The pale-faced young man watched with evident amusement.
"The gland extracts have been most effective during the past ten years, sir," the officer said. "This is the only law violator we've been able to find."
Commander General Adstrom shook his head. "We should have known when to stop with those gland extracts," he declared. "We sought to destroy criminality and we did. But we also destroyed creativeness, originality, individuality. I hoped that the gland extract would not affect everyone. I expected that some individualists would remain and that we could find him among the criminal classes. But there are no criminal classes!"
"This man is a criminal. His name is Marmaduke Karns. Perhaps you remember the trial not long ago. It was quite a sensation."
"Marmaduke Karns? The name is familiar." The commander general appraised the young man. "What crime did he commit?"
"He synthesized teakwood without a permit, sir."
"I got thirty days, too!" Marmaduke Karns added proudly. "They treated me royally in jail. It was the first job the jailer has had in ten years."
"Did you take the gland extract?" Commander General asked.
Marmaduke nodded.
"There's something funny about that, too, sir," the officer interrupted. "Karns was given a test in jail and the gland extract was found in his veins, but there also was a trace of another substance. An antidote, sir!"