He knows how to replace the bullet in the handgun's ammunition with a gelatin capsule filled with water in order to eliminate ballistics evidence. To deflect suspicion, Reich has Jerry remove the bullets from the cartridges in the gun before he accepts it. The gun is described as combining a stiletto knife, a knuckle-duster and a revolver in a folding package, an Apache revolver. Jerry runs a pawn shop, in which Reich found an antique (20th-century) handgun, a rare object in a largely non-violent society. He also visits Jerry Church, an Esper who is shunned by his kind as punishment for helping Reich break the law. This proves to be an earworm, so persistent and involving that it blocks most Espers from properly peeping into Reich's mind.įrom Monarch's research facility, Reich secures a small flash grenade which can disrupt a victim's perception of time by destroying the eyes' rhodopsin. To further conceal his intentions from telepaths, Reich visits a songwriter, Duffy Wygand (spelled 'Wyg&' in the text) who teaches him a deceptively simple jingle: Tate learns that he will be there for one night, coinciding with one of Maria's notorious parties. D'Courtney lives on Mars but occasionally visits Earth, always staying at the home of socialite Maria Beaumont. Tate helps Reich, stealing information about D'Courtney's whereabouts by peeping D'Courtney's personal physician, the Class 1 Esper Dr. Tate is a member of the 'League of Esper Patriots' who believe in the innate superiority of Espers, and who advocate for a society where Espers are in charge. Augustus ('Gus') Tate, a prominent peeper psychiatrist, to be his mental bodyguard during the murder. Reich has many Class 2 and Class 3 Espers working for him but for this task he must hire a top Class 1 Esper.

Reich hires an Esper to 'run interference' for him-hiding his murderous thoughts from any peepers present at the scene of the planned crime. If caught Reich will certainly face 'Demolition', a terrible punishment described only at the end of the story. The presence of peepers has prevented the commission of murder for more than seventy years so Reich devises an elaborate plan to ensure his freedom.

Frustrated and desperate, Reich determines to kill Craye D'Courtney. Reich suffers recurring nightmares in which a 'Man with No Face' persecutes him.ĭesperate to end his suffering, Reich contacts D'Courtney and proposes a merger of their concerns but Reich's damaged psychological state causes him to misread D'Courtney's positive response as a refusal. Monarch Utilities & Resources is in danger of bankruptcy because of its chief rival, the D'Courtney Cartel, headed by the older Craye D'Courtney. Ben Reich is the paranoid, impetuous owner of Monarch Utilities & Resources, a commercial cartel that the Reich family has possessed for generations.

The demolished man book