Magic, Inc.
Original 1940 publication magazine cover.
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| Author | Robert A. Heinlein |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science fantasy |
| Publisher | Doubleday |
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Publication date
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1940 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover & Paperback) |
"Magic, Inc." (1940) is a science fantasy novella by Robert A. Heinlein. It was originally published in Unknown Fantasy Fiction of September 1940, under the title "The Devil Makes the Law".
In the story, magic is a commonplace profession used by businessmen in various fields. A small business owner fights off an attempt to force magic under the control of a corrupt association called "Magic, Inc." The story is included in the book Waldo & Magic, Inc..
Archie Fraser is a building contractor whose business is thriving. Despite the common use of magic in other professions, Archie has relatively little use for it, since so much of his work involves "cold iron", which defies magic. He does have a sideline in instant temporary structures, such as bleachers and tents, all made of wood with no iron in them, which can be reconstituted from a fragment of an original structure. The work is done by magicians operating as independent contractors. Occasionally mistakes are made – at one point a fragment of a house is used by mistake. Archie creatively puts a sign outside the out-of-place structure saying "Display model! Now open!"
One day Archie is the subject of a shakedown by a sleazy character who seems to be operating a protection racket based on magic. After scaring the criminal off by exploiting his obvious superstitions (helped by the display of a conveniently concealed handgun), Archie goes to see his friend Jedson, who uses magic to operate a clothing business. Jedson's specialty is "one season" clothing which is not intended to be hard-wearing. As Archie arrives, he is auditioning a teenage medium who can produce clothing from ectoplasm. Jedson is disappointed to find that the result is simply a copy of an existing design owned by somebody else, so he cannot use it.
Jedson and Archie are able to grab the would-be gangster as he lurks near Archie's storefront and hustle him inside. There Jedson draws a "magic circle" around the miscreant, imprisoning him. He then makes a voodoo doll and uses it to strike fear into the criminal. The criminal breaks down and babbles some information, most of it useless in finding out who runs the racket. They kick him out of the store, believing him to be just a small-time hood. Archie protests Jedson's tactics, but Jedson replies that he didn't really do anything. The circle and the doll were just symbolic. It was the man's own misguided beliefs which caused his body to react as if he really were being imprisoned and tortured. At that point there is a scream outside. They discover the man's body, ripped from shoulder to groin as if by the talons of a huge bird, the gouges being filled with a stinking ichor.
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