Quasit's Daily Book Recommendations: "The Problem of Cell 13" (1907) by Jacques Futrelle
Jacques Futrelle had a relatively short career (he died on the Titanic, and some of his manuscripts went down with him), but a brilliant one. His stories of "The Thinking Machine" were •very• memorable.
Cold, acerbic, and brilliant, the Thinking Machine is much like Sherlock Holmes or Mr. Spock; a logical, highly intelligent character.
["The world at large had heard vaguely of Professor Van Dusen as The Thinking Machine. It was a newspaper catch-phrase applied to him at the time of a remarkable exhibition at chess; he had demonstrated then that a stranger to the game might, by the force of inevitable logic, defeat a champion who had devoted a lifetime to its study. The Thinking Machine! Perhaps that more nearly described him than all his honorary initials, for he spent week after week, month after month, in the seclusion of his small laboratory from which had gone forth thoughts that staggered scientific associates and deeply stirred the world at large."]
The first and most famous story about him is "The Problem of Cell 13", in which he agrees to be placed in a high-security prison cell to see if he can escape. The WAY that he escapes is characteristically brilliant.
["Here is Cell 13," said the warden, stopping three doors down the steel corridor. "This is where we keep condemned murderers. No one can leave it without my permission; and no one in it can communicate with the outside. I'll stake my reputation on that. It's only three doors back of my office and I can readily hear any unusual noise."
"Will this cell do, gentlemen?" asked The Thinking Machine. There was a touch of irony in his voice.
"Admirably," was the reply.
The heavy steel door was thrown open, there was a great scurrying and scampering of tiny feet, and The Thinking Machine passed into the gloom of the cell. Then the door was closed and double locked by the warden.
"What is that noise in there?" asked Dr. Ransome, through the bars.
"Rats--dozens of them," replied The Thinking Machine, tersely.
The three men, with final goodnights, were turning away when The Thinking Machine called:
"What time is it exactly, warden?"
"Eleven seventeen," replied the warden.
"Thanks. I will join you gentlemen in your office at half-past eight o'clock one week from to-night," said The Thinking Machine.
"And if you do not?"
"There is no 'if' about it."]
What can I say? He's a great character, at least for geeks like me. Easy to identify with.
You can download a collection of Thinking Machine stories for free from Project Gutenberg, in all the major ebook formats. You can also read the stories online at the link:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/57669
Happy reading! 🤓📖
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