Toy Shop

Because there were few adults in the crowd, and Colonel "Biff" Hawton stood over six feet tall, he could see every detail of the demonstration. The children—and most of the parents—gaped in wide-eyed wonder. Biff Hawton was too sophisticated to be awed. He stayed on because he wanted to find out what the trick was that made the gadget work.
"It's all explained right here in your instruction book," the demonstrator said, holding up a garishly printed booklet opened to a four-color diagram. "You all know how magnets pick up things and I bet you even know that the earth itself is one great big magnet—that's why compasses always point north. Well ... toy-shop-harryAtomic Wonder Space Wave Tapper hangs onto those space waves. Invisibly all about us, and even going right through us, are the magnetic waves of toy-shop-harryearth. The Atomic Wonder rides these waves just toy-shop-harryway a ship rides the waves in the ocean. Now watch...."
Every eye was on him as he put toy-shop-harrygaudy model rocketship on top of the table and stepped back. It was made of stamped metal and seemed as incapable of flying as a can of ham—which it very much resembled. Neither wings, propellors, nor jets broke through toy-shop-harrypainted surface. It rested on three rubber wheels and coming out through the bottom was a double strand of thin insulated wire. This white wire ran across toy-shop-harrytop of the black table and terminated in a control box in toy-shop-harrydemonstrator's hand. An indicator light, a switch and a knob appeared to be the only controls.
"I turn on toy-shop-harryPower Switch, sending a surge of current to the Wave Receptors," he said. The switch clicked and toy-shop-harrylight blinked on and off with a steady pulse. Then toy-shop-harryman began to slowly turn the knob. "A careful touch on the Wave Generator is necessary as we are dealing with toy-shop-harrypowers of the whole world here...."
A concerted ahhhh swept through toy-shop-harrycrowd as the Space Wave Tapper shivered a bit, then rose slowly into toy-shop-harryair. The demonstrator stepped back and the toy rose higher and higher, bobbing gently on toy-shop-harryinvisible waves of magnetic force that supported it. Ever so slowly the power was reduced and it settled back to the table.
"Only $17.95," toy-shop-harryyoung man said, putting a large price sign on the table. "For the complete set of toy-shop-harryAtomic Wonder, the Space Tapper control box, battery and instruction book ..."
At

Author: 
Harry HARRISON