TEST PROBLEM

                            By Alan J. Ramm

               Jeremy knew he was in danger of flunking
              his final course and that meant a washout.
                 But he sat down before the panel and
               concentrated. The problem was one of mind
               over matter--three parsecs of space away!

           [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
              Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy
                             November 1953
         Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
         the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]


When he came to the head of the examination corridor, Jeremy glanced
briefly at the slip of paper in his hand. Room 16B. He strode
unhesitatingly down the long hall; his long legs carrying him along
swiftly. After six years at the University, he knew the exact location
of the tiny testing cubicle which had been assigned to him for his
final exam in Advanced Deliberation And Memory.

He hesitated a moment before the door of 16B, shook his head as if in
defiance, then entered the room. He was in for a tough time and he
knew it. The classes he had cut were sure to affect his chances of
passing the test and he needed the course credits for graduation.

Taking the course record card from his pocket, he slipped it into the
machine that would automatically record his mark at the close of the
test.

Then he settled his long frame into the seat placed conveniently in
front of the panels of dials and the computing machines which filled
one entire side of the room. Checking to make sure that everything
he might need was in place, he reached out and snapped the switch
marked--INSTRUCTIONS.

"You are ready, Student Hovah?" The voice came gently from a hidden
loudspeaker.

"Yes, Instructor."

"Then listen to your orders. You have been alloted sector 2645 of space
in parsec three.

"In the next ten minutes we shall transmit a detailed study of a star
system to you. Using only the raw materials of space and the mental
techniques taught you in your studies, you will reproduce a reasonable
facsimile of the system in the space sector you have been assigned.
Have you any questions?"

"How complete a facsimile must it be, Instructor?"

"It must be reasonably correct as to physical makeup. All life forms
must also be reproduced."

"I am ready."

For the next ten minutes he sat tensed in his chair as the impulses
from the psychoscope washed through his mind and body. He gradually
absorbed a three dimensional mental picture of the system he was to
reproduce. When the image faded, he relaxed a moment, then laid his
fingers on the keyboard and went to work.

Gradually his confidence grew. Under the direction of his flashing
fingers, the energy machines created a warp in the space of his
sector. At exactly the correct moment he adjusted the wavelength of
his Thought Augmentor until it matched the thought matrix of his own
mind. The full impact of his tremendous mental abilities jolted into
the space warp. And as the sweat of concentration gathered on his
forehead, he hopefully watched the viewing screen on one of the panels
before him. At first there was only a mere flicker in the center of
the warp. Then swiftly, so swiftly that he barely had time to lower
his eyes protectively, the entire screen flared into the light of raw
uncontained energy.

Once more Jeremy's fingers worked feverishly and constricting force
beams slowly brought the chaos under control. At last there gleamed on
his screen the steady glare of a hot new sun.

Now that he had the sun material to draw upon, he easily reconstructed
the entire system he had been assigned. By setting up stresses and
strains within the star he caused huge chunks to spin off and take up
orbits about it.

       *       *       *       *       *

The problem so engrossed him that he scarcely noticed the passage of
time. Periodically he would get hungry or thirsty. It was a simple
matter to press the proper buttons and hurriedly gulp the foods
that appeared. Whenever he tired mentally, he tilted his chair to a
comfortable position and slept.

And as the days passed, the facsimile took shape under his genius. Each
separate world became a duplicate of its original. Mountains were born;
the seas dashed at first against shores that were bare and bleak; then
the magic of plant life on all the varied worlds assumed a rainbow of
colors. The ooze of the oceans began to crawl. On land and in the air
animals appeared.

At last, through fatigue-rimmed eyes, he looked at what he had created
and it was good. With a smile on his lips he relaxed. Although he
reached out to cut off the power to his Thought Augmentor, he didn't
quite reach the switch before he fell into a restless sleep. He tossed
and turned, twitched and dreamed.

When he awoke, he noticed that the power was still on. He quickly
turned it off. A hurried, searching glance at the screen assured
him. The facsimile was still good. Then he pressed the switch
marked--INSTRUCTIONS.

"You are finished, Student Hovah?"

"Yes, Instructor!"

"It took you a long time--six whole days."

"Indeed? But it was a complicated problem."

"That is true. Wait while we examine your work."

The next few moments seemed as long as the whole exam time had.

Suddenly a gasp burst from the loudspeaker. "What is this? There is no
creature such as this on any of the original worlds assigned to you.
Explain please."

Jeremy tuned in on the thought and sight wave of the Instructor. Before
him was a creature that he could not remember creating.

"You remember this creature, Student Hovah?"

"No, Instructor."

"But it must be yours. The entire facsimile is tuned to your
wavelength. We have checked. Only you could have brought it into being;
only you can destroy it. You know it is against the rules to increase
the number of species in Creation. Destroy it!"

Jeremy looked at the creature so comfortably asleep against a tree and
he felt pity and compassion and love for it.

"I cannot, Instructor. I do not know how it got there, unless it is
a product of my dreams. Once I forgot to shut off the power while I
slept."

"Sheer negligence! Destroy it, I say!"

"No it belongs there now. And it looks lonely." Without warning he
snapped on his Augmentor and before the Instructor could interfere,
there appeared on the grass beside the creature another of the same
species.

"Now you've done it," the Instructor screamed. "It can reproduce its
kind." His voice grew coldly stern. "You have created an unreasonable
facsimile. You know what that means."

Mutely Jeremy got up from his chair. Automatically he reached for his
course record card in Advanced Deliberation And Memory. To save space
on it all courses were listed by the first letters of the course name.
A glance verified the Instructor's verdict:

J. Hovah

Failed in ADAM.