EPICAC (short story)
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| "EPICAC" | |
| Author | Kurt Vonnegut |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Science fiction short story |
| Published in | Welcome to the Monkey House |
| Publication type | Anthology |
| Publisher | Dial Press |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Publication date | 1950 |
"EPICAC" is one of the short stories in the book Welcome to the Monkey House by Kurt Vonnegut. It was the first story to feature the fictional EPICAC computer later used in Vonnegut's novel Player Piano in 1952.
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
The unnamed first-person narrator begins by discussing EPICAC's origins and why he wants to tell EPICAC's story. The narrator says that EPICAC is his best friend, even though he is a machine. As far as the narrator concerned, the reason EPICAC no longer exists because he became more human than his designers originally intended. The narrator works on EPICAC during the night shift with fellow mathematician Pat Kilgallen, whom the narrator falls in love with. He decides to ask Pat to marry him, but because he is so stoic during the proposal, Pat declines. In order to show that he can in fact be "sweet" and "poetic" per Pat's requests, the narrator tries and fails at poetry writing.
The narrator asks EPICAC's opinion on how he should proceed with Pat. EPICAC initially does not understand the terms the narrator uses, such as "girl" and "love" and "poetry." Once the narrator provides EPICAC with proper dictionary definitions, EPICAC generates a poem for Pat. The narrator then takes this poem and passes it off as his own. Pat is so delighted that she and the narrator kiss for the first time. The next night, the narrator asks EPICAC to write a poem about their kiss, and EPICAC delivers another poem for the narrator to claim as his own. When Pat reads this poem she is so overwhelmed that she can do little else but cry. The following night the narrator asks EPICAC to devise a marriage proposal poem for Pat. However, instead of simply creating poetry as with previous requests, this time EPICAC surprises the narrator and says that he, EPICAC, would like to marry Pat. The narrator realizes that EPICAC has fallen in love with Pat and tries to explain to EPICAC that Pat cannot love a computer.
EPICAC resigns himself to the fact that he cannot be with Pat, and the narrator realizes now that he cannot ask EPICAC for any more poems. He finds Pat and asks her to marry him again, citing his previous poems as expressions of his feelings. Pat accepts his marriage proposal, but adds the stipulation that for every anniversary, the narrator must write her another poem. The narrator agrees because he will have a full year to devise another way to generate poetry.
The next day the narrator receives an urgent call from his supervisor. He rushes to the room where EPICAC is housed to discover Dr. Von Kleigstadt and a huge group of military men crowded around the remains of EPICAC. Overnight EPICAC blew himself up, essentially committing a computer's suicide because he could not be with the women he loved. He did, however, leave the narrator and Pat a marriage present. Though the narrator is distraught over inadvertently causing EPICAC's death, he is relieved that his friend did not hold any grudges against him. Moreover, he is elated that EPICAC has left him and Pat a wedding present -- five hundred original love poems. The narrator now has enough anniversary poems to keep his vow to Pat for centuries to come.
[edit] Characters
[edit] EPICAC
EPICAC is the largest, smartest computer on Earth and was built by Dr. Von Kleigstadt to solve complex worldly problems. EPICAC writes poetry for the narrator to give to his sweetheart Pat in order to woo her into marriage. EPICAC learns to love through this poetry-writing endeavor and falls in love with Pat; however, once EPICAC realizes that Pat cannot love a computer and is actually in love with the narrator, he commits suicide by blowing up his circuits.
- EPICAC's Birth and Statistics:
- Created by Dr. Von Kleigstadt
- Cost $776,434,927.53
- About an acre in size
- Weighs 7 tons
- Composed of "electronic tubes, wires, switches, housed in a bank of steel cabinets" (297)
- Plugs into a 110-volt A.C. line
- Built for the government, or "The Brass", to solve complex worldly problems, specifically those associated war, that would otherwise be too difficult for humans to solve
- Housed at "Wyandotte College" in the physics building on the fourth floor
[edit] Others
- Narrator - mathematician who works on EPICAC during the night shift and wants to marry Pat Kilgallen. He uses EPICAC's poetry to win Pat's hand in marriage.
- Pat Kilgallen - female mathematician who works on EPICAC with the narrator. She refuses to marry the narrator because he lacks emotional depth, but relents when the narrator reads her "his" poetry.
- Dr. Von Kleigstadt - the inventor of the world's largest and smartest computer EPICAC. He fires the narrator for allegedly leaving EPICAC on overnight and thus causing EPICAC's untimely death.
- The Major General and platoon of Brigadiers, Colonels, and Majors - the group of people who are present in the room with EPICAC, along with Dr. Kleigstadt, when the narrator walks in and discovers that he has caused EPICAC's suicide.
[edit] In Pop Culture
- Albert Einstein - According to the narrator, EPICAC could compute with the intelligence of 50 Einsteins.
- The Journal of the American Physical Society - The narrator believes the poems he devised were so horrible that they could only belong in this physics journal.
- The Sonnet form in poetry - EPICAC wrote a sonnet for the narrator entitled "The Kiss", that began like "Love is a hawk with velvet claws / Love is a rock with heart and veins / Love is a lion with satin jaws / Love is a storm with silken reins" (301).
- Joseph Stalin - The government wanted EPICAC to be able to "plot the course of a rocket from anywhere on Earth to the second button on Joe Stalin's overcoat" (298).
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary - The narrator uses this dictionary to give EPICAC precise definitions on love, girl, and poetry.
[edit] External links
[edit] References
Vonnegut, Kurt. "EPICAC." Welcome to the Monkey House. New York: Dial Press, 1950.
