Challenge 751

Shell Games

In Richard Stevenson’s “Tulpa,” what is a tulpa?
In Herb Kauderer’s “The Detective’s Ghost”:
1. Can a ghostly detective apply for a search warrant? If not, can it be charged with “break and enter”?
2. Can the real detective claim that she has received legal evidence from the ghost?
3. Send us a story about a ghost who sets up shop as a private detective. Conditions: The ghost cannot be a poltergeist; i.e. it can’t move things around. And it must be able to communicate only with current and former clients.
In Roy Dorman’s “Duplicity in Dubuque”:
1. Why does Brenda hire Rose to impersonate her at the high-school reunion? What does Brenda stand to gain? Does she ever give Rose an explanation?
2. Larry’s confronting Rose indicates that Brenda was somehow notorious. Why would Brenda want to have anything to do with the reunion anyway, even vicariously?
3. Rose makes impressively swift deductions from Larry’s accusation. Are they justified? What would happen if Rose simply dropped her “cover” and pled innocent?
4. Why does Rose kill Brandon? Why does Rose kill Brenda? What less dangerous scheme(s) might Rose have devised?
In Walt Giersbach’s “The Machine Wore Makeup”:
1. Harrison tells Stark that the police are investigating a murder. What is Soldana actually charged with?
2. In light of the conclusion, does Stark’s comparing Soldana to a toaster oven seem disingenuous? Artificial intelligence aside, is Stark’s summation to the court accurate?
3. What three laws does Stark recommend be adopted concerning androids like Soldana? How does Stark break one of his own proposed laws?
4. How might Soldana have prevented the madman’s assassinating Harrison if she were operating under Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of robotics?

Responses welcome!