The Dust of Death
Encyclopedia
The Dust of Death is a science fiction
/mystery
short story
by Isaac Asimov
that was first published in the January 1957 issue of Venture Science Fiction Magazine
and reprinted in the 1968 collection Asimov's Mysteries
.
who runs the successful firm of Central Organic Laboratories with an iron fist and a tendency to take credit for his employees' work. The employees at Central Organic spend a lot of time fantasizing about killing Llewes, but one of them finally decides to do it. Edmund Farley has just spent half a year setting up an industrial scale chemical plant in the hydrogen
/methane
atmosphere of Titan
, and now Llewes is taking the credit for that as well.
On Space Day, the anniversary of the first successful space flight, Farley sneaks into Llewes' atmosphere room and coats the inside of the nozzle of a compressed gas cylinder with powdered platinum
. Only after he finishes does he realize that he chose the wrong cylinder. Fortunately (for him) he has enough powdered platinum left to booby-trap the correct cylinder. The next morning, Llewes is fatally injured in an explosion.
As Farley's co-worker Jim Gorham inspects the wreckage of the atmosphere room with H. Seton Davenport of the Terrestrial Bureau of Investigation, he is convinced the explosion could not have been an accident. Llewes was too safety-conscious for that. Davenport notices that the cylinder of compressed hydrogen is lying on the floor empty, and he asks Gorham whether there is a way to cause hydrogen to explode. Gorham tells him there are several catalysts that could cause hydrogen to react explosively with atmospheric oxygen
, with powdered platinum at the top of the list. Gorham analyses the residue on the lip of the cylinder's nozzle and finds traces of platinum, but not enough to be certain. Davenport then has the rest of the cylinders inspected, and finds powdered platinum in the nozzle of the oxygen cylinder. Gorham is puzzled by this; the murderer wouldn't have put it in the oxygen cylinder on purpose, but he can't imagine why he would have done so accidentally, unless . . . .
Gorham realizes then the Farley must be the murderer. Six months working in Titan's hydrogen/methane atmosphere had accustomed Farley to using jets of oxygen to create combustion. He had booby-trapped the oxygen cylinder from force of recent habit, then realized his mistake and also booby-trapped the hydrogen cylinder. Davenport is convinced, and orders Farley's arrest.
In line with accepted astronomical knowledge when the story was written, Asimov describes Titan as having an atmosphere composed of hydrogen and methane. When the Huygens probe
landed on Titan in 2005, it was discovered that the atmosphere was actually 98.4% nitrogen
and 1.6% methane.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
/mystery
Mystery fiction
Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...
short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
by Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
that was first published in the January 1957 issue of Venture Science Fiction Magazine
Venture Science Fiction Magazine
Venture Science Fiction was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, first published from 1957 to 1958, and revived for a brief run in 1969 and 1970. Ten issues were published of the 1950s version, with another six in the second run. It was founded in both instances as a companion to The...
and reprinted in the 1968 collection Asimov's Mysteries
Asimov's Mysteries
Asimov's Mysteries, published in 1968, is a collection of 14 short stories by Isaac Asimov, all of them science fiction mysteries...
.
Plot summary
The Great Llewes (as he is invariably known) is an organic chemistOrganic chemistry
Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the scientific study of the structure, properties, composition, reactions, and preparation of carbon-based compounds, hydrocarbons, and their derivatives...
who runs the successful firm of Central Organic Laboratories with an iron fist and a tendency to take credit for his employees' work. The employees at Central Organic spend a lot of time fantasizing about killing Llewes, but one of them finally decides to do it. Edmund Farley has just spent half a year setting up an industrial scale chemical plant in the hydrogen
Hydrogen
Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly...
/methane
Methane
Methane is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is the simplest alkane, the principal component of natural gas, and probably the most abundant organic compound on earth. The relative abundance of methane makes it an attractive fuel...
atmosphere of Titan
Titan (moon)
Titan , or Saturn VI, is the largest moon of Saturn, the only natural satellite known to have a dense atmosphere, and the only object other than Earth for which clear evidence of stable bodies of surface liquid has been found....
, and now Llewes is taking the credit for that as well.
On Space Day, the anniversary of the first successful space flight, Farley sneaks into Llewes' atmosphere room and coats the inside of the nozzle of a compressed gas cylinder with powdered platinum
Platinum
Platinum is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Pt and an atomic number of 78. Its name is derived from the Spanish term platina del Pinto, which is literally translated into "little silver of the Pinto River." It is a dense, malleable, ductile, precious, gray-white transition metal...
. Only after he finishes does he realize that he chose the wrong cylinder. Fortunately (for him) he has enough powdered platinum left to booby-trap the correct cylinder. The next morning, Llewes is fatally injured in an explosion.
As Farley's co-worker Jim Gorham inspects the wreckage of the atmosphere room with H. Seton Davenport of the Terrestrial Bureau of Investigation, he is convinced the explosion could not have been an accident. Llewes was too safety-conscious for that. Davenport notices that the cylinder of compressed hydrogen is lying on the floor empty, and he asks Gorham whether there is a way to cause hydrogen to explode. Gorham tells him there are several catalysts that could cause hydrogen to react explosively with atmospheric oxygen
Oxygen
Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
, with powdered platinum at the top of the list. Gorham analyses the residue on the lip of the cylinder's nozzle and finds traces of platinum, but not enough to be certain. Davenport then has the rest of the cylinders inspected, and finds powdered platinum in the nozzle of the oxygen cylinder. Gorham is puzzled by this; the murderer wouldn't have put it in the oxygen cylinder on purpose, but he can't imagine why he would have done so accidentally, unless . . . .
Gorham realizes then the Farley must be the murderer. Six months working in Titan's hydrogen/methane atmosphere had accustomed Farley to using jets of oxygen to create combustion. He had booby-trapped the oxygen cylinder from force of recent habit, then realized his mistake and also booby-trapped the hydrogen cylinder. Davenport is convinced, and orders Farley's arrest.
Story notes
The author originally intended for "The Dust of Death" to be a fourth Wendell Urth story, but since it was due to appear in the premier issue of Venture and the Wendell Urth stories had all appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, he decided to remove Urth. The story does feature agent H. Seton Davenport, who appeared in the first two Urth stories. When Asimov prepared the story for inclusion in Asimov's Mysteries, he considered restoring Urth, but, as he put it, "inertia rose triumphant over all".In line with accepted astronomical knowledge when the story was written, Asimov describes Titan as having an atmosphere composed of hydrogen and methane. When the Huygens probe
Huygens probe
The Huygens probe was an atmospheric entry probe carried to Saturn's moon Titan as part of the Cassini–Huygens mission. The probe was supplied by the European Space Agency and named after the Dutch 17th century astronomer Christiaan Huygens....
landed on Titan in 2005, it was discovered that the atmosphere was actually 98.4% nitrogen
Nitrogen
Nitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N, atomic number of 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78.08% by volume of Earth's atmosphere...
and 1.6% methane.