Star
Of Fate — Epilogue by Tom
Nichol
Based on the episode
of the same name from the Adventures of Superman
[AUTHOR’S
NOTE: It has now been nearly 2/3 of a century since this episode
was first written and filmed. Please bear in mind that numerous
changes in both civil and criminal laws have taken place since
that time. Even so, I sincerely hope you enjoy reading this
epilogue!]
Ten
days had passed since the arrest of Dr. William Barnack in
connection with an ancient Egyptian jewel box, which, when it was
finally opened safely by Clark Kent of the Metropolis Daily
Planet, had been found to contain one of the largest and finest
star sapphires known to man. Three other persons, including the
Planet’s Lois Lane, had opened the box, despite being
strictly warned not to do so, and had been “stung,”
in effect, by a hidden needle in the lock mechanism. That needle
had proven to contain one of the most powerful poisons in
existence, first placing its victims in a virtual state of
“suspended animation” before ultimately killing them
a few hours later. Only the intervention of Superman, who had
flown to Egypt and retrieved a specimen of the legendary “Pyramid
Plant”
from
the base of the Great Pyramid in Giza, from which the antidote
had ultimately been derived, had prevented, not only Lois Lane,
but also Dr. Barnack’s secretary, and antique dealer John
Whitlock’s store clerk, from perishing. In addition, Dr.
Barnack had been arrested for the attempted murder of Jimmy
Olsen, the Planet’s cub reporter and photographer, and had
been ordered held without bond.
Now, in Planet Editor
Perry White’s office, Lois, Jimmy, Clark, Whitlock, and Dr.
James Wilson of Mercy General Hospital, were discussing the case,
with a view to preparing a special supplement for the following
Sunday’s edition. In addition, Mr. Whitlock’s son,
Tom, arrived just as the discussion was getting under way.
Dr.
Wilson explained that Tom was an intern in the toxicology
department at Mercy General Hospital, and had been working to
analyze the poison that had so nearly killed Lois, his father’s
clerk and Barnack’s secretary. “It’s one of the
most unusual and complex poisons I’ve ever encountered,”
Tom commented, “and there is a possibility that a
derivative of this poison might be usable as an anesthetic,
although it’s still too early to be sure. The fact that a
serum derived from the Pyramid Plant serves as an antidote to the
poison is even more interesting!”
“So
what’s going to happen to Dr. Barnack?” Jimmy
inquired.
“Plenty, Jimmy,” Clark replied, his
jaw muscles bulging angrily, his eyes turning hard as flint. “For
one thing, in addition to the charge of trying to murder you,
he’ll be charged with trying to murder poor Mr. Whitlock
here as well!”
“Plus, he’ll be facing
two charges of armed robbery,” Lois added forcefully, “and
Mr. Whitlock was the victim in both of those cases as well!”
By this time, the antiquarian had an uncomfortable
expression on his face. Seeing this, Jimmy repeated the
explanation Mr. Whitlock had given him earlier, which, in turn,
had led directly to his confronting Dr. Barnack, who, in turn,
had attempted to kill him.
Clark responded, “You
needn’t worry about any claims that Dr. Barnack might make
against you, Mr. Whitlock. You see, Lois and I both saw in the
mirror during the bidding that Dr. Barnack was holding a gun to
your back—which does, in fact, constitute armed robbery.
Isn’t that right, Chief?”
Perry
White, who was a trained lawyer as well as a newspapermen,
replied, “Yes, it does, Clark—and it also renders any
claims of ownership of the box he might make null and void. That
being the case, Mr. Whitlock, you had every right to retrieve the
box, since, in fact, he stole it from you! On top of all that,
he’ll face three charges of what the law calls ‘wanton
endangerment,’ meaning that he placed Miss Lane here, your
own clerk, and his own secretary in mortal danger from the
poison, and did nothing whatever to assist them!”
“Not
to mention a charge of grand theft,” Jimmy added, “since
he stole $10,000 worth of jewels from Mr. Whitlock’s safe!
Put all of those charges together, and I’d say Dr. Barnack
will be facing a sentence of life in prison without any
possibility of parole!”
“Exactly!”
Perry replied, as a look of relief came over Mr. Whitlock’s
face.
“Just
one more thing, Clark,” Lois added. “Where did you
get that tape on your thumb that you used to break off that
needle in the box’s lock-spring?”
For
answer, Clark pulled a roll of adhesive tape from his coat pocket
and showed it to her. The words, “DOUBLE-SIDED” were
clearly printed on the outside of the metal case. “You can
find this in most any drug-store or medical supply store, Lois,”
he explained with a smile, “as I’m sure our two
medical friends here can verify.” The two doctors nodded
vigorously.
“Okay,” Lois responded, her
curiosity satisfied.
As the discussion began to wind down,
Mr. Whitlock shook his head sadly. “It’s a pity,
really—seeing Dr. Barnack’s career come to such a
shameful conclusion! He had everything going for him—a
brilliant teacher and researcher, a tenured faculty position at
Metropolis University—and now it’s all going down the
drain! What led him to make the mistakes that he did? Didn’t
he realize that his actions would ruin him?”
“Personally,
I’d say he let his so-called ‘brilliance’ go to
his head, sir,” Jimmy shot back. “He wanted only what
HE wanted—and to blazes with what anybody else thought,
said, or did!”
“I agree with you, Mr. Olsen,”
Tom Whitlock commented. “In my opinion, he either was never
taught, or else he flat-out ignored or rejected, the principle
that with power or wealth or talent of any kind goes a
proportionate responsibility in the use of that power or wealth
or talent toward others. There’s a verse in the Bible that
covers this point very well--’Of him to whom much is given,
much WILL be required’! Not CAN be—not MAY be—but
WILL be! Dr. Barnack arrogantly chose to reject that
principle—and now he’ll pay for that rejection for
the rest of his life!”
As the others in the room
nodded their agreement, the meeting concluded, and the four
journalists went to work on what would be one of the strangest
stories in the Metropolis Daily Planet’s history.
Posted:
July 17, 2020 Jim
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