In this story, Isaac Asimov’s favorite supercomputer Multivac has a big problem. It doesn’t respond to commands, and isn’t following its built-in program to self-diagnose the cause. As the global economy depends on Mulitvac, this could result in panic across the world. Teams of technicians have been trying to identify what is wrong for three days. Finally, a scientist discovers the “key item” needed to fix the problem. It is a simple thing that we are all taught to use as children. Themes include the dangers of Artificial Intelligence and/or relying solely on technology, scientific hubris, good manners.
Key Item Text / PDF / Audio (1,050 words)