Man's Best Friend

"Man's Best Friend" by Evelyn E. Smith is a science fiction tale from the mid-20th century about destiny, power, and what it means to be human alongside machines. The story centers on Gervase Schnee, a young man who gets a big surprise when he's told to be the next leader in a world run by a destiny-predicting machine. Gervase learns this machine, called the Prognosticator, wants him to get rid of the current leader in a strange ritual for choosing who's in charge. Even though he doesn't want to be a killer, Gervase goes through the odd events with a bit of humor. He meets interesting people, like salesmen and past leaders trying to hide, and finds out the machine's so-called predictions are influenced by normal, everyday things. The story ends with a funny revelation: Gervase's own mom is messing with the machine, showing how family can have a weird impact on who gets political power and how random it can all be.