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The Smiler · Classic Short Science Fiction Stories

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  Speaker 1: Fiction eighteen of twenty short science fiction stories by various authors.
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  Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. The Smiler
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  Speaker 1: by Albert Hernhunter. Have you ever written science fiction? Have
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  Speaker 1: your stories been rejected? Herein may lie the reason? Your
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  Speaker 1: name Cole, Martin Cole. Your profession a very important one.
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  Speaker 1: I'm a literary agent specializing in science fiction. I sell
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  Speaker 1: the work of various authors to magazine and book publishers.
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  Speaker 1: The coroner paused to study coal to ponder the thin,
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  Speaker 1: mirthless smile. The coroner said, mister Cole, this inquest has
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  Speaker 1: been called to look into the death of one Sandford Smith,
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  Speaker 1: who was found near your home with a gun in
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  Speaker 1: his hand and a bullet in his brain. The theory
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  Speaker 1: of suicide has been rather hard to rationalize. The corner blinked.
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  Speaker 1: You could put it that way, I would put it
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  Speaker 1: even stronger. The theory is obviously ridiculous. It was a
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  Speaker 1: weak cover up, the best I could do under the circumstances.
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  Speaker 1: You are saying that you killed Sandford Smith. Of course,
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  Speaker 1: the coroner glanced at his six man jury, at the
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  Speaker 1: two police officers, at the scattering of spectators. They all
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  Speaker 1: seemed stunned. Even the reporter sent to cover the hearing
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  Speaker 1: made no move toward the telephone. The coroner could think
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  Speaker 1: of only the obvious question, why did you kill him?
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  Speaker 1: He was dangerous to us. Whom do you mean by us?
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  Speaker 1: We Martians who plan to take over your world? The
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  Speaker 1: coroner was disappointed. A lunatic, But a lunatic can murder?
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  Speaker 1: Best to proceed, the coroner thought, I was not aware
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  Speaker 1: that we have Martians to contend with. If I'd had
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  Speaker 1: the weapon to use on Smith, you wouldn't be aware
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  Speaker 1: of it. Now we still exercise caution. The coroner felt
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  Speaker 1: a certain pity. Why did you kill Smith? We Martians
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  Speaker 1: have found science fiction writers to be our greatest danger.
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  Speaker 1: Through the medium of imaginative fiction, such writers have more
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  Speaker 1: than once revealed our plans if the public suddenly realized
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  Speaker 1: that the corner broke in. You killed Smith because he
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  Speaker 1: revealed something in his writings. Yes, he refused to take
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  Speaker 1: my word that it was unsayable. He threatened to submit
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  Speaker 1: it direct. It was vital material. But there are many
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  Speaker 1: other such writers you can't control. We control ninety percent
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  Speaker 1: of the output. We have concentrated on the field, and
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  Speaker 1: all of the science fiction agencies are in our hands.
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  Speaker 1: This control was imperative. I see the corner spoke in
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  Speaker 1: the gentle tones one uses with the insane writing. Dangers
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  Speaker 1: to your cause is deleted or changed by the agents,
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  Speaker 1: not exactly. The agent usually persuades the writer to make
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  Speaker 1: any such changes, as the agent is considered an authority
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  Speaker 1: on what will or will not sell. The writers always agree,
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  Speaker 1: not always. If stubbornness is encountered, the agent merely shelves
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  Speaker 1: the manuscripts and tells the writer it has been repeatedly rejected.
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  Speaker 1: The coroner glanced at the two policemen. Both were obviously puzzled.
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  Speaker 1: They returned the coroner's look, apparently ready to move on
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  Speaker 1: his order. The thin, mirthless smile was still on Cole's lips.
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  Speaker 1: Maniacal violence could lie just behind it. Possibly Cole was armed.
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  Speaker 1: Better to play for time, try to quiet the madness within.
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  Speaker 1: The coroner continued, speaking, You martians have infiltrated other fields also,
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  Speaker 1: Oh yes, we are in government, industry, education, We are everywhere.
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  Speaker 1: We have, of course, concentrated mainly upon the ranks of
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  Speaker 1: labor and in the masses of ordinary, everyday people. It
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  Speaker 1: is from these sources that we will draw our shock
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  Speaker 1: troops when the time comes. That time will be soon,
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  Speaker 1: very soon. The coroner could not forbear a smile. You
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  Speaker 1: find the science fiction writers more dangerous than the true scientists.
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  Speaker 1: Oh yes, the scientific mind tends to reject anything science disproves.
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  Speaker 1: There was now a mocking edge to Cole's voice. Science
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  Speaker 1: can easily prove we do not exist, But the science
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  Speaker 1: fiction writer, the danger from the imaginative mind cannot be overestimated.
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  Speaker 1: The coroner knew he must soon order the officers to
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  Speaker 1: lay hands upon this madman. He regretted his own lack
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  Speaker 1: of experience with such situations. He tried to put a soothing,
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  Speaker 1: confidential note into his voice. You said a moment ago
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  Speaker 1: that if you'd had the right kind of weapon to
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  Speaker 1: use on Smith, Cole reached into his pocket and brought
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  Speaker 1: out what appeared to be a fountain pen. This it
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  Speaker 1: kills instantly and leaves no mark. Whatever heart failure is
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  Speaker 1: invariably stated as the cause of death. The corner felt better.
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  Speaker 1: Obviously Cole was not armed. As the corner raised a
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  Speaker 1: hand to signal the officers, Cole said, you understand, of course,
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  Speaker 1: that I cannot let you live. Take this man into custody.
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  Speaker 1: The police officers did not move. The corner turned on
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  Speaker 1: them sharply. They were smiling. Coal pointed the fountain pen.
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  Speaker 1: The corner felt a sharp chill on his flesh. He
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  Speaker 1: looked at the injury, at the newspaperman, the spectators. They
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  Speaker 1: were all smiling, cold, thin, terrible smiles. A short time later,
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  Speaker 1: the newspaperman phoned in his story. The afternoon editions carried it.
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  Speaker 1: Coroner Bell dies of heart attack shortly after this morning's inquest,
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  Speaker 1: which resulted in a jury verdict of suicide in the
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  Speaker 1: case of Sandford Smith. Coroner James Bell dropped dead of
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  Speaker 1: heart failure in the hearing room of the County Building.
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  Speaker 1: Mister Bell leaves a wife and end of Section eighteen