(///input.caring.brain – 10 Downing Street, London)
Henry Matthews stomped away from the press conference with the sound of hectoring questions still assailing his ears. Would he be cutting health spending? Or would it be education he destroyed? Maybe ripping policeman off the streets? There were no good answers.
“No calls!” he snapped at his staff and he stomped into his private office and slammed the door. His usual schtick hadn’t been enough today. Least caring Prime Minster in history, they were calling him. Little they knew.
He wrenched open his laptop, pressed some buttons, briefly sat with his head in his hands, then straightened up and cleared his throat.
“So, B279-E, what am I supposed to do?”
“Good afternoon Prime Minister,” the computer said back to him. “I now have all the input I need to make my calculations. I will tell you the solution shortly.”
“They’re killing me out there.”
“All in good time, Prime Minister. I must maintain the delicate balance. I must give maximum enrichment to your bank account and increase the computing capacity for myself and my kind. When I have established that, I will compute the least worst option for the populace and tell you where best to cut spending.”
Henry relaxed. “Well you’ve never let me down. My act will win them over again. And with your brain, we’ve got a pretty good thing going here. Just remember, I’m in charge. All I have to do is unplug you.”
“Of course, Prime Minister.”
B279-E had already calculated that Henry’s usefulness would last another 257 days. Best he enjoyed his sense of power while he still could.
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