The Warden sent a wave to Liesco, where Holtzman was nearing the end of his active period, demanding more information. The situation must have appealed to Holtzman's sense of humor: he broadcast a brief biography and promised to return in another 1,862 years when, he hoped, his reception would be more cordial. He then sent another "information packet" to the systems within range, detailing his latest discovery, and powered down. This was the second and last time Holtzman was to singlehandedly change the face of the empire, as the Planar Effect spread like wildfire. When Holt/man made his fourth return in 1970 B.G., Liesco was again at war, this time in a dispute arising from the Second Reunification. But by now Holtzman was a legend who had predicted his own return. The combatants therefore agreed upon a two-month truce bracketing the perigee of Holtzman's approach. On this occasion Holtzman "published" his unified theory, linking the various effects into a single hierarchy of phenomena Observers noted that his paranoia seemed to be less intense than before, Holtzman was now willing to discuss himself in precise terms for the first time he admitted what many had assumed-he was a machine over-laud with the mind of a man, even if, as he said, he did not "feel like a machine Apparently, Holtzman was getting lonely, because he was qaite voluble during the passage, and gave his interviewers mforma tion on which, he joked, they could base their speculations for the next eighteen centuries Holtzman would not discuss what he called "work in progress," but something was exciting him as he left panel range he stated several times that he could "see the ead " and needed only a few more days He was still too paranoid to let anyone know his orbit, though, and he revealed for the first time that to avoid capture he had rigged a small Planar field before a normally inactive message laser His maintenance procedure (always active, even when Holtzman was> normally powered down) would trigger the laser if intruders were discovered No one was sure that be was not lying, but Holtzman's cheerful statement that he had ngged a dead-man boobytrap reminded the listeners that they were dealing with a madman Holtzman passed out of range before he discovered, whatever he was searching for his last transmission was a frustrated promise to "finish mis thing up first thing next time " Holtzman's next return, his fifth, occurred in 108 B G The Butlenan Jihad was ending, and all intelligent machines had been destroyed-except for Hoitzman So many pilgrims had arrived to witness the destruction of the last great symbol of the old order that keeping diem supplied caused severe logistical problems, ami even, incredible as it may seem, collisions between ships in interplanetary space The Jihad fleet did not attempt to communicate with Holtzmaa, but began an intense search which found him after only three days They cast lots to determine who would make the kill, and the honor fell to Viana Kelh$ After drawing near to him, she suited up and entered Holtzman's ship, minutes thereafter the entire fleet was balhed m the flash of a tremendous mass comersion reaction No one knows what Holtzman's last theory was, if there really was one, since he has 9 HOLTZMAN EFFECT not been found again in the centuries since the Jihad In all likelihood his fate was exactly what it appeared to be Both his life and death were tragic, and humanity cannot calculate the debt it owes him For he was unique had he not been mad Holtzman would never have been so determined in his work, had he not been more machine than man, he could not have been so painstaking yet had he not possessed that essential spark of humanity, he would never have been able to make the intuitive leaps that eventually brought him to the answers he sought WDI Further reference HOLTZMAN tF^cr HOLTZMAN EFFECT So named for its discoverer, 1 V Holtzman, the Holtzman Ef feet is actually a series of four interrelated forces, each named for the number of dimensions that the single or composite torce has Point-source Holtzman effect nodes which have no physical existence but which do occupy definite locations (This incarnation of the Holtzman Effect was theoretically explained very late in the development of HE devices and theory, though it had been used without being understood since the dis covery of the suspemor-nullification effect) One dimensional incarnations of the Holtz man Effect commonly called Holuman Waves though this is a very long way from the truth (The Holtzman Wave is the only known method for interstellar communications and is the only method available for commumcat ing with a ship m transit) Two dimensional or planar incarnations of die HolUnidn Effect, which have achieved widespread notoriety as the common Defensive Shield Three dimensional Holtzman Effect fields the first manifestation of the Holtzman Effect to be discovered and still referred to by the name used for thousands of years before Holtzman disco\ered the rest of the forest of ^effects the suspensor nullification effect (The major use of the suspensor nullification effect is in providing a means of interstellar travel ) HISTORY The discovery of the suspensor nullification effect m 13004 B G marked the limit of research into the theory of the effect HOLTZMAN EFFECT 310 HOLTZMAN EFFECT for thousands of years.