it was no trick to make a machine self-programming , self-perpetuating . the stairs to the tower room seemed to go on forever . i read the book this morning , prior to my medical checkup and what it told me was extremely revealing . it was an effort , but she made herself straighten . `` do you spend much time worrying about what might happen a thousand years from now ? '' he asked , arent you like 17 ? not what had happened between us , or why he had left . 