DIMENSION X - A Logic Named Joe (Murray Leinster)

DIMENSION X
A Logic Named Joe
July 1, 1950
William Fitzgerald Jenkins wrote engaging and topical science fiction under the pseudonym Murray Leinster. Usually. But A Logic Named Joe was first published under the name Will F. Jenkins in the March 1946 issue of the American science fiction magazine "Astounding Science Fiction". And then it was published in the collections Sidewise in Time (Shasta, 1950), shortly thereafter adapted for radio by Claris A. Ross and aired on Dimension X, July 1, 1950, then again on X Minus One, December 28, 1955. It found its way into many short story collections including Machines That Think in 1984.
It has been lauded for its predictive insights. In the story, set three decades in the future, a young boy whose character traits include undisciplined cruelty and dominance, an allegory perhaps of the communist threat, is the only one to recognize an example of evolved AI.
HISTORICAL GLOSSARY
There is a reference to "North Korean Communists" in the bulletin that precedes the radio show. In the 1950s communism was seen as the opposite of US Democracy, and an ideology dangerously destructive to the very fiber of American culture. In the story Mr. Korlanovitch and his son are the catalyst for a conflict that is dangerously destructive to the very fiber of American culture. And their surname is Yugoslavian -- Yugoslavia being a virulently communist country at the time. Today we would say the origin of the name is Croatian/Serbian because the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia imploded in the early 1990s. But in 1950 it would be heard as a stereotypical name for a person from a communist country.
The host tells us we are "...listening now to a voice from the future," and then informs us that the year is "Nineteen Seventy-Four". Mr. Jenkins a.k.a. Murray Leinster, isn't far off in his imaginings of the future. The first Apple computer, Apple-1, was released for sale to the public in 1976.
The sergeant says his “blotter” is blank because in spite of a crime wave they can’t arrest anyone: all the crimes being committed are perfect crimes. A “police blotter” is a ledger in which the events of the day are noted: arrests, complaints, incidents, etc. Official reports are filed elsewhere and the blotter is just a summary. It could be thought of as an extra copy of the information. Before the ballpoint pen and quick drying ink were invented, people wrote with fountain pens and it took several minutes for the ink to dry. A blotter, often a piece of thick textured paper, would be pressed on the page to absorb the excess ink and accelerate the drying process. If you looked at your blotter after you used it, you would see a reverse copy of what had been written, messy and blotchy from absorbing the ink. Like a literal “blotter”, a police blotter is a copy, sometimes disorderly and messy, of events and issues of the day.
When Laurine explains why she had to ask the Logic for Frank's contact info, she says to Frank, "You must have an unlisted number, darlin'. You're not in the directory." The author assumes telecommunications in the future will function similarly to the 1950s. At that time the telephone company was so heavily regulated it was regarded as a public company and thus people's phone numbers were public information. Customers had to pay to have their phone numbers "unlisted", which meant not published in the white pages directory, nor given out by operators when someone called the phone company. Frank must have unlisted his number.
The sergeant tells Frank that if he does not cooperate by answering questions they will keep him "in the cooler" until he cooperates. Used in this way "the cooler" is a jail cell meant as a holding area for people awaiting trial or sentencing.
When Frank wants to be taken to jail in order to avoid Laurine the sergeant says, "Okay, then, Caldwell. Into the paddy wagon you go." A paddy wagon is a large police transport vehicle like a van or a truck. It is said that the term originated as a reference to the trucks and wagons used as floats, or to pull floats, in St. Patrick's Day parades. The holiday was colloquially referred to as St. Paddy's Day, and it celebrates an Irish cultural hero. The Irish policeman was a popular stereotype in the 1950's and was based somewhat in reality. One of the few jobs available to Irish immigrants during the industrial revolution was in law enforcement, so a preponderance of early 20th Century policemen, especially on the East Coast, were Irishmen. Calling a police truck a paddy wagon was a reference to it being driven by an Irishman, as though it were a float in a St. Paddy's Day parade.

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This was funny! Reminded me of AI.😂