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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..77332e5 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #68256 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/68256) diff --git a/old/68256-0.txt b/old/68256-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 16a5d5d..0000000 --- a/old/68256-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1108 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Rat Race, by George O. Smith - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Rat Race - -Author: George O. Smith - -Release Date: June 6, 2022 [eBook #68256] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net. - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RAT RACE *** - - - - - - RAT RACE - - BY GEORGE O. SMITH - - Illustrated by Cartier - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Astounding Science-Fiction, August 1947. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -"You're nuts," came the reply, but the voice on the telephone was -jovially reproving rather than sarcastic. "I can't do anything about -this order." - -Peter Manton blinked. "But it has a Four-A-One priority." - -Brannon nodded--invisibly, of course--and said, "Sure you have a top -priority. Anything your lab wants has top. But darn it, Peter, the best -priority in the world isn't going to buy you a dozen mousetraps that -are nonexistent." - -"But--" - -"Besides which, that building you're in is about as rat-proof as a -sealed gasoline can. There isn't an item of comestible in the place." - -"I know that. And the mice can go hungry for all I care. But the mice -don't seem to understand that bringing food into the place is not only -forbidden by law but dangerous." - -"But there ain't a mousetrap in the country. Ding bust it, Peter, -mousetraps take spring wire, and labor. The people who used to make -mousetraps are now making bombsights and tanks. Besides, Peter, over -at that laboratory of yours there should be enough brains and gear to -really build the Better Mousetrap. If you can spot a plane at fifty -miles, split atoms, and fire radio equipment out of a cannon, you ought -to be able to dispose of a mouse or two." - -Peter grinned. "You mean spot 'em with radar, and then shoot 'em down -in flames with proximity fuses loaded with plutonium war heads? That -might be a little strenuous, don't you think? Like cutting the throat -to stop the spread of impetigo." - -"Well, if you have mice over there, you think of something. But top -priority or not, we can't get you your mousetraps!" - -Peter hung up unhappily. He turned from his desk to see an impertinent -mouse sitting on the floor watching him out of beady black eyes. Peter -hurled a book at it and swore, a rare thing for him. - -The mouse disappeared behind a bank of filing cabinets. - -"That's right," he grunted. "Go on--disappear!" - -The word struck home. Peter blinked. And remembered.... - - * * * * * - -It was dark, though not too dark for the mouse to see his surroundings. -It was hungry, and it was beginning to understand that of the many -places occupied by man, this was one place where man left nothing that -could be eaten. This evening, however, the situation was changed. -There was a faint smell of food in the place, relatively great compared -to the sterile atmosphere of previous days. - -The mouse located the odor. A small wire tunnel closed at the far end. -A nice, rancid bit of bacon hung there. - -The mouse was no fool. He inspected the wire tunnel carefully. Three of -his brothers had been taken away by various metal contrivances and he -was not going to follow them if he could help it. The mouse sniffed the -wires, climbed the top of the little cage and raced around it, poking -it and bumping it. Often a trap could be sprung by poking it with a -foot--just jarring it. That left the bait safe to eat. - -But this seemed innocuous. No springs, no wires, no trapdoor, no -mirrors. Just a little tunnel of wire cloth about six inches long and -two inches in diameter. - -The mouse entered the tunnel; headed for the bit of bacon. - -Nothing happened, and the mouse gathered speed. It paid no attention -to the silvery metal ring that encircled the inside of the tunnel, -and would not have known what it was anyway. There were other things -there, too. Bits of Alnico V, a couple of cubes of Cerise Wax, some -minute inductances and a very small capacitor made of a tiny square of -mica with some silver sputtered on both sides. Down in the center was -a clear crystal with electrodes clamped on it. The whole assembly was -about a half inch cubed and from it on either side emerged the ends of -the silvery-wire loop. - -Had the mouse seen all this, it would not have understood. That was not -strange, for even the man who built it was not too certain what it did, -or what it was, nor how it worked. - -He knew it worked, and it served its purpose. He was like the man who -daily uses electricity enough to kill him, but is not quite sure of -what goes on in the instant between his snap of the switch and the -arrival of the illumination. - -The mouse cared not. All he was after was food. - -He paused, uncertainly and checked to see if there were any moving -parts. There were, but they were intangible fields and stresses of -space. - -Then the mouse raced forward and passed through the silvery circle. - -But did not come out on the far side. - -A second mouse, watching, took a sigh of relief. The bait was still -there. There had neither been cry of pain nor was there a captive -warning the rest away in mouse-ese. - -He, too, came to the trap, and entered, the odor from the rancid bacon -drawing him with a magnetic force. - -He, too, came to the silvery circle, passed through--into nothingness! - -Came then another, and another, each pleased in turn that the bait was -his alone for the taking. And as each one entered and disappeared, a -tiny silent counter moved one digit higher. - -Came morning.... - -And-- - -"Great Unholy Madness," exploded Peter. "If this is a rat-proof -building, I am a Chinese policeman!" - -Jack Brandt looked over Peter's shoulder. "How many?" he asked. - -"Twenty-three!" - -"Golly," grinned Brandt. "We're outnumbered." - -"We won't be long if this thing works like this every night. This is -better than the original ball-bearing mousetrap." - -"Which?" - -Peter grinned. "The tomcat," he said. - - * * * * * - -That was how it started. It went on for a week, passed through a huge -peak of catch, and then tapered off abruptly. A month later, the trap -had passed no mouse into--nothingness--for three days. The Better -Mousetrap was placed back in the cabinet and forgotten. - -For this was during the days of War, when he who was not fighting was -working to provide the fighting man with what he needed. And Peter -Manton's laboratory had too much to do in too short a time to permit -even an hour's wonder or work on anything not directly concerned with -the problem at hand. - -The months passed. Peter Manton nodded knowingly when Hiroshima -heralded the atomic age. He made penciled notes on the margin of the -paper correcting some of the reporter's errata in describing radar. -He wrote a hot letter to OSRD complaining that the news release on the -proximity fuse had been mishandled, that he knew the real facts. He -followed sonar and loran with interest. - -More months passed, and the peace which was raging all over the world -continued, but Peter Manton's laboratory was disbanded. Much of the -stuff was sold as scrap, and among it was the Better Mousetrap. It -no longer worked. Its magnets were mere bits of metal alloy; its -permanent wax-electrets were discharged. The crystal no longer vibrated -molecularly, and besides, the wire loop was crushed beneath a pile of -scrap metal. - -The next time Peter Manton remembered his Better Mousetrap was when a -friend of his mentioned that he wanted to move. - -"Move?" asked Peter. "Where to?" - -"That's the point," grumbled Tony Andrews. "There's no place. But I'm -not going to stay where I am!" - -"It looks like a nice enough place. What's wrong?" - -"Mice. The place is lousy with 'em." - -"Oh? Thought that was a fairly respectable place." - -"It was," replied Andrews. "But lately--the mouse population has -increased. Probably due to the lack of traps created by the war." - -Peter nodded. "We had a mousetrap at the lab," he said with a fond -smile of reminiscence. Then he told Tony about it, and the other man -blinked hungrily. "That good?" he exclaimed. - -Peter nodded. - -"Can you build another?" - -"Sure." - -Andrews smiled. "Look," he said. "You are the man who built the Better -Mousetrap. But the old platitude isn't good enough. The world will not -beat a path to your door unless you make yourself known. This should -make you famous." - -Peter frowned a bit. "Is it that good?" he asked. - -"It has one feature that will outdo all other traps," said Andrews. "In -any trap, there is the corpse to dispose of. In this one, there is the -disposal system built in. Look, you build one for me, and we'll form a -company to build them." - -"If you think so." - -"I think so. How long will it take?" - -"To build another? About an hour once I get the parts. Luckily there's -a section of the Central Scientific Company handy. They have most of -the stuff." - - * * * * * - -It took several days to collect the material, after which Peter called -Andrews. By the time the other man arrived, Peter was finishing off the -main part of the trap. He handed the thing to Andrews, who looked at -it, squinted through the circlet of wire, and then poked a pencil into -it. Where it came level with the plane of the circlet, it ceased to -exist in a slick plane of cleavage. - -Andrews withdrew the pencil and it was complete again. - -"Great Harry," he shouted. "Where did you get that?" - -"That," smiled Peter, "is something out of Campbell by Edward E. Smith." - -"Who?" - -"Writers of science fiction that turned out millions of words dealing -with strange minerals, space warps, and the like. They used to spend -their leisure hours thinking up something that would outdo the other. -Actually," he said, becoming serious again, "the thing was discovered -in our lab during the war. We were working on a closed means of radio -communication--a method of wireless connection that would not only -prevent the enemy from decoding or unscrambling, but which would be -impossible to detect unless you were set up properly. Too many things -happened under radio-silence that a means of communication might have -prevented. Anyway, in our search for a new level of communications, we -got this effect." - -"Seems to me that it should be good for something." - -"The trouble is that it can't be made any bigger. Once that loop size -is changed, the effect is no longer there. We worked on it for about a -month and gave it up because there it is and that's all that could be -done with it." - -"How about using it to pump water out of a sinking ship?" - -"Can't fasten anything to the ring," said Peter. - -"But the thing that bothers me is where does it go?" asked Andrews, -poking his finger through the ring and withdrawing it hastily as he saw -the clean-cut cross section. - -"Haven't the vaguest idea." - -"You haven't worked on it much, then?" - -Peter shook his head. "There were a lot of things that had priority," -he said. "We had that scheduled for about three years from now, even. -Anyway--what are you doing?" - -"I'd like to know where the stuff goes," said Andrews. - -"How are you going to find out?" - - * * * * * - -Tony Andrews handed Peter a key ring tag. It was an advertisement for -an automobile salesroom, and it stated that any possible finders should -merely drop the key ring and chain into the nearest mailbox; that the -addressee would pay the postage. It then gave Tony Andrews' name and -address and telephone number. - -"Think ... if it's found anywhere ... it'll be returned?" - -"That's how they sent them out," he said. "Darned good advertisement, -too." - -"But--" - -"Look, Peter, if this ... and it must go somewhere ... lands close by, -it'll be returned. Perhaps we'll get a letter, too, telling us where. -If it lands in some distant country, we'll probably get it back with a -letter telling us that I sure did get around." - -"You feel certain that it will land somewhere on earth." - -Tony Andrews nodded. "There is no pressure gradient worthy of the name -across the face of this," he said. "Though there is a very slight -motion of air through the ring. That means that the air pressure on -either side of this ding busted ring is about the same. Funny, though, -it sort of blows both ways." - -Peter nodded. From either side he poked forefingers in. At the plane -of cleavage, both fingers passed forward into--through--one another, -giving an appearance very much like poking the forefinger into a pool -of mercury. - -Andrews shuddered. Then he took the little circlet, held the ring -sidewise, and dropped the tag from the key ring through it. Through the -ring they heard it clang onto the floor. - -Peter took the ring from Andrews and put it horizontal, close to the -floor. He put a finger through it and probed. - -He said: "Ah!" and put thumb and forefinger through the ring and came -up with the tag. - -"What's down there?" asked Andrews. - -"Feels like wood." Peter poked a ruler through and measured the -distance. About two inches differed between the concrete of Peter's -basement floor and the wood surface of the other. - -"We'll lick that," said Peter. "I've got a tiny miniature camera -upstairs. We poke it through and take a picture or two." - -That was a flat failure, they found. The film came out utterly black. -Whether the film was exposed in passing, or whether the "other side" -was highly illuminated could not be determined. They could control the -light in the cellar so that the partially "gone" camera would not cause -exposure of the film. But if the other side were brightly illuminated, -there would be an instant where the film was open to the light. They -tried for hours, but failed. - -Eventually, Andrews took his mousetrap home with him and set it up in -the kitchen. - -Again, its take was enormous. - - * * * * * - -Senator Treed entered the hardware store along Connecticut Avenue and -asked the clerk for a mousetrap. The clerk looked surprised and said, -"But you're living in the Wardman Park Hotel, senator." - -"I know. Reputed to be one of the finest hotels in Washington, too. -But, there're mice there." - -"Hard to believe. Does the management know?" - -"Not yet," said the senator quietly. "And say nothing, please. You see, -Mrs. Treed and I just returned from a vacation in Wisconsin and we had -a large number of packing cases delivered to our suite. It is more -than possible that we included a few field mice. I'd hate to be held -responsible for bringing mice into the Wardman Park." - -The clerk grinned. "Mice in the Wardman Park. That's a national -calamity, isn't it?" - -Senator Treed scowled. "Young man, this rat plague is a national -calamity. You do not realize how bad it really is. An outbreak caused -by the war." - -"Come now, senator. Don't blame everything on the war." - -Senator Treed shook his head. "I try to be level headed and as honest -as I can," he said. "But how many mousetraps have you had in the place -since Pearl Harbor?" - -"Not many," admitted the clerk. - -"Freedom from rodent pests is a warfare that must be constantly and -ruthlessly waged," replied the senator. "Otherwise, they overwhelm us. -We stopped fighting rats to fight another kind. We licked the other -kind, but there's this kind still. Now, what's new in mousetraps?" - -"Here's a new number. It's called the Better Mousetrap. A new company -started about a week ago and we accepted one on consignment." - -"How much is it?" asked the senator. - -"It's not for sale." - -The senator spluttered in confusion. - -"It's on a rental basis," said the clerk. "There's a register below. It -counts the catch. You pay two cents per catch." - -"Really a guaranteed job, hey?" smiled the senator. "How does it work?" - -The clerk held up the trap. "This is where you put the bait," he said. -"You impale it on this spike and then swivel it through the slit in the -wire so the mice must enter the tunnel to get to it." - -"Yeah, but there's nothing there to stop the mice from having a free -lunch," objected the senator. - -The clerk took a small bolt, set it on the floor of the tunnel, tilted -the cage and let the bolt run down the floor slowly. It passed through -the circlet and disappeared. - -"Hey!" - -The clerk grinned. "Convenient, isn't it? No muss, no fuss, no strain, -no pain. And no corpse to clean away." - -"A very definite advantage," said the senator. "But where do they go?" - -"No one knows. They go--and we ask no questions." - -"Make a fine garbage disposal unit," suggested the senator. - -"Could be. I imagine so. Also a swell way to get rid of old razor -blades. But every item that goes through this trap is registered--and -that bolt will cost the firm two cents. It can't tell the difference -between a bolt and a mouse." - -"Hm-m-m. Good thing that tunnel is long and small. People would be -poking all manner of things into them. But where do they go?" - -"They're trying to find out. So far they don't know. It's said that -one of the founders of the Better Mousetrap Company dropped a tag -through with name and address and the offer of a reward. It hasn't been -returned. Maybe the mail is irregular from Mars, huh?" - -"Mars?" - -The clerk shrugged. "I wouldn't know where," he said doubtfully. - -The senator nodded. "Despite the population of the country--of the -world--there are places where men seldom go," he said. "That tag may -be lying in the rough at Bonnie Dundee Golf Course for all we know." - - * * * * * - -Miss Agatha Merrit placed her pince-nez firmly on her nose. "Good -morning, class," she said primly and with perfect diction. - -"Good morning, teacher," responded forty third-grade voices. - -Miss Agatha Merrit went to her desk and sat down. "Today," she said, -"we will learn about being afraid. It is known that ninety percent of -all things that people fear will not harm them. I know of big strong -men afraid of insects and many women are dreadfully frightened of mice." - -Peter Manton, Junior, raised his hand and said: "My father built a -Better Mousetrap," he announced irrelevantly. - -Miss Agatha Merrit was annoyed at the sidetracking, but young Manton's -father was becoming a financial force in the community and she felt it -unwise to ignore the comment. "I understand that the world is starting -to beat a path to your door," she said, completing the old platitude. -"But we're speaking of fear, not mice." - -"You're not afraid of mice?" insisted young Peter. - -"I can't say that I like them," said Miss Agatha Merrit. "Though I feel -that the mouse is more frightened of me than I could possibly be of it. -After all, I am quite a bit larger and more capable than a mouse--" - -Miss Agatha Merrit opened the drawer of her desk but was prevented from -looking in. - -The next several minutes are not describable. Not in any sort of -chronological order because everything happened at once. Miss Agatha -Merrit headed for the chandelier and got as far as the top of her chair -which somehow arrived on the top of the table. Mice boiled out of the -desk drawer and spread in a wave across the desk and across the floor. -In a ragged wave front, the third-grade girls found the tops of their -desks and the third-grade boys yelped in amusement and started to -corral the mice. By the time the room was cleaned up an hour later, the -boys had thirty-four mice in a wastebasket covered by a small drawing -board, four mice had escaped down holes in the woodwork, seven had gone -out under the door, and three were trying to find their way out of -nine-year-old pockets. - -Miss Agatha Merrit never did learn the name of the ringleader of -that prank. She strongly suspected Peter Junior who was at best an -imaginative child with a clever mind and few inhibitions. What bothered -her most was that the trick was repeated. - -There were three drawers in her desk. Young Peter Manton brought, on -the following morning, one of his father's Better Mousetraps. She -placed it in the drawer that had been "salted" with mice the day -before, but the pranksters used the second drawer that night. Carefully -she concealed the trap in the third drawer on the following night, and -the mice turned up in the top drawer again. - -It became a race. Whether the problem would be solved before Miss -Agatha Merrit became a quivering nervous wreck. - -A total of one hundred and seventy-three mice registered on the Better -Mousetrap in a week, and then Miss Agatha Merrit polished off the job -by procuring enough traps for all of the desk drawers. Since no place -remained to place them without the mice being collected and destroyed, -the mice-filled drawers ceased to be a favorite prank of the school. -The children, all of them sweet innocents, took to other forms of -childish torture. - -She confessed to Peter Manton, Senior, that had it not been for his -excellent product, she would be a nervous wreck. "And," she said, "I -never did find out where they came from." - -He grinned. "We've never found out where they went," he told her. - -"I shudder," said Miss Agatha Merrit, "to think. Do you suppose, Mr. -Manton, that your device transmits them to some other corner of the -world?" - -"We have tried to find out. Mice, unfortunately do not take well to -being tagged. But we've tagged a number of them in the hope that we -will discover where they go." - -"I've noticed in the papers," replied Miss Agatha Merrit, "that there -is a veritable plague of rats. The Chicago _World_ had an editorial -about you ... did you see it?" - -"No," he admitted. "But I'm rather pleased. What did they say?" - -"It seems that the Chicago _World_ was plagued with rats until they got -about two dozen of your Better Mousetraps. That fixed them. Now they -claim that your invention came along at the proper time. The world is -about to beat its path to your door, Mr. Manton." - -Peter shrugged. "Most inventions are made to fill a definite need," he -said. "Discoveries are made because of man's curiosity. An invention is -an aggregation of discoveries collected because their principles add up -to the proper effect to take care of the necessity. I'm glad that I was -able to make this invention of mine. It seems timely." - - * * * * * - -Senator Treed rapped for attention and the committee came to order. -"This morning," said Treed, "we will have open discussion of the -problem." - -General Hayes nodded and said: "This much is known: The mice are -delivered somewhere out of Manton's Better Mousetrap. I wonder if some -foreign power might not have discovered even more of its powers and is -using it to plague America?" - -"That seems far fetched." - -"Not at all. It might be likened to a bacterial warfare. Pests will -vitiate a country as well as war--weakening a strong country to prepare -it for easy conquest." - -Tag Harris of the FBI Laboratory shook his head. "There's more than -meets the eye," he said. "I've definite proof that some human agency is -working at it." - -"You have?" demanded Senator Treed. "Tell us." - -"We tagged rats and sent 'em through one of Manton's traps. Later we -used one of the old wire-cage affairs. Someone had gone to the trouble -of counterfeiting some of our tags. Out of fifty-seven rats caught with -tags, we found a duplicate number. Someone obviously caught a tagged -one from wherever it was sent, and in an effort to confuse us, made -duplicate tags and sent 'em back." - -"Deliberate!" - -Admiral Grayson of Intelligence nodded. "Tomlinson of Psychological -Warfare says that's what he would recommend to spread confusion. You -see, this Power would not stop; they would also know that we are -trying to find out all about it. Therefore they would prefer to add -confusion to our search. Hence the duplication of tags." - -"Could you tell the real one?" - -Harris nodded. "Easily. The original one was well worn because the rat -had more time to go roaming. The duplicate was almost new." - -"They never did turn up with that key tag of Andrews, did they?" - -"Nope." - -"No one but a suspicious Power would conceal such a thing now that the -search for it is out. The answer is obvious." - -Treed nodded in agreement. "I shall recommend that Congress offer an -award of twenty thousand dollars to whomever gives information to bring -the truth to light." He shuddered. "This rat business is terrible. My -wife is nearly out of her mind. Last night she swore that she saw a rat -_appear_ on the floor beneath the dresser. I hushed it, of course, but -that is why I'm bringing this committee to order on the subject." - -"Perhaps Manton's device just hurls them back and forth across the -country." - -Treed shook his head. "Manton's Better Mousetrap doesn't work that -way," he said with conviction. "Thanks to Manton's little registers -we know that Manton's catch--overall--has been rising but definitely -following the increase in rat population over the entire country. You -see, gentlemen, Manton's traps have been made to fill a demand in -every case. It started with friends who needed them. You're sort of -insisting that Manton's traps come assembled with its own mice." - -That got a big laugh. - -"And," said Senator Treed, "God help the one who is responsible for -this!" - - * * * * * - -Tony Andrews entered the salesroom and smiled at the clerk. "Look," he -said, "I've been a good customer." - -"You have," agreed the salesman. "I know you. I'm Tom Locke." - -"Well, Mr. Locke, I'd like another one of those key tags." - -The salesman nodded. "Those things are popular," he said. "But what -happened?" - -"I dropped mine through one of those Better Mousetraps." - -"Oh," laughed the salesman, "they've been returned from every portion -of the globe. But I guess the mail service isn't too good from wherever -That is." - -"I'd hoped it would come back," said Andrews. "But I'm wrong. And I'd -like another one." - -"Sure. Be glad to. Since you're the man who originated the idea with -us." - -"I'm sorry to have to ask--What? Originated what?" - -"Why yes. The tale goes that you came in to buy a car quite some time -ago, and the salesman saw the tag on your key ring. He mentioned it to -Mr. Cagley who is our advertising manager. He had the tags made up and -we gave them out to our best customers." - -"Then you've got me mixed up with someone else. For I received mine as -they did. Mine came in the mail and cost me three cents--which was as -good an advertising stunt as the tags themse--" - -"Mail? Mail? We gave them in person." - -"But mine came through the mail." - -"Sorry. We've never sent any of them through the mail." - -"Oh," said Andrews with rising suspicion. He took the new tag with -thanks and returned to Peter Manton's home. - -"Peter, is Junior handy?" - -Manton nodded and called. Junior came. Then Andrews said: "Junior, have -you ever seen anything like this before?" - -Junior nodded. "Last winter. Found it down in the cellar on my sled." - -"Sled!" - -"Uh-huh. Then because it said to drop it in the mail box if found, I -did. You got it, huh?" - -Andrews nodded. "Yup," he said. "I got it! Peter Manton, you haven't -seen the end of this, yet." - -Manton frowned slightly. "Why?" he asked. - -"You've really built the Better Mousetrap, and you haven't seen the -people who are going to beat their path to your door. They haven't -really arrived yet. But they will!" - - * * * * * - -The first to arrive was the FBI. Then Peter Manton's domicile was -changed from a town in Illinois to a cold stone place in Washington. - -Ted Harris faced the Court. "Here is the originator of the Plague of -Rats," he said. "And the saviour of the country at the same time. He is -in the position of a physician who poisons people so that he can save -them. A sort of stinking benefactor." - -"Will you please explain to the Court?" demanded the Court. - -"The field set up by the Better Mousetrap at the plane of cleavage -hurls anything that passes through it _backwards in time_. The -time-rate is indefinite and uncontrollable. However, this is why -Manton's trap was so effective. On Monday a plague of mice appears -in an apartment. The master of the place goes out and rents one of -the Better Mousetraps. He places it in his apartment and during the -time it is there it hurls mice backward in time to create the plague! -Naturally, the trap will be removed as soon as the mice stop--and -because the trap will be removed in a few days, the trap itself stops -the flow of mice." - -"But how far back--?" - -"There's little correlation. It just hurls. It is aimless and -uncontrollable. In one case, a key tag went back several months." - -"But how come nothing was known of this?" demanded the Court. - -Tag Harris smiled. "When I have something that will utterly destroy -something, I do not place anything valuable near it," he said. "In -Manton's own laboratory the boys dropped spare parts through it. In -hardware stores all over the country the clerks were dropping screws -and nuts and the like. Most of this stuff fell to the floor and was -swept up a few days to a week before." - -Tag Harris held up a scrap of newspaper. The date was four days in the -future. - -"Proof," he said. "I'll be sending that to myself later." - -"And the tagged mice--the duplications?" - -"Animals that had gone through the time-trap twice and were living -their lives in parallel. You see, your honor, not only did Manton's -Better Mousetrap hurl mice back in time, but it could hurl the same -mouse back to the same era several times--and the Plague of Rats was a -Man-Made Plague." - - * * * * * - - Epilogue-- - -_'Tis said that he who laughs last laughs best. The world who beat -a path to Peter Manton's door in anger because he built the Better -Mousetrap, returned to thank him anyway. You see, with mice being -hurled backwards in time, they lived and they died in the mad rat-race -in time. And America, for its trouble with more rodents than it could -stand for a short period, now reaps its reward. For America is free of -rats._ - - - THE END. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RAT RACE *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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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Smith</p> -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world 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 <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Rat Race</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: George O. Smith</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: June 6, 2022 [eBook #68256]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net.</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RAT RACE ***</div> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus1.jpg" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>RAT RACE</h1> - -<h2>BY GEORGE O. SMITH</h2> - -<p>Illustrated by Cartier</p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Astounding Science-Fiction, August 1947.<br /> -Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that<br /> -the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>"You're nuts," came the reply, but the voice on the telephone was -jovially reproving rather than sarcastic. "I can't do anything about -this order."</p> - -<p>Peter Manton blinked. "But it has a Four-A-One priority."</p> - -<p>Brannon nodded—invisibly, of course—and said, "Sure you have a top -priority. Anything your lab wants has top. But darn it, Peter, the best -priority in the world isn't going to buy you a dozen mousetraps that -are nonexistent."</p> - -<p>"But—"</p> - -<p>"Besides which, that building you're in is about as rat-proof as a -sealed gasoline can. There isn't an item of comestible in the place."</p> - -<p>"I know that. And the mice can go hungry for all I care. But the mice -don't seem to understand that bringing food into the place is not only -forbidden by law but dangerous."</p> - -<p>"But there ain't a mousetrap in the country. Ding bust it, Peter, -mousetraps take spring wire, and labor. The people who used to make -mousetraps are now making bombsights and tanks. Besides, Peter, over -at that laboratory of yours there should be enough brains and gear to -really build the Better Mousetrap. If you can spot a plane at fifty -miles, split atoms, and fire radio equipment out of a cannon, you ought -to be able to dispose of a mouse or two."</p> - -<p>Peter grinned. "You mean spot 'em with radar, and then shoot 'em down -in flames with proximity fuses loaded with plutonium war heads? That -might be a little strenuous, don't you think? Like cutting the throat -to stop the spread of impetigo."</p> - -<p>"Well, if you have mice over there, you think of something. But top -priority or not, we can't get you your mousetraps!"</p> - -<p>Peter hung up unhappily. He turned from his desk to see an impertinent -mouse sitting on the floor watching him out of beady black eyes. Peter -hurled a book at it and swore, a rare thing for him.</p> - -<p>The mouse disappeared behind a bank of filing cabinets.</p> - -<p>"That's right," he grunted. "Go on—disappear!"</p> - -<p>The word struck home. Peter blinked. And remembered....</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>It was dark, though not too dark for the mouse to see his surroundings. -It was hungry, and it was beginning to understand that of the many -places occupied by man, this was one place where man left nothing that -could be eaten. This evening, however, the situation was changed. -There was a faint smell of food in the place, relatively great compared -to the sterile atmosphere of previous days.</p> - -<p>The mouse located the odor. A small wire tunnel closed at the far end. -A nice, rancid bit of bacon hung there.</p> - -<p>The mouse was no fool. He inspected the wire tunnel carefully. Three of -his brothers had been taken away by various metal contrivances and he -was not going to follow them if he could help it. The mouse sniffed the -wires, climbed the top of the little cage and raced around it, poking -it and bumping it. Often a trap could be sprung by poking it with a -foot—just jarring it. That left the bait safe to eat.</p> - -<p>But this seemed innocuous. No springs, no wires, no trapdoor, no -mirrors. Just a little tunnel of wire cloth about six inches long and -two inches in diameter.</p> - -<p>The mouse entered the tunnel; headed for the bit of bacon.</p> - -<p>Nothing happened, and the mouse gathered speed. It paid no attention -to the silvery metal ring that encircled the inside of the tunnel, -and would not have known what it was anyway. There were other things -there, too. Bits of Alnico V, a couple of cubes of Cerise Wax, some -minute inductances and a very small capacitor made of a tiny square of -mica with some silver sputtered on both sides. Down in the center was -a clear crystal with electrodes clamped on it. The whole assembly was -about a half inch cubed and from it on either side emerged the ends of -the silvery-wire loop.</p> - -<p>Had the mouse seen all this, it would not have understood. That was not -strange, for even the man who built it was not too certain what it did, -or what it was, nor how it worked.</p> - -<p>He knew it worked, and it served its purpose. He was like the man who -daily uses electricity enough to kill him, but is not quite sure of -what goes on in the instant between his snap of the switch and the -arrival of the illumination.</p> - -<p>The mouse cared not. All he was after was food.</p> - -<p>He paused, uncertainly and checked to see if there were any moving -parts. There were, but they were intangible fields and stresses of -space.</p> - -<p>Then the mouse raced forward and passed through the silvery circle.</p> - -<p>But did not come out on the far side.</p> - -<p>A second mouse, watching, took a sigh of relief. The bait was still -there. There had neither been cry of pain nor was there a captive -warning the rest away in mouse-ese.</p> - -<p>He, too, came to the trap, and entered, the odor from the rancid bacon -drawing him with a magnetic force.</p> - -<p>He, too, came to the silvery circle, passed through—into nothingness!</p> - -<p>Came then another, and another, each pleased in turn that the bait was -his alone for the taking. And as each one entered and disappeared, a -tiny silent counter moved one digit higher.</p> - -<p>Came morning....</p> - -<p>And—</p> - -<p>"Great Unholy Madness," exploded Peter. "If this is a rat-proof -building, I am a Chinese policeman!"</p> - -<p>Jack Brandt looked over Peter's shoulder. "How many?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"Twenty-three!"</p> - -<p>"Golly," grinned Brandt. "We're outnumbered."</p> - -<p>"We won't be long if this thing works like this every night. This is -better than the original ball-bearing mousetrap."</p> - -<p>"Which?"</p> - -<p>Peter grinned. "The tomcat," he said.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>That was how it started. It went on for a week, passed through a huge -peak of catch, and then tapered off abruptly. A month later, the trap -had passed no mouse into—nothingness—for three days. The Better -Mousetrap was placed back in the cabinet and forgotten.</p> - -<p>For this was during the days of War, when he who was not fighting was -working to provide the fighting man with what he needed. And Peter -Manton's laboratory had too much to do in too short a time to permit -even an hour's wonder or work on anything not directly concerned with -the problem at hand.</p> - -<p>The months passed. Peter Manton nodded knowingly when Hiroshima -heralded the atomic age. He made penciled notes on the margin of the -paper correcting some of the reporter's errata in describing radar. -He wrote a hot letter to OSRD complaining that the news release on the -proximity fuse had been mishandled, that he knew the real facts. He -followed sonar and loran with interest.</p> - -<p>More months passed, and the peace which was raging all over the world -continued, but Peter Manton's laboratory was disbanded. Much of the -stuff was sold as scrap, and among it was the Better Mousetrap. It -no longer worked. Its magnets were mere bits of metal alloy; its -permanent wax-electrets were discharged. The crystal no longer vibrated -molecularly, and besides, the wire loop was crushed beneath a pile of -scrap metal.</p> - -<p>The next time Peter Manton remembered his Better Mousetrap was when a -friend of his mentioned that he wanted to move.</p> - -<p>"Move?" asked Peter. "Where to?"</p> - -<p>"That's the point," grumbled Tony Andrews. "There's no place. But I'm -not going to stay where I am!"</p> - -<p>"It looks like a nice enough place. What's wrong?"</p> - -<p>"Mice. The place is lousy with 'em."</p> - -<p>"Oh? Thought that was a fairly respectable place."</p> - -<p>"It was," replied Andrews. "But lately—the mouse population has -increased. Probably due to the lack of traps created by the war."</p> - -<p>Peter nodded. "We had a mousetrap at the lab," he said with a fond -smile of reminiscence. Then he told Tony about it, and the other man -blinked hungrily. "That good?" he exclaimed.</p> - -<p>Peter nodded.</p> - -<p>"Can you build another?"</p> - -<p>"Sure."</p> - -<p>Andrews smiled. "Look," he said. "You are the man who built the Better -Mousetrap. But the old platitude isn't good enough. The world will not -beat a path to your door unless you make yourself known. This should -make you famous."</p> - -<p>Peter frowned a bit. "Is it that good?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"It has one feature that will outdo all other traps," said Andrews. "In -any trap, there is the corpse to dispose of. In this one, there is the -disposal system built in. Look, you build one for me, and we'll form a -company to build them."</p> - -<p>"If you think so."</p> - -<p>"I think so. How long will it take?"</p> - -<p>"To build another? About an hour once I get the parts. Luckily there's -a section of the Central Scientific Company handy. They have most of -the stuff."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>It took several days to collect the material, after which Peter called -Andrews. By the time the other man arrived, Peter was finishing off the -main part of the trap. He handed the thing to Andrews, who looked at -it, squinted through the circlet of wire, and then poked a pencil into -it. Where it came level with the plane of the circlet, it ceased to -exist in a slick plane of cleavage.</p> - -<p>Andrews withdrew the pencil and it was complete again.</p> - -<p>"Great Harry," he shouted. "Where did you get that?"</p> - -<p>"That," smiled Peter, "is something out of Campbell by Edward E. Smith."</p> - -<p>"Who?"</p> - -<p>"Writers of science fiction that turned out millions of words dealing -with strange minerals, space warps, and the like. They used to spend -their leisure hours thinking up something that would outdo the other. -Actually," he said, becoming serious again, "the thing was discovered -in our lab during the war. We were working on a closed means of radio -communication—a method of wireless connection that would not only -prevent the enemy from decoding or unscrambling, but which would be -impossible to detect unless you were set up properly. Too many things -happened under radio-silence that a means of communication might have -prevented. Anyway, in our search for a new level of communications, we -got this effect."</p> - -<p>"Seems to me that it should be good for something."</p> - -<p>"The trouble is that it can't be made any bigger. Once that loop size -is changed, the effect is no longer there. We worked on it for about a -month and gave it up because there it is and that's all that could be -done with it."</p> - -<p>"How about using it to pump water out of a sinking ship?"</p> - -<p>"Can't fasten anything to the ring," said Peter.</p> - -<p>"But the thing that bothers me is where does it go?" asked Andrews, -poking his finger through the ring and withdrawing it hastily as he saw -the clean-cut cross section.</p> - -<p>"Haven't the vaguest idea."</p> - -<p>"You haven't worked on it much, then?"</p> - -<p>Peter shook his head. "There were a lot of things that had priority," -he said. "We had that scheduled for about three years from now, even. -Anyway—what are you doing?"</p> - -<p>"I'd like to know where the stuff goes," said Andrews.</p> - -<p>"How are you going to find out?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Tony Andrews handed Peter a key ring tag. It was an advertisement for -an automobile salesroom, and it stated that any possible finders should -merely drop the key ring and chain into the nearest mailbox; that the -addressee would pay the postage. It then gave Tony Andrews' name and -address and telephone number.</p> - -<p>"Think ... if it's found anywhere ... it'll be returned?"</p> - -<p>"That's how they sent them out," he said. "Darned good advertisement, -too."</p> - -<p>"But—"</p> - -<p>"Look, Peter, if this ... and it must go somewhere ... lands close by, -it'll be returned. Perhaps we'll get a letter, too, telling us where. -If it lands in some distant country, we'll probably get it back with a -letter telling us that I sure did get around."</p> - -<p>"You feel certain that it will land somewhere on earth."</p> - -<p>Tony Andrews nodded. "There is no pressure gradient worthy of the name -across the face of this," he said. "Though there is a very slight -motion of air through the ring. That means that the air pressure on -either side of this ding busted ring is about the same. Funny, though, -it sort of blows both ways."</p> - -<p>Peter nodded. From either side he poked forefingers in. At the plane -of cleavage, both fingers passed forward into—through—one another, -giving an appearance very much like poking the forefinger into a pool -of mercury.</p> - -<p>Andrews shuddered. Then he took the little circlet, held the ring -sidewise, and dropped the tag from the key ring through it. Through the -ring they heard it clang onto the floor.</p> - -<p>Peter took the ring from Andrews and put it horizontal, close to the -floor. He put a finger through it and probed.</p> - -<p>He said: "Ah!" and put thumb and forefinger through the ring and came -up with the tag.</p> - -<p>"What's down there?" asked Andrews.</p> - -<p>"Feels like wood." Peter poked a ruler through and measured the -distance. About two inches differed between the concrete of Peter's -basement floor and the wood surface of the other.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus2.jpg" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>"We'll lick that," said Peter. "I've got a tiny miniature camera -upstairs. We poke it through and take a picture or two."</p> - -<p>That was a flat failure, they found. The film came out utterly black. -Whether the film was exposed in passing, or whether the "other side" -was highly illuminated could not be determined. They could control the -light in the cellar so that the partially "gone" camera would not cause -exposure of the film. But if the other side were brightly illuminated, -there would be an instant where the film was open to the light. They -tried for hours, but failed.</p> - -<p>Eventually, Andrews took his mousetrap home with him and set it up in -the kitchen.</p> - -<p>Again, its take was enormous.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Senator Treed entered the hardware store along Connecticut Avenue and -asked the clerk for a mousetrap. The clerk looked surprised and said, -"But you're living in the Wardman Park Hotel, senator."</p> - -<p>"I know. Reputed to be one of the finest hotels in Washington, too. -But, there're mice there."</p> - -<p>"Hard to believe. Does the management know?"</p> - -<p>"Not yet," said the senator quietly. "And say nothing, please. You see, -Mrs. Treed and I just returned from a vacation in Wisconsin and we had -a large number of packing cases delivered to our suite. It is more -than possible that we included a few field mice. I'd hate to be held -responsible for bringing mice into the Wardman Park."</p> - -<p>The clerk grinned. "Mice in the Wardman Park. That's a national -calamity, isn't it?"</p> - -<p>Senator Treed scowled. "Young man, this rat plague is a national -calamity. You do not realize how bad it really is. An outbreak caused -by the war."</p> - -<p>"Come now, senator. Don't blame everything on the war."</p> - -<p>Senator Treed shook his head. "I try to be level headed and as honest -as I can," he said. "But how many mousetraps have you had in the place -since Pearl Harbor?"</p> - -<p>"Not many," admitted the clerk.</p> - -<p>"Freedom from rodent pests is a warfare that must be constantly and -ruthlessly waged," replied the senator. "Otherwise, they overwhelm us. -We stopped fighting rats to fight another kind. We licked the other -kind, but there's this kind still. Now, what's new in mousetraps?"</p> - -<p>"Here's a new number. It's called the Better Mousetrap. A new company -started about a week ago and we accepted one on consignment."</p> - -<p>"How much is it?" asked the senator.</p> - -<p>"It's not for sale."</p> - -<p>The senator spluttered in confusion.</p> - -<p>"It's on a rental basis," said the clerk. "There's a register below. It -counts the catch. You pay two cents per catch."</p> - -<p>"Really a guaranteed job, hey?" smiled the senator. "How does it work?"</p> - -<p>The clerk held up the trap. "This is where you put the bait," he said. -"You impale it on this spike and then swivel it through the slit in the -wire so the mice must enter the tunnel to get to it."</p> - -<p>"Yeah, but there's nothing there to stop the mice from having a free -lunch," objected the senator.</p> - -<p>The clerk took a small bolt, set it on the floor of the tunnel, tilted -the cage and let the bolt run down the floor slowly. It passed through -the circlet and disappeared.</p> - -<p>"Hey!"</p> - -<p>The clerk grinned. "Convenient, isn't it? No muss, no fuss, no strain, -no pain. And no corpse to clean away."</p> - -<p>"A very definite advantage," said the senator. "But where do they go?"</p> - -<p>"No one knows. They go—and we ask no questions."</p> - -<p>"Make a fine garbage disposal unit," suggested the senator.</p> - -<p>"Could be. I imagine so. Also a swell way to get rid of old razor -blades. But every item that goes through this trap is registered—and -that bolt will cost the firm two cents. It can't tell the difference -between a bolt and a mouse."</p> - -<p>"Hm-m-m. Good thing that tunnel is long and small. People would be -poking all manner of things into them. But where do they go?"</p> - -<p>"They're trying to find out. So far they don't know. It's said that -one of the founders of the Better Mousetrap Company dropped a tag -through with name and address and the offer of a reward. It hasn't been -returned. Maybe the mail is irregular from Mars, huh?"</p> - -<p>"Mars?"</p> - -<p>The clerk shrugged. "I wouldn't know where," he said doubtfully.</p> - -<p>The senator nodded. "Despite the population of the country—of the -world—there are places where men seldom go," he said. "That tag may -be lying in the rough at Bonnie Dundee Golf Course for all we know."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Miss Agatha Merrit placed her pince-nez firmly on her nose. "Good -morning, class," she said primly and with perfect diction.</p> - -<p>"Good morning, teacher," responded forty third-grade voices.</p> - -<p>Miss Agatha Merrit went to her desk and sat down. "Today," she said, -"we will learn about being afraid. It is known that ninety percent of -all things that people fear will not harm them. I know of big strong -men afraid of insects and many women are dreadfully frightened of mice."</p> - -<p>Peter Manton, Junior, raised his hand and said: "My father built a -Better Mousetrap," he announced irrelevantly.</p> - -<p>Miss Agatha Merrit was annoyed at the sidetracking, but young Manton's -father was becoming a financial force in the community and she felt it -unwise to ignore the comment. "I understand that the world is starting -to beat a path to your door," she said, completing the old platitude. -"But we're speaking of fear, not mice."</p> - -<p>"You're not afraid of mice?" insisted young Peter.</p> - -<p>"I can't say that I like them," said Miss Agatha Merrit. "Though I feel -that the mouse is more frightened of me than I could possibly be of it. -After all, I am quite a bit larger and more capable than a mouse—"</p> - -<p>Miss Agatha Merrit opened the drawer of her desk but was prevented from -looking in.</p> - -<p>The next several minutes are not describable. Not in any sort of -chronological order because everything happened at once. Miss Agatha -Merrit headed for the chandelier and got as far as the top of her chair -which somehow arrived on the top of the table. Mice boiled out of the -desk drawer and spread in a wave across the desk and across the floor. -In a ragged wave front, the third-grade girls found the tops of their -desks and the third-grade boys yelped in amusement and started to -corral the mice. By the time the room was cleaned up an hour later, the -boys had thirty-four mice in a wastebasket covered by a small drawing -board, four mice had escaped down holes in the woodwork, seven had gone -out under the door, and three were trying to find their way out of -nine-year-old pockets.</p> - -<p>Miss Agatha Merrit never did learn the name of the ringleader of -that prank. She strongly suspected Peter Junior who was at best an -imaginative child with a clever mind and few inhibitions. What bothered -her most was that the trick was repeated.</p> - -<p>There were three drawers in her desk. Young Peter Manton brought, on -the following morning, one of his father's Better Mousetraps. She -placed it in the drawer that had been "salted" with mice the day -before, but the pranksters used the second drawer that night. Carefully -she concealed the trap in the third drawer on the following night, and -the mice turned up in the top drawer again.</p> - -<p>It became a race. Whether the problem would be solved before Miss -Agatha Merrit became a quivering nervous wreck.</p> - -<p>A total of one hundred and seventy-three mice registered on the Better -Mousetrap in a week, and then Miss Agatha Merrit polished off the job -by procuring enough traps for all of the desk drawers. Since no place -remained to place them without the mice being collected and destroyed, -the mice-filled drawers ceased to be a favorite prank of the school. -The children, all of them sweet innocents, took to other forms of -childish torture.</p> - -<p>She confessed to Peter Manton, Senior, that had it not been for his -excellent product, she would be a nervous wreck. "And," she said, "I -never did find out where they came from."</p> - -<p>He grinned. "We've never found out where they went," he told her.</p> - -<p>"I shudder," said Miss Agatha Merrit, "to think. Do you suppose, Mr. -Manton, that your device transmits them to some other corner of the -world?"</p> - -<p>"We have tried to find out. Mice, unfortunately do not take well to -being tagged. But we've tagged a number of them in the hope that we -will discover where they go."</p> - -<p>"I've noticed in the papers," replied Miss Agatha Merrit, "that there -is a veritable plague of rats. The Chicago <i>World</i> had an editorial -about you ... did you see it?"</p> - -<p>"No," he admitted. "But I'm rather pleased. What did they say?"</p> - -<p>"It seems that the Chicago <i>World</i> was plagued with rats until they got -about two dozen of your Better Mousetraps. That fixed them. Now they -claim that your invention came along at the proper time. The world is -about to beat its path to your door, Mr. Manton."</p> - -<p>Peter shrugged. "Most inventions are made to fill a definite need," he -said. "Discoveries are made because of man's curiosity. An invention is -an aggregation of discoveries collected because their principles add up -to the proper effect to take care of the necessity. I'm glad that I was -able to make this invention of mine. It seems timely."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Senator Treed rapped for attention and the committee came to order. -"This morning," said Treed, "we will have open discussion of the -problem."</p> - -<p>General Hayes nodded and said: "This much is known: The mice are -delivered somewhere out of Manton's Better Mousetrap. I wonder if some -foreign power might not have discovered even more of its powers and is -using it to plague America?"</p> - -<p>"That seems far fetched."</p> - -<p>"Not at all. It might be likened to a bacterial warfare. Pests will -vitiate a country as well as war—weakening a strong country to prepare -it for easy conquest."</p> - -<p>Tag Harris of the FBI Laboratory shook his head. "There's more than -meets the eye," he said. "I've definite proof that some human agency is -working at it."</p> - -<p>"You have?" demanded Senator Treed. "Tell us."</p> - -<p>"We tagged rats and sent 'em through one of Manton's traps. Later we -used one of the old wire-cage affairs. Someone had gone to the trouble -of counterfeiting some of our tags. Out of fifty-seven rats caught with -tags, we found a duplicate number. Someone obviously caught a tagged -one from wherever it was sent, and in an effort to confuse us, made -duplicate tags and sent 'em back."</p> - -<p>"Deliberate!"</p> - -<p>Admiral Grayson of Intelligence nodded. "Tomlinson of Psychological -Warfare says that's what he would recommend to spread confusion. You -see, this Power would not stop; they would also know that we are -trying to find out all about it. Therefore they would prefer to add -confusion to our search. Hence the duplication of tags."</p> - -<p>"Could you tell the real one?"</p> - -<p>Harris nodded. "Easily. The original one was well worn because the rat -had more time to go roaming. The duplicate was almost new."</p> - -<p>"They never did turn up with that key tag of Andrews, did they?"</p> - -<p>"Nope."</p> - -<p>"No one but a suspicious Power would conceal such a thing now that the -search for it is out. The answer is obvious."</p> - -<p>Treed nodded in agreement. "I shall recommend that Congress offer an -award of twenty thousand dollars to whomever gives information to bring -the truth to light." He shuddered. "This rat business is terrible. My -wife is nearly out of her mind. Last night she swore that she saw a rat -<i>appear</i> on the floor beneath the dresser. I hushed it, of course, but -that is why I'm bringing this committee to order on the subject."</p> - -<p>"Perhaps Manton's device just hurls them back and forth across the -country."</p> - -<p>Treed shook his head. "Manton's Better Mousetrap doesn't work that -way," he said with conviction. "Thanks to Manton's little registers -we know that Manton's catch—overall—has been rising but definitely -following the increase in rat population over the entire country. You -see, gentlemen, Manton's traps have been made to fill a demand in -every case. It started with friends who needed them. You're sort of -insisting that Manton's traps come assembled with its own mice."</p> - -<p>That got a big laugh.</p> - -<p>"And," said Senator Treed, "God help the one who is responsible for -this!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Tony Andrews entered the salesroom and smiled at the clerk. "Look," he -said, "I've been a good customer."</p> - -<p>"You have," agreed the salesman. "I know you. I'm Tom Locke."</p> - -<p>"Well, Mr. Locke, I'd like another one of those key tags."</p> - -<p>The salesman nodded. "Those things are popular," he said. "But what -happened?"</p> - -<p>"I dropped mine through one of those Better Mousetraps."</p> - -<p>"Oh," laughed the salesman, "they've been returned from every portion -of the globe. But I guess the mail service isn't too good from wherever -That is."</p> - -<p>"I'd hoped it would come back," said Andrews. "But I'm wrong. And I'd -like another one."</p> - -<p>"Sure. Be glad to. Since you're the man who originated the idea with -us."</p> - -<p>"I'm sorry to have to ask—What? Originated what?"</p> - -<p>"Why yes. The tale goes that you came in to buy a car quite some time -ago, and the salesman saw the tag on your key ring. He mentioned it to -Mr. Cagley who is our advertising manager. He had the tags made up and -we gave them out to our best customers."</p> - -<p>"Then you've got me mixed up with someone else. For I received mine as -they did. Mine came in the mail and cost me three cents—which was as -good an advertising stunt as the tags themse—"</p> - -<p>"Mail? Mail? We gave them in person."</p> - -<p>"But mine came through the mail."</p> - -<p>"Sorry. We've never sent any of them through the mail."</p> - -<p>"Oh," said Andrews with rising suspicion. He took the new tag with -thanks and returned to Peter Manton's home.</p> - -<p>"Peter, is Junior handy?"</p> - -<p>Manton nodded and called. Junior came. Then Andrews said: "Junior, have -you ever seen anything like this before?"</p> - -<p>Junior nodded. "Last winter. Found it down in the cellar on my sled."</p> - -<p>"Sled!"</p> - -<p>"Uh-huh. Then because it said to drop it in the mail box if found, I -did. You got it, huh?"</p> - -<p>Andrews nodded. "Yup," he said. "I got it! Peter Manton, you haven't -seen the end of this, yet."</p> - -<p>Manton frowned slightly. "Why?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"You've really built the Better Mousetrap, and you haven't seen the -people who are going to beat their path to your door. They haven't -really arrived yet. But they will!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The first to arrive was the FBI. Then Peter Manton's domicile was -changed from a town in Illinois to a cold stone place in Washington.</p> - -<p>Ted Harris faced the Court. "Here is the originator of the Plague of -Rats," he said. "And the saviour of the country at the same time. He is -in the position of a physician who poisons people so that he can save -them. A sort of stinking benefactor."</p> - -<p>"Will you please explain to the Court?" demanded the Court.</p> - -<p>"The field set up by the Better Mousetrap at the plane of cleavage -hurls anything that passes through it <i>backwards in time</i>. The -time-rate is indefinite and uncontrollable. However, this is why -Manton's trap was so effective. On Monday a plague of mice appears -in an apartment. The master of the place goes out and rents one of -the Better Mousetraps. He places it in his apartment and during the -time it is there it hurls mice backward in time to create the plague! -Naturally, the trap will be removed as soon as the mice stop—and -because the trap will be removed in a few days, the trap itself stops -the flow of mice."</p> - -<p>"But how far back—?"</p> - -<p>"There's little correlation. It just hurls. It is aimless and -uncontrollable. In one case, a key tag went back several months."</p> - -<p>"But how come nothing was known of this?" demanded the Court.</p> - -<p>Tag Harris smiled. "When I have something that will utterly destroy -something, I do not place anything valuable near it," he said. "In -Manton's own laboratory the boys dropped spare parts through it. In -hardware stores all over the country the clerks were dropping screws -and nuts and the like. Most of this stuff fell to the floor and was -swept up a few days to a week before."</p> - -<p>Tag Harris held up a scrap of newspaper. The date was four days in the -future.</p> - -<p>"Proof," he said. "I'll be sending that to myself later."</p> - -<p>"And the tagged mice—the duplications?"</p> - -<p>"Animals that had gone through the time-trap twice and were living -their lives in parallel. You see, your honor, not only did Manton's -Better Mousetrap hurl mice back in time, but it could hurl the same -mouse back to the same era several times—and the Plague of Rats was a -Man-Made Plague."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p class="ph1"><i>Epilogue</i>—</p> - -<p><i>'Tis said that he who laughs last laughs best. The world who beat -a path to Peter Manton's door in anger because he built the Better -Mousetrap, returned to thank him anyway. You see, with mice being -hurled backwards in time, they lived and they died in the mad rat-race -in time. And America, for its trouble with more rodents than it could -stand for a short period, now reaps its reward. For America is free of -rats.</i></p> - - -<p class="ph1">THE END.</p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RAT RACE ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ -concept and trademark. 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