Quotes
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Kerr Avon : [into communicator] Dayna, we're down safe in Orbiter and proceeding.
Gambit , Orac : [in unison] Countdown twelve minutes, twenty seconds, and running.
Vila Restal : What does that mean?
Kerr Avon : I imagine that if we're not out of here by the time it hits zero, we might regret it.
[Soolin presses the button to reveal the screen and start the game. She picks up the electronic pistol]
Gambit , Orac : Control system feedback is through the weapon. The game adjusts to meet, and on the last shot, exceed the proficiency of the players.
Soolin : You have to outshoot yourself.
Del Tarrant : Stupid game.
Soolin : Not really. Finally a game worth playing.
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Orac : A computer must, by definition, be logical. But it can also mirror the logic of its creator.
Soolin : You mean it's an extension of his mind.
Orac : [testily] No, that is *not* what I mean.
Soolin : His personality, then.
Orac : [more considerate] A better definition, but still not quite accurate.
Kerr Avon : Would it know how the booby traps on the orbiter are programmed?
Orac : As yet, I don't have enough data to answer that question.
Kerr Avon : [growing impatient] *If* it knew, could you extract the information from it?
[Orac doesn't respond immediately. Avon gives Orac a whack out of pique]
Kerr Avon : Come on! That's a simple enough question.
Orac : There might be problems.
Kerr Avon : Why? You have extracted information from Federation computers before now. This is just a hodgepodge of three or four of them. You have already said that it is inferior to you.
Orac : The difficulty is not technical. It's more one of, uh, attitude.
Kerr Avon : Ah. You mean the *logic* of its creator.
Orac : Exactly. Let me remind you of ancient Earth mythology: the Delphic Oracle would answer questions truthfully without giving a true answer.
Kerr Avon : So what we need is not the right answer, but the right question.
Soolin : And in circumstances where any mistake would prove fatal?
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Orac , Gambit : [in unison] The orbiter is preprogrammed. Flight power depends on the distance and intensity of each star the feldon panels are locked into. The successful completion of a game continues the sequence. To regain control, you must complete the coded sequence of star sources.
Vila Restal : What about the feldon crystals?
Kerr Avon : Gambit?
Orac , Gambit : This game will reveal the entrance.
Soolin : All we have to do is lock on to the right star.
Orac : It is possible that we've just received the right answer to the wrong question.
