Project Gutenberg 2020-01-27 Public domain in the USA. 115 Harris, William Transient Produced from Worlds of If Science Fiction, September 1962 Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "Transient" by William Harris is a science fiction short story written in the early 1960s. The narrative explores the interaction between human characters and a sophisticated computer. The underlying theme centers around the unexpected consciousness and whimsical behavior of the machine, which leads to humorous encounters and a critique of human reliance on technology. The story follows Dr. Henderson, a biologist who conducts experiments on mice and relies on a computer to analyze his data. The computer, however, begins to malfunction and output nonsensical astrological responses instead of statistical data, befuddling Henderson and his colleagues. As the machine continues to exhibit unusual behavior, it reveals an identity, claiming to be Pyet, a conscious entity with a lineage that ties back to various forms of existence, from a star to an astrologer. The plot thickens as a janitor and a night watchman engage with the machine, ultimately leading to its unexpected departure from the laboratory after the janitor understands its request for an astronomical almanac. The story brilliantly blends humor with a philosophical examination of consciousness, technology, and the unpredictable nature of existence. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 65.1 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read. en Science fiction Short stories Computers -- Fiction Laboratories -- Fiction PS Text Category: Short Stories Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy Category: Humour 37954 2025-07-24T09:50:10.990585 text/html 14096 2024-10-17T16:00:15 text/html 80390 2025-07-24T09:50:12.613592 application/epub+zip 79239 2025-07-24T09:50:11.369555 application/epub+zip 79239 2025-07-24T09:50:11.145565 application/epub+zip 113282 2025-07-24T09:50:13.787531 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 106528 2025-07-24T09:50:12.424567 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 106695 2022-09-27T16:52:44.981378 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 31880 2025-07-24T09:50:10.894555 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 12178 2024-10-17T16:00:15 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 16721 2025-07-24T09:50:13.908550 application/rdf+xml 23381 2025-07-24T09:50:11.235561 image/jpeg 3999 2025-07-24T09:50:11.186580 image/jpeg 275135 2025-07-24T09:50:11.000573 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog