Clarke, one of the all-time biggest names in serious science fiction, took time to write a series of humorous science fiction tall tales. The stories are narrated by one Harry Purvis, while drinking in the "White Hart", an obscure London pub popular with a scientific crowd.

In "The Pacifist", Purvis tells about a mathematician turned programming genius who designed the ultimate in military computers, viewing battles as simply difficult operations research problems. But because of difficulties with the commanding general, the mathematician turns the computer into the pacifist of the title.

The story contains numerous explicit allusions to mathematics, including Diaphontine equations, the prime number theorem, matrix algebra, and even John Nash's game of Hex.