St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1910-12-28
By F. A. mitchell

Of those colossal fortunes quite COM
for original scientific investigation.
Soon after the corps of scientists en-
ployed there began their work they
made the discovery that living parts
Of a body might be substituted for de-
caying parts of another body. For
instance, a knee might be replaced by
a knee taken from a different person,
serving the purpose Of a new knee.
From this starting point the expert
mentors proceeded step by step till
there was no part of the human body
that they could not supply.
Nearly half a century elapsed, how
ed in replacing all the parts In single
human body by similar parts from 9th
er bodies.
The first perfect combination man
was completed at the institute last
year. There was not an organ or a
part of an organ in him that had not
been taken from another person. The
man whose parts had been all re-
moved AID replaced had been named
Peter Sykes, criminal condemned for
murder He was given the choice Of
being executed or turned over to the
professors to lose his identity by be-
coming another person. He shudder-
ed at the immolition of his own per-
sonality, but consented rather than die
the death of q felon.
The case was the first that was sue
cessful in producing an altogether new
L.
rather, combined him considered that
their first duty toward him was to
name him. They chose the Latin word
omnium, meaning 'of aIl"-that is, Mr.
Omnium was made up of. all kinds of
persons. 1t was expected by the I'M
scientific laity that he might be OPP
posed to giving up the name of Sykes,
but as there was nothing of Sykes left
in him he made no objection what
ever Indeed, he did not remember
ever having been Sykes. The life
Sykes had led was not in him at all.
Since Omnium was entirely expert
mental, the professors who had manu-
featured him gave orders that he was
not to be permitted-at least for some
time-to leave the institution. But a
hand had been taken from a burglar.
The consequence was that though
locked in by a guard he found no trou
BILE in picking the lock with such i'm
plements as he found lying about and
walked forth into the world the first
man born of a great many mothers
and just as many fathers.
AS might have been expected, this
fragmentary though entire individual
followed the strongest of all the natu-
raj laws-the law which unites the
sexes. His component parts had been
taken from persons between twenty
and thirty. His average age was there
fore twenty-five, q time of life when a
mans fancy turns to love. He had
been well dressed by the professors,
and as they feared he might get out
into the world without funds they had
placed a roll of bills in his pocket.
Feeling hungry, he went into a restau
rant, where he ate a good meal and
took a desperate fancy to the cashier,
who was very attractive young wom-
an of twenty. Having scraped an ac-
quaintance with her, he invited her to
go to the theater with him that even
ing, an invitation she accepted.
1t should be noted here that Omnium
on entering the world as a combina
ton man obeyed the two most impor-
tant natural laws. The first thing he
did was to satisfy his hunger, the Sec
ond to make love.
Miss Mabel Thompson, the young
lady to whom Omnium paid his adj
dresses, found him very puzzling per-
son. Instead of having a few charac-
teristic traits he had a hundred. The
first clashing of idiOsyncrasies she no.
ticed was between those of a spend
thrift and a miser, portion of whose
brains had been engrafted within his
Uranium. Instead of engaging seats at
the theater he took whole box. This
was embarrassing to Miss Thompson,
who was a very modest person. What
was her surprise when after the play
he took her to supper and ordered one
herring for the two.
This episode, though neither of them
knew it, showed from the first that,
though 1t was possible to produce
perfect physical combination man, the
matter of those elements that are to
be classed as mental opened up new
field for the scientists. 1t demonstrate
ed that to place in the same skull two
such discordant elements as the brains
of a miser and a spendthrift is to
make q bad combination.
But Miss Thompson was doomed to
further surprise and disappointment.
While going home after the apology
for a supper-half herring for each
of them-suddenly the strokes of a
bell fell upon their ears. AT the first
stroke Omnium stopped stock still.
There were three strokes, then nine.
On the ninth stroke a hook and lad
der truck passed. Omnfum left the
Lady standing on the sidewalk, dashed
to the truck. stood on the footboard
and was whirled away.
Can 1t be wondered that the poor
81 ~4~~ &s11 In