(Found) Mathematician, android, time lock?

[igoncang]

I'm also trying to track own a story I read in 1970. It was about an alien android able to change it's appearance and looking for a mathematician. It found and managed to persuade the mathematician to accompany it to an off-world place where there was a timelock device. The mathematician figured out how to unlock the device and the android changed it's shape to a power tool of sorts to force the device open. It failed and, as it lay dying, it told the mathematician that it's creators were evil and dead as the timelock device could not be opened unless time ended for the creators.

I hope someone would remember this or a similar story and com up with the title and/or author.

 

[Matteo]

Igoncang's book sounds like Vault of the Beast by AE Van Vogt.

 

[igoncang]

@Matteo Almost 4 years late but that was the story. Thank you very much.

 

[Matteo]

Glad I could help.

Not glad to realise this was three (actually) years ago! Sign of getting old... :-(

 

[monkeypooper]

I think this is a good idea i've seen it put -> (Found) on other sites and i think if you start a post and your helped to the answer more posters should do this

 

[Danny McG]

I think this is a good idea i've seen it put -> (Found) on other sites and i think if you start a post and your helped to the answer more posters should do this

How do you do this? Could I do it days after posting a question or would admin need to sort it?

 

[TheDustyZebra]

I started doing it when I had some spare time recently and couldn't concentrate on anything else.

If you want to message me and let me know when one is solved, I'll add the (found) to the thread title. It's probably best to wait for confirmation from the OP that it is, indeed, the one they were looking for, unless it's pretty solid and they aren't around to confirm.

 

[Danny McG]

I started doing it when I had some spare time recently and couldn't concentrate on anything else.

If you want to message me and let me know when one is solved, I'll add the (found) to the thread title. It's probably best to wait for confirmation from the OP that it is, indeed, the one they were looking for, unless it's pretty solid and they aren't around to confirm.

Cheers for this . Roger Wilco

 

[monkeypooper]

You know sorry for creating more work never really looked to see if it could be done by the OP didn't realise it had to be done by a staff member

 

[TheDustyZebra]

You know sorry for creating more work never really looked to see if it could be done by the OP didn't realise it had to be done by a staff member

Oh, no problem -- I had already started it as an on-again, off-again project.

 

[Danny McG]

Make two book search sub forums. One 'unsolved' and one 'answered 'and then just keep slamming 'em into the relevant subsection. It'll keep me n Monkeypooper out of mischief prowling about in ' unsolved'

 

[monkeypooper]

Nah probs still not keep us out