“The Hood Maker” (“Immunity”) January 1953

An angry mob assaults an old man wearing a “hood.” The hood is a metal alloy band that is worm across the forehead and prevents one’s thoughts from being scanned by telepathic mutants. The old man, Dr. Franklin, is a high-ranking government director who had really never done anything wrong, but when he was young, he had “found some old books and musical records” (240) … uh oh. The teeps (telepaths) support Senator Waldo and his Anti-Immunity bill, which will make merely wearing any sort of probe screen a felony. Why should people have anything to hide from the government? But even some government workers seem wary of the teeps. An anonymous hood maker is sending probe screens in the mail to carefully selected people. Doctor Franklin had received one of these hoods and is rescued by the Hood Maker’s people just as government agents are about to capture him and have him tried for disloyalty. He is taken to the secret facility where the hoods are made and meets Cutter, the Hood Maker himself. Franklin considers Senator Waldo a friend and doesn’t believe he would support the Anti-Immunity bill if he knew it was just a tool to help the teeps grab power. Franklin and Cutter don hoods and go to find Waldo and discuss the matter with him. They are surprised by a young teep who kills Franklin with a Slem-gun. It turns out Waldo is a teep. The young teep demands that Cutter remove his hood and be scanned. Cutter does so and the teep reacts with horror as he scans Cutter’s mind. He has learned that the teeps are not genetic mutations but freaks––sterile freaks. They will not be able to perpetuate their own kind. This information will spread quickly amongst all the teeps, and it is suggested they will kill themselves in despair and their plans of domination will be foiled. It turns out they had something to hide.