Ted said。
〃I thought he was so smart；〃 Barnes said。
〃Give him a chance；〃 Ted said。 〃After all； he's speaking our language； not the other way around。〃
〃The other way around；〃 Harry said。 〃Good idea。 Let's try the other way around； see if he'll deduce the equation that way。〃
Harry typed：
0004212232 = YES。 YES。 = 0004212232
There was a long pause； while they watched the screen。 Nothing happened。
〃Is he thinking？〃
〃Who knows what he's doing？〃
〃Why isn't he answering？〃
〃Let's give him a chance； Hal； okay？〃
The reply finally came：
YES。 = 0004212232 2322124000 = SEY
〃Uh…uh。 He thinks we're showing him mirror images。〃
〃Stupid；〃 Barnes said。 〃I knew it。〃
〃What do we do now？〃
〃Let's try a more plete statement；〃 Harry said。 〃Give him more to work with。〃
Harry typed：
0004212232 = 0004212232； YES。 = YES。 0004212232 = YES。
〃A syllogism；〃 Ted said。 〃Very good。〃
〃A what？〃 Barnes said。
〃A logical proposition；〃 Ted said。 The reply came back： ；=；
〃What the hell is that？〃 Barnes said。
Harry smiled。 〃I think he's playing with us。〃
〃Playing with us？ You call that playing？〃
〃Yes； I do；〃 Harry said。
＇＇186＇＇ 〃What you really mean is that he's testing us…testing our responses to a pressure situation。〃 Barnes narrowed his eyes。 〃He's only pretending to be stupid。〃
〃Maybe he's testing how smart we are；〃 Ted said。 〃Maybe he thinks we're stupid； Hal。〃
〃Don't be ridiculous；〃 Barnes said。
〃No；〃 Harry said。 〃The point is； he's acting like a kid trying to make friends。 And when kids try to make friends； they start playing together。 Let's try something playful。〃
Harry sat at the console； typed： ===