"A Criminal Cured Is a Citizen Saved."

"Public Enemy."

(Click on image to enlarge.)

By Kendell Foster Crossen (1910-81; Wikipedia HERE; the ISFDb HERE; and the SFE HERE).

First appearance: Dynamic Science Fiction, December 1952.

Reprinted in Future Science Fiction Stories, Number 10, 1953.

Short short short story (6 pages as a PDF).

Online at Project Gutenberg (HERE).

   "For what seemed like several long minutes the two men stared at each other, while the encephalscope fairly purred."

WILL psychology ever be victorious over the criminal mind? Today's story attempts to show us how that might turn out . . .

Main characters:

~ Public Police Officer Brad Raynor ("Secretly, he was amused at himself. No one was prouder than Brad Raynor of the progress made by the middle of the 32nd Century, while all of his training had been directed toward increasing that progress"), the Assignment Officer ("under any circumstances, bring this man in alive"), the Public Justice Administrator ("We have already discovered a number of other citizens who have become slightly unstable because of feeling that they are in a hostile environment"), Jan Laird ("Then, slowly, reluctantly, the fingers spread and the gun dropped to the floor"), Will Howard ("As a result of the unemployment, Will Howard committed robbery and in leaving the premises shot and killed a public officer"), and Public Officer Arthur Sommers (deceased).

References:

- "Public Enemy" (HERE; Wikipedia).

- "one of the suburbs lying north of Nyork": Three guesses as to what city this is (HERE; Wikipedia).

- "His three degrees—one in psychology" (HERE), "one in sociology" (HERE), "one in criminalistics" (HERE) (all in Wikipedia).

- "A speeding air-car" (HERE; Wikipedia).

- "which included his brain-wave pattern and a chemical analysis" (HERE; Wikipedia); "the fugitive’s brain-wave pattern into the encephalscope" (HERE; Wikipedia).

- "The Public Police Administration was not formed to preside at the execution of citizens." That's nice, but another view of the future takes a different attitude from Crossen's (WARNING! SPOILERS! HERE and HERE; Wikipedia).

- "the cybernetic control": Essentially an autopilot (HERE; Wikipedia).

- "projecting a tractor beam" (HERE; Wikipedia).

- "began broadcasting supersonic waves" (HERE; Wikipedia).

- "he began nosing it to the side and down": A futuristic version of (THIS; Wikipedia).

- "He pulled an electronic pick from his pocket" (HERE and HERE; Wikipedia).

- "the nerve-gun concealed in his hand" (HERE; Wikipedia).

Resources:

- Speaking of cerebrums, you might consult Ron Goulart's "The President's Brain Is Missing" (HERE).

- Our only other meeting with Kendell Foster Crossen was his locked-room tale "The Closed Door" (HERE).

The bottom line:

Unless otherwise noted, all bibliographical data are derived from The FictionMags Index created by William G. Contento & edited by Phil Stephensen-Payne.

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