Authentic Science Fiction Monthly, No. 56 — page 21: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

AUTHENTIC SCIENCE FICTION duct, too, of the efforts to prevent unlawful taking of human life. One spoke of the Detector in the singular, but there were, of course, many of them. Each one governed a certain area of land and each performed the same function—namely, to prevent murder or suicide. General Lee was not a scien- tist, but there were few men living who did not know something of the way in which the Detector worked; such knowledge was too much a part of everyone’s life. Basically the Detectors were record departments of human neuronic vibrations; each one contained the im- pressions of the neuronic waves of each human in its particular area, together with neuronic vibration receivers that kept constantly in touch with such people. When an individual’s vibrations in- creased in frequency beyond a certain point the Detector would go into action, sending out a cerebral stun wave keyed to the vibration pattern of the individual in question. The point at which this occurred was but a few milli- 20 seconds from the point at which the neuronic vibrations of the individual heightened to the level that told of maximum destructive tenden- cies that could only indicate potential assault, murder or suicide. When the first Detectors had been set up the number of thwarted suicides had filled the mental homes, hospitals and prisons to such an extent that Uthanasia had been iegal- ised for those who were considered too unfit to res- pond to psychosurgical treat- ment. Later, when the Detec- tors were in universal use, a permit was necessary if one wished to travel from one area to another, in order that the Detector in the next area might be supplied with dupli- cates of records and vibration receivers. The Detectors had doubled the complications of travel- ling, but they had abolished murder, suicide and violent assault. But if there was a method of avoiding the Dstector’s influence, and if the Heresy League should get hold of it... comiclooks.com