As the Americans learned so painfully in Earth's final century, free flow of information is the only safeguard against tyranny. The once-chained people whose leaders at last lose their grip on information flow will soon burst with freedom and vitality, but the free nation gradually constricting its grip on public discourse has begun its rapid slide into despotism. Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master.

Technological advance is an inherently iterative process. One does
not simply take sand from the beach and produce a Dataprobe. We
use crude tools to fashion better tools, and then our better tools to
fashion more precise tools, and so on. Each minor refinement is a
step in the process, and all of the steps must be taken.