I want to ask the title of a short story written by Hitchcock.

The problem of Paul 2473 began when he found the old book. He recognized it as a book at a glance, because once he went to the micro-archives and saw that they were copying some valuable old books there and then destroying them. This book is obviously left over from a distant and vague past and has not been discovered. This aroused Paul's curiosity and fear.

He is taking part in a long-distance running training on a country road on Thursday, and now they just have a ten-minute break, lying beside the overgrown old building on the roadside. Paul is bored-Thursday's training always makes him bored-and he looks around for something interesting.

His eyes fell on the shabby wall around him. He found the crack at once. Bricks fell to the wall, forming a small cave. Those small wild animals can live there

Paul fell to the ground, looked into the dark cave and saw the book. Of course, he immediately realized what to do. He should take out the book, but he can't open it and give it to the platoon leader at once. The education he received from childhood is that things related to past civilizations are both valuable and dangerous. He has no right to destroy the book or read it.

He looked around to see if anyone had noticed him. No sign of a platoon leader. Everyone else in this row was lying on the ground, far away from Paul, and no one paid attention to him. Paul reached out from the hole trembling, grabbed the book and pulled it out.

That book is so small and light that it seems to break into pieces when touched. He is afraid and curious. He opened the cover with trembling hands and glanced at the title page. The title of the book is The Logic of Murder.

At that moment, he felt very disappointed The word "logic" still has some meaning to him, although it is vague. But the word "murder" doesn't know what it means.

If he doesn't understand the content of this book, then this book is useless. But he thought about it and couldn't make up his mind. This book may tell him what "murder" is, and "murder" may be interesting.

"All stand up!" There was a cry of platoon leader in the distance.

Paul 2473 made a decision before he could stand up in the whole platoon.

He tucked the book into his shirt. Then, I stood up, stretched myself and went to get together.

In his hut, Paul played an old trick of a student. Every night, during his few minutes alone, he puts his little book under the afternoon edition of Progress News and pretends to read the newspaper, but in fact he is reading a little book. He did this to prevent the monitor on the wall from finding him.

It is dangerous for him to do so, but the content in this little book is becoming more and more attractive to him. Slowly, he came to some conclusions.

He was shocked to find that murder is to take a person's life. This is a brand-new idea for him, which he never dreamed of. He knows that people will not live forever.

He knows that old people sometimes get sick and are sent to hospitals, physiological laboratories or clinics, and then they will never see each other again. He also knows that death is usually painless. The only exception is that the authorities stipulate that it should be painful for scientific research. So he seldom thinks about death and is not afraid of it.

However, murder is obviously a phenomenon in previous civilizations. In that civilization, the authorities are not responsible for the death of the person in charge, but in fact they are opposed to personal control of such things. But in real life, murder seems to be a very common phenomenon, although it is very dangerous. Paul 2473 was shocked by this cruel phenomenon, but he couldn't help reading on.

When he considered the main content of this book, he found that although murder was a very evil thing, it was understandable in the past environment. In that society, people can choose their partners at will, so out of jealousy or revenge, people commit murder. In that society, the authorities did not provide everyone with the necessities of life. In order to get wealth, people also committed murder.

The more Paul reads, the more he understands all kinds of motives for killing, including healthy and unhealthy ones.

There is a chapter devoted to various methods of murder. There are also several chapters devoted to investigating, arresting and punishing murderers.

However, the most surprising thing about that book is its conclusion. It stressed: "Murder is a common phenomenon, far exceeding statistics. Many murders are not premeditated, but impulsive. Such murderers are often punished by law. However, more murderers successfully escaped the punishment of the law, and those murderers were carefully prepared in advance. A large number of unsolved murders fall into this category. In the contest between the murderer and the police, the former has the advantage. Although the statistics are different, they all point out that most murders are unsolved. Most murderers can get away with it, enjoy their old age and enjoy the fruits of crime.

After reading the book in 2473, Paul pondered for a long time. He realized that his situation was more dangerous. The new civilization will never allow the spread of such books, nor will it make human beings realize how barbaric they are in the near future. It is a crime for him to read this book, and now he understands why he is not allowed to read this kind of book. If found, they will be reprimanded, demoted and even publicly humiliated.

But he didn't destroy the book. Instead, he hid it in the mattress. The concept of murder fascinated him, and he thought about it in all his spare time.

He even wanted to mention it to Carol 7427. He sees Carol 7427 in the recreation center almost every night, and often walks into the petting cabin with her, more often than with any other girl. He is conducting a harmony test with Carol 7427, hoping to give her to him for three years. If it can be five years, so much the better.

On the first night after he finished reading the book, he almost told her about it. She still walked into the entertainment center in work clothes, but the work clothes fit her perfectly, showing her charming figure. He stared at her blonde hair, her bright blue eyes and snow-white skin, and he wanted to match them. It's great to share a double room with her and talk about some novel and interesting topics like murder.

He pulled her to a corner, away from the talk group of radiation agriculture. "Do you want to know a real secret, Carol?" He asked her.

She blinked her long eyelashes and blushed. A secret, Paul? She said softly.

"What kind of secret?"

"I broke a rule."

"Really!"

An important rule.

"Really!" She was very excited.

"I found something very interesting."

"Tell me!" She leaned over. She ate fragrant tablets, and his breath intoxicated him.

"If I tell you, you can either report me or be in the same danger as me."

"I won't tell on you, Paul."

"But I don't want to put you in danger."

She was disappointed and pursed her lips. But her reaction made him very happy. They are adventurous and curious. He can't tell her now. However, when the matching results are announced next week, when they share a room, he will show her the book and they can discuss the murder case for hours on end.

On that day, Paul 2473 decided that he and Carol 7427 were in perfect harmony, and he also believed that a very scientific matching experiment could prove this.

However, the test did not prove this. On Thursday, when he came back from training, he saw the results.

The huge notice almost covered the bulletin board, which read: "Five-year matching table for members of District 55." He walked confidently to the notice. However, he was horrified to find two things. Carol 7427 is paired with Richard 3833, and he is paired with Laura 6356.

Five years with Laura! She is a stout girl with a silly smile and dark gray hair. Do they think he can get along with her? And Richard 3833 monopolized Carol for five years. He is an arrogant and pretentious animal.

Paul considered his future angrily. He is too old to go to the pet house. The authorities believe that at this age, if a person settles down and leads a regular life, it will be more beneficial to society. So pairing means that he can only be with Laura 6356, and Carol can only be monopolized by Richard 3833.

He and Carol will never meet again! They won't have a warm double room, and they can't talk about his magic book for hours on end.

That book! ! !

Paul made a decision without hesitation: he wanted to kill someone.

This is the only way to solve the problem. He immediately considered the beginning, methods and risks according to the book.

Motive. He gave it to a person who didn't match him, and the person who matched him gave it to someone else. He consulted the book again and looked for it in his box.

Possible ways. He found that a very emotional murderer might choose to kill Carol to prevent Richard from getting her. But by doing so, he can't get Carol himself, and he still wants to be with Laura.

So, there must be two murders. Kill Richard and Laura. It is a bit complicated to implement, but only in this way can we get satisfactory results.

He put the detailed implementation method behind him. But he chose a weapon, or reality made him choose that weapon. He has no gun and can't get it. He doesn't know poison, and he can't get it. Richard 3833 is taller and stronger than him, and Laura 6356 is not a petite person, so it is impossible for him to use pure violence such as strangulation. But he can sharpen it with a knife.

He also has some physiological knowledge and knows where to stab people with a knife. Finally, he tried to calculate the risk. Will they catch him? What will they do to him if they catch him?

Just then, he realized something that surprised him. As far as he knows, there is no charge of murder in the law. If there was, he should have known. They have been taught what to do and what not to do since childhood. Of course, among the things that should not be done, the first one is treason. This includes sabotage, riots and various subversive activities. Treason is followed by laziness, including not completing the rated workload, not attending meetings, and not maintaining physical and mental health.

This is sin. Murder is not listed on it, nor are other crimes related to murder, such as forgery and robbery. Paul realized that he lived in an ideal civilization, where there was no motive for committing crimes, except what he now found, that is, some officials made mistakes in conducting harmonious experiments.

This is what surprised him. This country doesn't even mention murder in the law, so it has no tools to deal with it. There is no special organization, no trained detective, no anti-murder scientist, and there is no corresponding institution for the ancient civilization mentioned in that book. As long as it is carefully planned, this new civilization has no idea how to deal with murder. It is absolutely safe for him to kill!

Realizing this, Paul's heart beat faster and began to plan carefully. As soon as the housing is announced, the supporting plan will be implemented, and he knows it will take a week. He has enough time. He intends to start action in two days.

His work provides him with convenience. As an air filtration engineer, he can walk freely in Area 55. No one will ask him why he is here or not.

He just needs a work route, so that he can get close to the first victim first, and then get close to the second victim.

Thursday is here, and he will train for long-distance running all afternoon. However, on Friday, he was lucky. He glanced at the list of places with air filtration problems and knew that the opportunity had come.

He stuffed a sharp knife into his belt at the back of his shirt. He walked quietly through the clean corridor in soft insulating shoes. His work schedule is tight, but his route is good. He can spare a minute or two.

He first came near Richard 3833. Richard works in the virus lab and has his own corner, so he can't be disturbed by others. Paul found him there and he was fascinated by the microscope. "Richard," Paul greeted him softly. "Congratulations on your successful pairing. Carol is a good girl. "

Of course, there is always the possibility of microphone eavesdropping or the wall monitor suddenly turning on. However, Richard and Laura have never been in trouble, so they will not be under special surveillance. During working hours, the guards seldom watch anyone. He must take this small risk. He must finish it as soon as possible.

"Thank you," Richard said. But his mind is not on Carol. "There you are. Come and look at this little thing. " He got down from the stool and asked Paul to go up and have a look.

Paul took a perfunctory look and deliberately turned the microscope. "I can't see anything," he said.

Richard patiently walked over and readjusted the microscope. Paul turned his back on him, and his attention was focused on the microscope.

Paul drew a knife from under his shirt, looked at it carefully, and then stabbed it in.

Richard snorted in surprise. He grasped the table with both hands. Paul pulled out his knife, stood aside and watched his victim fall to the ground. Then, he carefully wiped the knife on Richard's shirt and left the lab quickly. Nobody saw him leave.

Four minutes after he stabbed Richard 3833, he came to the mathematical calculation center. Laura 6356 was fiddling with those huge machines. As in Richard's case, Laurie works alone and doesn't stay with girls who do the same job.

Laura saw her guest out of the corner of her eye, but she continued to input instructions to the machine.

She is a very diligent worker.

"Hello, Paul," she giggled. She hardly paid attention to him before the matching scheme was announced, but since then, she has become very feminine. "Don't tell me the house is ready to move in!"

Does she think he has come to tell her the news? He walked behind her and reached under his shirt for a knife.

Maybe she thought he was going to touch her, although such behavior is strictly forbidden during working hours. Her chubby shoulders trembled expectantly, waiting for his touch. He thrust the knife in.

Instead of falling to the ground like Richard, she threw herself forward on the control panel.

When Laura pressed the disk, the machine continued to hum and the lights continued to flash.

Paul pulled out his knife and wiped Laura's coat, thinking happily that the machine might give an incorrect answer.

When he left to continue his work, he happily thought: Carol 7427 and Paul 2473 have no partners now. It is logical for the Committee to let them live in the same house. They can live together for five years, and then they can continue.

He doesn't know what will happen. He didn't know how the rulers of Area 55 would react. In this respect, that book is useless, it only talks about murder in ancient civilization.

The book says that murder is always interesting. This is especially true when the victim is a famous person or involved in any scandal. The newspaper will report the murder in detail, follow the development of the case, and finally, when the murderer is caught, it will also report the trial. The whole incident may last for weeks, months or even years.

However, in Area 55, the progress news released that afternoon did not mention this matter at all. There was nothing unusual in the entertainment center that night except Richard 3833 and Laura 6365 disappeared.

Paul saw Carol there and realized that he hadn't spoken to her since the game was announced. He tried to take her away from his companions and asked her carefully, "Where is Richard?"

She shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know. I didn't see him. "

He is satisfied with her attitude. Richard disappeared, and she didn't care at all, as if she didn't know about the game. Maybe she doesn't care about him at all.

When this is over, she will be happy to accept the new arrangement.

He spent almost the whole evening with her and felt very happy. He even began to believe that the authorities might be at a loss when faced with such a thorny matter, preferring not to talk about it and pretending that nothing had happened. So ordinary people don't know about the murder.

When he slept that night, Paul believed that his reasoning was correct.

The wake-up call on Saturday morning shattered his fantasy. In fact, when the sharp horn sounded, he was not sure it was reveille. That horn seems to be getting louder and louder. Outside his single room, it was still dark.

He quickly put on his clothes and ran into the corridor with others. They were all as surprised as he was, a little wobbly.

"March forward!"

They lined up and walked to the end of the corridor, down the stairs and into the yard. The lights were bright there, and the searchlights on the roof and high wall suddenly lit up. Under the dazzling light, each row is lined up and stands straight. No one in the team spoke, and no one complained about being driven up so early. The whole yard was shrouded in fear and depression.

Paul is also afraid and depressed. Although he knew there was no need to be afraid, other people's fears were transmitted to him. This kind of thing has never happened, and it will definitely not be good.

What will they do? It may be announced that two people were killed. What will you do next? Is it possible for them to ask the criminal to confess? Or ask the insider to provide information?

Strangely, he felt very calm. If they bring everyone, that means they don't know who killed them, right? This encouraged him. Of course, it seems to be an investigation now, asking all kinds of questions and finding out where you are. He must be careful, but the most important thing is to remember that the authorities don't know who the murderer is, and if he keeps calm, they will never know.

But the trumpet said nothing. This large group of people were thrown here to taste the fear. Maybe this is a way for the authorities to use fear to make the killer give in.

Half an hour passed, and before dawn, no one dared to leave the team. No one coughed or fell, the only sound was the roar of the cold wind.

What bothers Paul most is the searchlight, which seems to shine straight into his eyes. He can blink in the bright light, but he finds that if he closes his eyes for a while, his body will tremble. He didn't want to fall or shake, which would attract people's attention, so he tried his best to bear it and try to think about the good things that might happen after the torture.

This torture will always end. Tens of thousands of members of the 55th district can't stand here forever because two people were killed. People die every day, and their places are filled with young people's farms. There will be some excitement and nervousness, but everything will return to normal sooner or later.

Normally ... living in a room with Carol ... someone talked ... in a low voice ... it ended the terrible loneliness ... even without a microphone and a monitor, he knew that the couple could have some privacy.

"In a row! Turn right! March in a hurry! "

Neat footsteps, one hundred people left the yard.

Listening to the password, Paul can guess where they went. Go to the recreation center next to the dormitory. No matter what happens to them, no matter what kind of examination they have to undergo, it is carried out in the entertainment center. This doesn't sound terrible. If they walk out of the door, he may be more uneasy.

A few minutes passed, maybe ten minutes passed, the lights became unbearable, and it was still not bright. Paul is in the second company. He feels pain in his leg and a little dizzy. The light flashed before his eyes. He closed his eyes tightly, but he still failed to block the light.

"Erlian!"

He walked forward, glad to be able to walk again. Yes, they went to the recreation center. Two guards opened the door and the whole company walked into the empty entertainment center.

There are still a lot of lights, but it doesn't hurt so much. There is a buzzing sound inside. The company was brought to the front and filed in a single file. They don't have to stand at attention anymore, but they still can't relax. They have endured fear for too long, so they can only keep silent and don't want to talk.

Finally, the single file formed a row and began to pass through a small door. Paul ranks 20th. He felt that the person in front went through the door in about 30 seconds. He waited for his turn and remained calm. He believes that such a large-scale behavior shows the despair and helplessness of the authorities.

Then, from the front shoulder, he saw that the door led to a room where there was only a nurse and a table full of needles. He was so relieved that he almost cried or laughed.

They're just getting an injection. Maybe they are being vaccinated. Has nothing to do with his two trivial murders.

When it was his turn to have an injection, he didn't notice the pain when the needle went in. After a long period of torture and uneasy speculation, the tone in the yard was nothing at all.

It feels strange after the injection. His arm doesn't hurt, but his head is light. He didn't want to faint at this moment of victory. But at this point, he completely lost his self-awareness. He acted according to the orders of the guards. He entered the next room, and a man in a white coat stared at him with sharp eyes.

"Did you stab two people to death yesterday?" The man asked.

It seems that he has no choice but to tell the truth. Maybe this is the reason for the injection.

"Yes," he said.

He was tried in public, but not for him, but to educate all the members of Area 55.

Later, they put him in a glass cage at the end of the yard, where he was tied upright. One hundred wires were inserted in different parts of his body. All these wires lead to the outside control panel, and each wire has a button. His torturer is a member of Area 55. In order to show their love for their civilization, they come to the cage and press a few buttons whenever they have time. This will make Paul scream in pain, but it's not fatal.

Of course, once a day, the radio will remind him and others why he is there.

"Paul 2473," the radio announced rhythmically. "They wantonly destroyed the property of Richard 3833 and Laura 6356, committed the crime of destroying state property and became traitors to the country."

However, his estimation error is not limited to this. Carol 7427 is the one who comes to the cage most often and likes to press buttons most.