Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog Project Gutenberg 2020-01-08 Public domain in the USA. 92 Banta, Frank The Happy Homicide Produced from Worlds of If Science Fiction, March 1962 Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "The Happy Homicide" by Frank Banta is a satirical short story that falls into the crime fiction genre, penned in the early 1980s. The narrative takes place during a courtroom drama wherein the defendant, John Bork, is on trial for the murder of his wife, Fannie Bork. The overarching theme revolves around the absurdity of the judicial process and highlights the reliance on bizarre technological evidence, specifically a machine that allegedly enables the deceased to "testify" about her own murder. The story unfolds in a courtroom setting where the prosecutor introduces the "Very Complicated Monstrous Proximilator," a machine designed to extract memories from Fannie Bork's brain. As the proceedings evolve, John Bork interjects with humorous and sardonic remarks, revealing his comedic resignation to the evidence against him. Ultimately, despite the peculiar theatrics of the trial and overwhelming circumstantial evidence, the jury delivers a surprising verdict of "not guilty." This outcome emphasizes the farcical elements of the narrative, showcasing a critique of the legal system where technical contraptions and procedural absurdities overshadow genuine justice. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 77.5 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories Trials (Murder) -- Fiction Spouses -- Fiction PS Text Category: Short Stories Category: Crime, Thrillers and Mystery Category: Humour 34698 2025-06-24T09:29:39.043698 text/html 10816 2024-10-17T15:40:17 text/html 76136 2025-06-24T09:29:40.813621 application/epub+zip 74970 2025-06-24T09:29:39.429627 application/epub+zip 74968 2025-06-24T09:29:39.212621 application/epub+zip 108989 2025-06-24T09:29:42.090609 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 102054 2025-06-24T09:29:40.605603 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 102239 2022-09-27T15:47:20.316512 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 28504 2023-09-26T07:56:28.055556 text/plain 8696 2024-10-17T15:40:17 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 15899 2025-06-24T09:29:42.231598 application/rdf+xml 25529 2025-06-24T09:29:39.298619 image/jpeg 4333 2025-06-24T09:29:39.254619 image/jpeg 249789 2025-06-24T09:29:39.052693 application/octet-stream application/zip