“Ha! Watching the other students while you’re supposed to be paying attention to my lecture, eh!” The Professor growled. “For that, you lose your dessert. Now, on with the demonstration.” He walked to the desk. “Over here, victim,” he said to Max. He indicated a large metal box that was sitting on the desk. “According to R amp; D,” he said. “This machine is a laser-powered lie-detector. Ever heard anything funnier than that?”
The freshmen roared with laughter.
“Naturally, I had to modify it,” The Professor said.
Max put a hand in front of his face.
“It doesn’t fire a boxing glove,” The Professor said.
“Oh.” Max lowered the hand.
“Stand right here, right beside the machine,” The Professor ordered.
Max obeyed.
“The way those featherheads at R amp; D had this worked out,” The Professor said to the group, “whenever a question was asked, and a lie was answered, a little light went on and a bell rang. Obviously, it was undependable that way. What do lights and bells know about truth? As modified, however, the machine is one- hundred per cent effective. I’ll prove it.” He faced back to Max. “I’ll ask you a question,” he said. “You can answer it with the truth or a lie, it won’t make any difference.”
“Is there any other choice?” Max asked.
“It still wouldn’t make any difference,” The Professor replied. “Now, here’s your first question. If there are fourteen apples in a dozen, and you bake twelve of the apples into a cherry pie, how long is a piece of string?”
Max puzzled for a moment. “A long piece of string or a short piece of string?”
“It doesn’t make any difference,” The Professor replied. “What is your answer?”
“A peach pie,” Max replied.
The instant he answered, a rubber hose popped from the machine and began beating him about the head and shoulders. Max leaped out of range, but not before he had been severely clubbed.
“See? I told you it didn’t make any difference,” The Professor smiled. “Lying or telling the truth, that rubber hose beats the stuffing out of you. It’s fool-proof!”
“It’s certainly more effective than lights and bells,” Max agreed.
“Oh, you’re not convinced, eh?” The Professor said. “All right, we’ll try another question. Take your place beside the machine.”
“I’m convinced,” Max protested.
“You say that, but you don’t really mean it,” The Professor replied. “I can see it in your eyes. You doubt the value of my modification. In fact, pretending to be a Control agent, you think you can beat the machine. Don’t you?”
Max smiled. “Well, I think we ought to realize that there are some very clever Control agents. I have one in particular in mind. You may have heard of him. Max Smart is his name. As I understand it, he is Control’s top agent, and, when it comes to brains, a whiz kid to boot.”
“I accept that challenge,” The Professor said. “Make believe you are this Jack Sharp.”
“Max Smart. M-a-x S-m-a-r-t.”
Frank Sadwell stepped forward. “This freshman is correct, sir,” he said to The Professor. “Jack Sharp is Control’s top agent-according to the notation on the back of his ‘Wanted’ poster.”
“Max Smart,” Max said.
“Oh, you keep up on ‘Wanted’ posters, eh?” The Professor said approvingly. “Would you know this Sax Heart if you saw him?”
“Max Smart,” Max said.
“His image is etched in my brain,” Frank Sadwell replied. “I would recognize him anywhere, under any conditions.”
“Very good,” The Professor smiled. “That’s the kind of students we need at KAOS.” He turned back to Max. “All right, we shall proceed. Stand beside the machine, and pretend that you are Max Smart.”
“Jack Sharp,” Max corrected, stepping to the machine.
“Here is your question,” The Professor said. “If beetles are bugs, and the Beatles are boys, how many boy beetles does it take to bug a Beatle boy until he boils?”
Max smiled smugly. “My answer,” he replied, “is ‘yes and no.’ ”
The machine chugged, clanked, then fell silent. The rubber hose did not appear.
“Traitor!” The Professor shrieked at the machine.
“I think it lost its cool,” Max smiled.
The Professor snatched up the pistol, aimed at the machine, and fired. The boxing glove popped out of the barrel and struck the machine square between the dials. The machine chugged again. Then the rubber hose popped out and began beating Max about the head and shoulders.
Max, stunned, dropped to the floor.
“Max!” 99 cried, rushing to him.
“Can’t beat old-fashioned dependability,” The Professor cackled. To the group, he said, “Take five. Then, after recess, I’ll demonstrate the rest of these weapons. I think you’ll be particularly interested in our new white corpuscle destroying machine. It has an intriguing boxing glove attachment. Dismissed!”
The freshmen straggled out, followed by The Professor.
“Max! Wake up!” 99 pleaded, patting Max’s face.
Max stirred. “What’s the next question?” he said fuzzily.
“Are you all right, Max?”
“I don’t think I know the answer to that. Do you have an easier one?”
At that moment, Frank Sadwell returned to the room. He was carrying a pail of water. “The Professor asked me to revive him,” he explained to 99. “He wants him to be in shape for the next demonstration.”
“I’m revived,” Max said.
Frank Sadwell threw the water into his face.
“Why did you do that?” Max asked, annoyed and dripping.
“I always follow orders,” Frank Sadwell replied. “The Professor said, ‘Throw some water in his face and revive him.’ ”
“But, I told you, I was already revived.”
“That only covered the ‘revived,’ that didn’t cover the ‘water,’ ” Frank Sadwell said. “You should have said, ‘I’m already revived, and you don’t have to throw water in my face.’ How was I to know?”
“My apologies,” Max muttered.
“Outside,” Frank said to Max and 99. “The Professor wants you to get some fresh air so you’ll be in shape for the next demonstration.”
“Couldn’t we stay in here?” Max asked.
“The Professor wants-”
“I know, I know-outside.”
Max and 99 left the room, followed by Frank Sadwell. When they got outside, Frank moved on, and joined The Professor, who, a short distance away, was talking informally to a number of the freshmen.
“Max, how are we going to plant the explosive?” 99 said worriedly. “There isn’t any place out here to drop it.”
“99, I think the time has come to make a policy decision,” Max said.
“Yes, Max?”
“The question is, which is more important, planting that explosive or saving the life of Jack Sharp?”
“Who, Max?”
“Sorry. That beating mixed me up a bit. Max Smart, I meant to say.”
“I don’t think I understand, Max.”
“99, the only way we can plant that explosive is to return to the classroom. But, if we return to the classroom, The Professor will continue to use me to demonstrate the KAOS weapons. And, frankly, 99, I don’t think I’ll survive. Now, do you understand?”
“I think so, Max. But what’s the answer?”
Max threw up his arms, covering his head.
