Along with associational logic, the rhetoric of empowerment has been part of hypertext theory since its inception. Bush wrote, “Of what lasting benefit has been man’s use of science and of the new instruments which his research brought into existence? First, they have increased his control of his material environment” (101). Bush then goes on to claim, “For mature thought there is no mechanical substitute. But creative thought and essentially repetitive thought are very different things. For the latter there are, and may be, powerful mechanical aids” (104). The memex, in other words, was to be a tool to lighten the mechanical chores associated with scientific investigation. The editor’s introduction to Bush’s article states, “For years inventions have extended man’s physical powers rather than the powers of his mind. [. . .] Now, says Dr. Bush, instruments are at hand which, if properly developed, will give man access to and command over the inherited knowledge of the ages” (101). The emphasis, in the rhetoric of Bush and the Atlantic Monthly editor, on placing knowledge under man’s command and control, positions the concept of the memex safely within the mainstream of Western scientific (or scientistic), as well as militaristic, thinking.