"Thanks. Actually, WBM is very much pleased with the Machine's performance. The Machine's flaws made it seem more real and more news-worthy, especially how it functioned when the going got tough—those repairs the boys made under time pressure in your game, Savilly, will help sell WBM computers or I miss my guess. In fact nobody could have watched the tournament for long without realizing there were nine smart rugged men out there, ready to kill that computer if they could. The Machine passed a real test. And then the whole deal dramatizes what computers are and what they can and can't do. And not just at the popular level. The WBM research boys are learning a lot about computer and programming theory by studying how the Machine and its programmer behave under tournament stress. It's a kind of test unlike that provided by any other computer work. Just this morning, for instance, one of our big mathematicians told me that he is beginning to think that the Theory of Games does apply to chess, because you can bluff and counterbluff with your programming. And I'm learning about human psychology."
Doc chuckled. "Such as that even human thinking is just a matter of how you program your own mind?—that we're all like the Machine to that extent?"
"That's one of the big points, Savilly. Yes."
Doc smiled at Sandra. "You wrote a nice little news-story, dear, about how Man conquered the Machine by a palpitating nose and won a victory for international amity.
"Now the story starts to go deeper."
"A lot of things go deeper," Sandra replied, looking at him evenly. "Much deeper than you ever expect at the start."
The big electric Scoreboard lit up.
FINAL STANDING
| Player | Wins | Losses |
| Angler | 6 | 3 |
| Votbinnik | 6 | 3 |
| Jal | 5-1/2 | 3-1/2 |
| Machine | 5-1/2 | 3-1/2 |
| Lysmov | 5 | 4 |
| Serek | 4-1/2 | 4-1/2 |
| Sherevsky | 4-1/2 | 4-1/2 |
| Jandorf | 3-1/2 | 5-1/2 |
| Krakatower | 2-1/2 | 6-1/2 |
| Grabo | 2 | 7 |