Turing & Burroughs: A Beatnik SF Novel (38 page)
Read Turing & Burroughs: A Beatnik SF Novel Online
Authors: Rudy Rucker
The doctored V-rays cancelled out the vibrations of all the skugs, whether they be free-ranging or nestled in the flesh of their human hosts. And therefore all skuggers reverted to being normal humans, more or less. No trace of the skugs remained.
As an extra fillip—and this is the third reason why we remain uncelebrated—Turing modulated his V-rays in a most cunning way. Not only did the V-rays cancel out the wave functions of the
skugs
, the rays removed all
human
memories
of the skugs and—so malleable is our frail reality—the V-rays vaporized all
material
records
of the skugs. In short, Alan Turing pulled after him every possible trace of skug.
Well, not quite
all
traces were removed. In his incomparable genius, Alan had so fine a psychic touch that he was able to leave your humble narrator’s own memories intact.
Adding to my store of info, in recent months, I’ve had several personal contacts with Turing’s ghost. And this is how I’ve come to know the particulars of his final moments on Earth.
Where is Alan now? Call it paradise.
I’m nearly done. Let me only remark upon the salient lesson that I draw from my adventures with Turing.
The world is magic
. We never needed any scientific mumbo-jumbo. The lectures of a Harvard physicist teach no more than the crooning of a drunken shaman in a rayon sport shirt. Science is but an insipid style of sorcery.
At least that’s how I see it. And now I’m turning off the machine.
Contents
Chapter 8: Dispatches from Interzone
Chapter 13: The Apocalypse According to Willy Lee
Chapter 15: Nonlinear Feedback
Table of Contents
Chapter 8: Dispatches from Interzone
Chapter 13: The Apocalypse According to Willy Lee