always follows politics very closely"

Handley said, "Multivac makes the decisions, Mrs Muller It picked your husband"

"But does it know everything?" insisted Norman wildly "Couldn&039;t it have made a mistake?"

"Yes, it can There&039;s no point in not being frank In 1993, a selected Voter died of a stroke two hours before it was time for him to be notified Multivac didn&039;t predict that; it couldn&039;t A Voter ht be mentally unstable, morally unsuitable, or, for thatabout everybody until he&039;s fed all the data there is That&039;s why alternate selections are always held in readiness I don&039;t think we&039;ll be using one this tiood health, Mr Muller, and you&039;ve been carefully investigated You qualify"