Computer War

by Mack Reynolds

THE ODDS WERE RIGHT FOR VICTORY The problem with computer warfare is that the computer is always logical while the human enemy is not -- or doesn't have to be. And that's what the Betastani enemy were doing -- nothing that the Alphaland computers said they would. Those treacherous foemen were avoiding logic and using such unheard-of devices as surprise and sabotage, treason and trickery. They even had Alphaland's Deputy of Information believing Betastani propaganda without even realizing it. Of course, he still thought he was being loyal to Alphaland, because he thought that one and one must logically add up to two. And that kind of thinking could make him the biggest traitor of them all.

Genres: Science Fiction

134 pages, Paperback

First published September 29, 2011

About the author

Dallas McCord "Mack" Reynolds was an American science fiction writer. His pen names included Clark Collins, Mark Mallory, Guy McCord, Dallas Ross and Maxine Reynolds. Many of his stories were published in "Galaxy Magazine" and "Worlds of If Magazine". He was quite popular in the 1960s, but most of his work subsequently went out of print.

He was an active supporter of the Socialist Labor Party; his father, Verne Reynolds, was twice the SLP's Presidential candidate, in 1928 and 1932. Many of MR's stories use SLP jargon such as 'Industrial Feudalism' and most deal with economic issues in some way

Many of Reynolds' stories took place in Utopian societies, and many of which fulfilled L. L. Zamenhof's dream of Esperanto used worldwide as a universal second language. His novels predicted much that has come to pass, including pocket computers and a world-wide computer network with information available at one's fingertips.

Many of his novels were written within the context of a highly mobile society in which few people maintained a fixed residence, leading to "mobile voting" laws which allowed someone living out of the equivalent of a motor home to vote when and where they chose.

Reviews

[Tbfrank]

One of the most popular science fiction authors in the 1960s and 70s, this novella by Mack Reynolds was first published in 1967, a little more than two decades after WW II, at the height of the Cold War, and as the Viet Nam War raged on.

The plot maybe contrived, the style dated, and the action somewhat melodramatic, the observations Reynolds made in this story remain bothersome. Leaning heavily on the history of recent and past conflicts, the author created a morality play that, should one choose to change the names of the nations and persons referenced, mirrors headlines in 2026 papers.

On a planet far from Earth, two powerful adversaries—Alphaland and Betastan—were on the verge of war. While ideological differences were involved, including a desire of the supreme leader of Alphaland to form a world government which he would head, the driving purpose was economic. Alphaland’s productive capabilities had outstripped its present market at home and had to find a fresh outlet for its goods or else its economy faced collapse. A war of conquest seemed to be the answer.

Alphaland depended on computing power to manage every aspect of government with massive data banks and capabilities that eerily predate present-day AI and its conversational and predictive capabilities. These computers forecast a war between the belligerents would last little more than two months after which Betastan and any of its allies would be reduced to mere pastoral nations, supplying raw materials and food for Alpahland—much like France’s projection for Germany after WW I. Only, Betastan refused to play the game as expected in matching actions to the computer’s expectations. Betastan's strategy included guerilla warfare, refusal to engage in mass battles or defend its main cities, sabatoge, commerce raiders, and disruption of Alpha land's financial system with a variation of an EMP.

Reynolds highlights the use of propaganda to demonize opponents and to rally support for actions that citizens would, on honest reflection, not support. He points to economics (whether oil or market share) as a basis for armed conflict and religion and religious differences when closely associated with government as a dangerous combination. He throws doubt on the theory that “cream rises to the top” as applied to governments, and suggests that once in power, with “… the propaganda machine in their hands, the schools, entertainment and news media in their hands, will proclaim themselves [and their minions] the top elements of the country, the best and most intelligent.” (p. 126) Reynolds also echoes Heinlein in saying people “… get the government they want and deserve … “(p. 127) but points out that “… given a spark, [acceptance of the status quo] can be changed overnight to the desire for changes.” (p. 129)

A change is a-comin'!

[Otis Campbell]

Now, old Mack Reynolds was a mighty interesting bird. He was a radical political feller who traveled all over the world and loved writing about how future economics, politics, and technology would mess with regular folks' lives. In this little yarn, he takes a big old bite out of military computers, and let me tell ya, his predictions hit a whole lot closer to home than you'd think! Them folks over in Betastan didn't get the memo that they were supposed to behave all proper-like! Instead of fightin' a nice, orderly, predictable war like that fancy-pants computer went and calculated, them Betastani fighters start usin' guerilla warfare, low-down sabotage, sneaky tricks, and flat-out propaganda. They go to doin' things that don't make a lick of scientific sense, completely fryin' up that Alphaland computer’s circuits! It turned what was supposed to be a "guaranteed victory" into a total, chaotic, cattywampus disaster. For a book scribbled down back when computers still chewed on paper punch cards and took up a room bigger than a tobacco barn, Mack Reynolds was sharper than a briar in a briar patch! The real meat of that story—the whole notion that you can't go mappin' out messy human nature with nothin' but cold, hard computer logic—is a fantastic theme that still holds water today. It works just like a neat little morality play about military hubris, provin' that when big-shot generals get too big for their britches, nature's bound to take 'em down a notch or two.

[Kevin Phyland]

Alphaland and Betastan are the two major and competing countries and political systems on a settled planet of human space. Until recently war between the two would have been unwinnable but a new powerful computer analysis has given Alphaland an edge if they act immediately and the opposition act predictably. Using all the tactics of aggressors in every conflict ever - false flag operations, false media stories, espionage and sabotage - Alphaland looks for a quick victory. Opposing forces from Betaland however, have used time-honored guerrilla tactics - hit-and-run, fifth column, open cities and infiltration - so the war will be fought using different ideologies as well. Mack Reynolds’s short novel seems to be echoing the VietNam conflict which was taking place at the time and the clash between western and Communist ideologies. When the Betastani spies take out all the Alphaland computer records their money disappears and the war must be prosecuted in a far different way than originally planned. Skewering McCarthyism and fascism the tale gets where it’s going despite a few protracted infodumps of political history. Not his best.

[Rebecca]

This book was cute. The characters were kind of likeable, the plot fit together like a nice puzzle, and the ending was obvious. I thought it seemed a little simplistic: that somehow an advanced civilization had completely forgotten guerilla warfare was possible and was completely unprepared for it. That doesn't seem likely given our current modern world, or the fact that these people had access to history books. So in some ways the "bad guys" were improbably stupid and the "good guys" were obviously not in much actual danger. But a fun read nonetheless.