Song of the Younger World - S2-E20
Factual error: It's the 1800s, but Amy's skirt has a 20th Century zipper running down the back. (00:05:15)
Song of the Younger World - S2-E20
Factual error: The 19th Century reformatory has modern electric light bulbs hanging from the corridor ceilings. (00:21:10)
Song of the Younger World - S2-E20
Factual error: The 19th Century reformatory has modern electric light bulbs hanging from the corridor ceilings. (00:21:10)
Trivia: The original ending of the episode would have Norma pressing the button and getting the money after Arthur dies in a train accident. When Norma asks the stranger why Arthur had to die, the stranger responded, "Did you really think you knew your husband?"
Question: At the end of the episode, Dicky's parents are called and informed that the government has killed him? Why did they do this?
Answer: It's the opposite - not smart but dumb. The voice said he failed to get a perfect score, less than one hundred percent.
Quote: "We regret to inform you that your son's intelligence quotient has EXCEEDED the government standard, according to section blah blah blah of the New Code." As in the original short story, they were eliminating intelligent people.
Where can I find the short story?
It's in the compilation "100 Great Science Fiction Short Stories" edited by Isaac Asimov.
It's by Henry Slesar and a quick Google search will show you some online copies. It's only two pages.
According to Wikipedia, it was first published in the February 1958 issue of Playboy magazine; it may have been reprinted elsewhere since then.
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Answer: They live in a totalitarian state where people who are deemed too smart (and therefore a threat to the authorities) are done away with. That's the point of the test, to eliminate potential troublemakers.
Brian Katcher