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diff --git a/old/51234.txt b/old/51234.txt deleted file mode 100644 index d5439e0..0000000 --- a/old/51234.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,677 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Zeritsky's Law, by Ann Griffith - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Zeritsky's Law - -Author: Ann Griffith - -Release Date: February 16, 2016 [EBook #51234] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ZERITSKY'S LAW *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - Zeritsky's Law - - By ANN GRIFFITH - - Illustrated by THORNE - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Galaxy Science Fiction November 1951. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - - - - Why bother building a time machine when there's - something much easier to find right in your own kitchen? - - -Somebody someday will make a study of the influence of animals on -history. Although not as famous as Mrs. O'Leary's cow, Mrs. Graham's -cat should certainly be included in any such study. It has now been -definitely established that the experiences of this cat led to the -idea of quick-frozen people, which, in turn, led to the passage of -Zeritsky's Law. - -We must go back to the files of the Los Angeles newspapers for 1950 -to find the story. In brief, a Mrs. Fred C. Graham missed her pet -cat on the same day that she put a good deal of food down in her -home deep-freeze unit. She suspected no connection between the two -events. The cat was not to be found until six days later, when its -owner went to fetch something from the deep-freeze. Much as she loved -her pet, we may imagine that she was more horror than grief-stricken -at her discovery. She lifted the little ice-encased body out of the -deep-freeze and set it on the floor. Then she managed to run as far as -the next door neighbor's house before fainting. - -Mrs. Graham became hysterical after she was revived, and it was several -hours before she could be quieted enough to persuade anybody that she -hadn't made up the whole thing. She prevailed upon her neighbor to go -back to the house with her. In front of the deep-freeze they found a -small pool of water, and a wet cat, busily licking itself. The neighbor -subsequently told reporters that the cat was concentrating its licking -on one of its hind legs, where some ice still remained, so that she, -for one, believed the story. - -A follow-up dispatch, published a week later, reported that the cat was -unharmed by the adventure. Further, Mrs. Graham was quoted as saying -that the cat had had a large meal just before its disappearance; that -as soon after its rescue as it had dried itself off, it took a long -nap, precisely as it always did after a meal; and that it was not -hungry again until evening. It was clear from the accounts that the -life processes had been stopped dead in their tracks, and had, after -defrosting, resumed at exactly the point where they left off. - -Perhaps it is unfair to put all the responsibility on one luckless -cat. Had such a thing happened anywhere else in the country, it would -have been talked about, believed by a few, disbelieved by most, and -forgotten. But as the historic kick of Mrs. O'Leary's cow achieved -significance because of the time and place that it was delivered, -so the falling of Mrs. Graham's cat into the deep-freeze became -significant because it occurred in Los Angeles. There, and probably -only there, the event was anything but forgotten; the principles it -revealed became the basis of a hugely successful business. - -How shall we regard the Zeritsky Brothers? As archvillains or pioneers? -In support of the latter view, it must be admitted that the spirit -of inquiry and the willingness to risk the unknown were indisputably -theirs. However, their pioneering--if we agree to call it that--was, -equally indisputably, bound up with the quest for a fast buck. - -Some of their first clients paid as high as $15,000 for the initial -freezing, and the exorbitant rate of $1,000 per year as a storage -charge. The Zeritsky Brothers owned and managed one of the largest -quick-freezing plants in the world, and it was their claim that -converting the freezing equipment and storage facilities to accommodate -humans was extremely expensive, hence the high rates. - -When the early clients who paid these rates were defrosted years later, -and found other clients receiving the same services for as little -as $3,000, they threatened a row and the Zeritskys made substantial -refunds. By that time they could easily afford it, and since any -publicity about their enterprise was unwelcome to them, all refunds -were made without a whimper. $3,000 became the standard rate, with $100 -per year the storage charge, and no charge for defrosting. - -The Zeritskys were businessmen, first and last. Anyone who had the fee -could put himself away for whatever period of time he wished, and no -questions asked. The ironclad rule that full payment must be made in -advance was broken only once, as far as the records show. - -A certain young man had a very wealthy uncle, residing in Milwaukee, -whose heir he was, but the uncle was not getting along in years fast -enough. The young man, then 18 years old, did not wish to waste the -"best years of his life" as a poor boy. He wanted the money while -he was young, but his uncle was as healthy as he was wealthy. The -Zeritskys were the obvious answer to his problem. - -The agreement between them has been preserved. They undertook to -service the youth without advance payment. They further undertook to -watch the Milwaukee papers until the demise of the uncle should be -reported, whereupon they would defrost the boy. In exchange for this, -the youth, thinking of course that money would be no object when he -came out, agreed to pay double. - -The uncle lived 17 years longer, during which time he seems to have -forgotten his nephew and to have become deeply interested in a mystic -society, to which he left his entire fortune. The Zeritskys duly -defrosted the boy, and whether they or he were the more disappointed -is impossible to imagine. They never forgot the lesson, and never made -another exception to their rule. - -He, poor fellow, spent the rest of his life, including the best -years, paying off his debt which, at $3,000 plus 17 years at $100 per -year, and the whole doubled, amounted to $9,400. The books record his -slow but regular payments over the next 43 years, and indicate that -he had only $250 left to pay when he died. We may, I think, assume -that various underworld characters who were grateful ex-clients of -the Zeritskys were instrumental in persuading the boy to keep up his -payments. - -Criminals were the first to apply for quick-freezing, and formed the -mainstay of the Zeritskys' business through the years. What more easy -than to rob, hide the loot (except for that all-important advance -payment), present yourself to the Zeritskys and remain in their -admirable chambers for five or ten years, emerge to find the hue and -cry long since died down and the crime forgotten, recover your haul and -live out your life in luxury? - -Due to the shady character of most of their patrons, the Zeritskys kept -all records by a system of numbers. Names never appeared on the books, -and anonymity was guaranteed. - -Law enforcement agents, looking for fugitives from justice, found no -way to break down this system, nor any law which they could interpret -as making it illegal to quick-freeze. Perhaps the truth is that they -did not search too diligently for a law that could be made to apply. -As long as the Zeritskys kept things quiet and did not advertise or -attract public attention, they could safely continue their bizarre -business. - -City officials of Los Angeles, and particularly members of the police -force, enjoyed a period of unparalleled prosperity. Lawyers and other -experts who thought they were on the track of legal means by which to -liquidate the Zeritsky empire found themselves suddenly able to buy a -ranch or a yacht or both, and retire forever from the arduous task of -earning a living. - -Even with a goodly part of the population of Los Angeles as permanent -pensioners, the Zeritsky fortune grew to incredible proportions. By the -time the Zeritsky Brothers died and left the business to their sons, it -was a gold mine, and an inexhaustible one at that. - -During these later years, the enterprise began to attract a somewhat -better class of people. Murderers and other criminals continued to -furnish the bulk of the business, but as word of this amazing service -seeped through the country, others began to see in it an easy way of -solving their problems. They were encouraged, too, by the fact that -the process was painless, and the firm completely reliable. There were -no risks, no accidents, no fatalities. One could, in short, have -confidence in the Zeritskys. - -Soon after Monahan's great exposure rocked the nation, however, many of -these better-type clients leaped into print to tell their experiences. - -One of the most poignant stories came from the daughter of a Zeritsky -client. Her father was still, at the age of one hundred and two, -passionately interested in politics, but the chances of his lasting -until the next election were not good. The daughter herself suggested -the deep freeze, and he welcomed the idea. He decided on a twenty year -stay because, in his own words, "If the Republicans can't get into the -White House in twenty years, I give up." Upon his return, he found that -his condition had not been fulfilled. His daughter described him as -utterly baffled by the new world. He lived in it just a week before he -left it, this time for good. She states his last words were, "How do -you people stand it?" - -Some professional people patronized the Zeritskys, chiefly movie stars. -After the expose, fan magazines were filled with accounts of how the -stars had kept youthful. The more zealous ones had prolonged their -screen lives for years by the simple expedient of storing themselves -away between pictures. We may imagine the feelings of their public -upon discovering that the seemingly eternal youth of their favorites -was due to the Zeritskys and not, as they had been led to believe, to -expensive creams, lotions, diet and exercise. There was a distinctly -unfavorable reaction, and the letter columns of the fan magazines -bristled with angry charges of cheating. - -But next to criminals, the majority of people who applied for -quick-freezing seems to have been husbands or wives caught in -insupportable marital situations. Their experiences were subsequently -written up in the confession magazines. It was usually, the husband who -fled to Los Angeles and incarcerated himself for an appropriate number -of years, at the end of which time his unamiable spouse would have -died or made other arrangements. If we can believe the magazines, this -scheme worked out very well in most cases. - -There was, inevitably, one spiteful wife who divined her husband's -intentions. By shrewd reasoning, she figured approximately the number -of years he had chosen to be absent, and put herself away for a like -period. In a TV dramatization rather pessimistically entitled _You -Can't Get Away_, the husband described his sensations upon being -defrosted after 15 years, only to find his wife waiting for him, right -there in the reception room of the Zeritsky plant. - -"She was as perfectly preserved as I was," he said. "Every irritating -habit that had made my life unbearable with her was absolutely intact." - -The sins of the fathers may be visited on the sons, but how often -we see repeated the old familiar pattern of the sons destroying the -lifework of the fathers! The Zeritsky Brothers were fanatically -meticulous. They supervised every detail of their operations, and kept -their records with an elaborate system of checks and doublechecks. They -were shrewd enough to realize that complete dependability was essential -to their business. A satisfied Zeritsky client was a silent client. One -dissatisfied client would be enough to blow the business apart. - -The sons, in their greed, over-expanded to the point where they could -not, even among the four of them, personally supervise each and every -detail. A fatal mistake was bound to occur sooner or later. When it -did, the victim broadcast his grievance to the world. - -The story appeared in a national magazine, every copy of which was sold -an hour after it appeared on the stands. Under the title _They Put the -Freeze on Me!_ John A. Monahan told his tragic tale. At the age of 37, -he had fallen desperately in love with a girl of 16. She was immature -and frivolous and wanted to "play around" a little more before she -settled down. - -"She told me," he wrote, "to come back in five years, and that started -me thinking. In five years I'd be 42, and what would a girl of 21 want -with a man twice as old as her?" - -John Monahan moved in circles where the work of the Zeritskys was -well known. Not only did he see an opportunity of being still only 37 -when his darling reached 21, but he foresaw a painless way of passing -the years which he must endure without her. Accordingly, he presented -himself for the deep-freeze, paid his $3,000 and the $500 storage -charge in advance, and left, he claimed, "written instructions to let -me out in five years, so there'd be no mistakes." - -Nobody knows how the slip happened, but somehow John A. Monahan, or -rather the number assigned to him, was entered on the books for 25 -years instead of five years. Upon being defrosted, and discovering -that a quarter of a century had elapsed, his rage was awesome. Along -with everything else, his love for his sweetheart had been perfectly -preserved, but she had given up waiting for him and was a happy mother -of two boys and six girls. - -Monahan's accusation that the Zeritskys had "ruined his life" may be -taken with a grain of salt. He was still a young man, and the rumor -that he received a hundred thousand for the magazine rights to his -story was true. - -As most readers are aware, what has come to be known as "Zeritsky's -Law" was passed by Congress and signed by the President three days -after Monahan's story broke. - -Seventy-five years after Mrs. Graham's cat fell into the freezer, -it became the law of the land that the mandatory penalty for anyone -applying quick-freezing methods to any living thing, human or animal, -was death. Also, all quick-frozen people were to be defrosted -immediately. - -Los Angeles papers reported that beginning on the day Monahan's story -appeared, men by the thousands poured into the city. They continued -to come, choking every available means of transport, for the next two -days--until, that is, Zeritsky's Law went through. - -When we consider the date, and remember that due to the gravity of the -international situation, a bill had just been passed drafting all men -from 16 to 60, we realize why Congress had to act. - -The Zeritskys, of course, were among the first to be taken. Because of -their experience, they were put in charge of a military warehouse for -dehydrated foods, and warned not to get any ideas for a new business. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Zeritsky's Law, by Ann Griffith - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ZERITSKY'S LAW *** - -***** This file should be named 51234.txt or 51234.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/2/3/51234/ - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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