Scientific Progress in the Hands of Government

One of the more prominent themes running through His Master's Voice is the cooperation (and failed cooperation) between the scientists running the project and the authorities funding the project. The main character, Peter Hogarth, openly displays disdain for politicians in the story, and other scientists coexist with the authorities in varying degrees of comfort. Rappaport compares the scientists to truffle-hunting pigs, who are rewarded for discovering what their master wants without sharing the benefits of the discovery. Other scientists like Baloyne see the project as a shrewd manipulation of those in power for the uses of science and the greater good of humanity.

At the height of the TX-scare, Hogarth comes to a realization that humanity's well-intentioned scientific progress may be in the hands of a government not mature enough to take custody of it. The Neutrino-Wave Bomb would place unprecedented power in the hands of the civilization that discovers it, but an immature civilization like ours would most likely wipe itself out with that kind of power. Hogarth compares it to "giving a child a grenade."

The dependence of the scientists on the U.S. government for support and funding further complicates this scenario. Hogarth cannot indefinitely withhold the information from a government that will most probably misuse it. At the same time, he is aware that without him, someone else would likely discover the TX effect. Hogarth becomes victim of the most sublime crisis; his thirst for scientific progress compels him to develop the technology that will destroy him. The same could be said for humanity, or human governments.