Or Your Money Back

In Short

A strange man named Jason Howley walks into a Las Vegas law office carrying a small plastic box with an internal diagram, a dial, and two silver plates. He claims it can influence roulette wheels using mental concentration and insists he wants to get arrested so he can test the law. After Howley uses the device to win over three hundred thousand dollars at the Golden Casino, his defense lawyer must prove that using a box containing nothing but drawings to shift the odds is completely legal under Nevada law. The case ultimately forces the world to take psionic science seriously.

The Story

The narrative opens in Nevada, where a criminal defense lawyer receives a visit from an odd, short-sighted man named Jason Howley. Howley displays an unpatentable plastic device equipped with a dial, a lens, and silver contact plates. He explains that by setting the dial and holding the plates, the user can concentrate to subtly alter the speed of small moving objects, such as dice or a roulette ball. Howley explicitly states his intention to use the gadget in a legal Nevada casino to trigger an arrest, seeking a top defense attorney to establish his legal innocence in court.

Accepting a generous retainer, the lawyer watches the plan unfold. Howley dresses in expensive evening wear and visits the plush Golden Casino carrying less than two hundred dollars. Stepping up to a roulette table, he sets his device to the number thirteen and bets. The number hits once, twice, and a third time in succession. To avoid looking too obvious, Howley intentionally loses several spins before using the device to hit double zero, win high-low bets, and finally hit thirteen twice more. With a crowd, casino security, and deputy sheriffs watching, he breaks the bank, accumulating over three hundred thousand dollars in winnings.

The casino management detains Howley under the pretext of searching him for a concealed weapon. Upon finding the strange plastic box, the police arrest him on suspicion of fraud. Howley's lawyer springs into action, retrieving a suitcase containing three dozen duplicate devices from a local bus depot to keep them secure. District Attorney Thursby and casino representatives attempt to build a prosecution case by disassembling and examining the casino's roulette table, finding zero evidence of mechanical rigging, magnets, or hidden wiring.

When Thursby tests the confiscated gadget on the table, it appears to influence the ball's landing slot whenever the operator properly touches the metal contact plates and concentrates. However, during the trial, the defense turns the prosecution's evidence upside down. When the device is opened before the judge and jury, it is revealed to contain no electronic components, wires, or power sources—only white paint and inked diagrams of dice, balls, and roulette wheels.

The defense calls Dr. Herbert Pettigrew, a prominent university physics professor who performed exhaustive microchemical and radiological tests on the box for the prosecution. Pettigrew testifies under oath that the box is completely inert and incapable of exerting physical force on any wheel. Howley takes the stand and calmly testifies that the device is merely a good luck charm that works by wishing. Because Nevada law prohibits mechanical cheating devices but cannot criminalize good luck or mental concentration, the jury returns a prompt verdict of not guilty.

Following the acquittal, Howley's lawyer negotiates with the casino manager to ensure Howley's safety, offering them a device in exchange for leaving Howley alone. The lawyer and Howley proceed to distribute the psionic devices broadly across the state. The legal precedent and publicity compel mainstream scientists and politicians to investigate psionics, ultimately revolutionizing technology and rendering traditional rocketry obsolete within less than four years.

How It Unfolds

An unusual consultation Jason Howley arrives at a Nevada law office with a small plastic box, claiming it can alter the velocity of roulette balls through mental concentration. He asks the lawyer to defend him when he is inevitably arrested for using it.

Breaking the casino bank Howley enters the Golden Casino with two hundred dollars and repeatedly hits number thirteen and double zero on the roulette wheel. He accumulates over three hundred thousand dollars before security officers intervene and find the device in his pocket.

The secret inspection District Attorney Thursby takes apart the casino's roulette table looking for hidden magnets or wires, but finds nothing. When he tests Howley's gadget himself, the ball lands on the chosen numbers whenever the contact plates are held correctly.

Opening the empty box During the trial, Howley's defense lawyer has the gadget opened in front of the judge and jury. The interior contains no batteries or machinery, only inked drawings and symbols painted on a white background.

The scientist takes the stand A university physics professor called as a witness testifies that the box has no physical mechanism and cannot influence the wheel, suggesting the winnings were either pure chance or an unexplainable anomaly.

Acquittal and its aftermath The jury finds Howley not guilty because using a simple good luck charm is entirely legal. Three years later, the public interest generated by the case has led to the scientific development of psionic space travel.

The People

• The Narrator: A sharp, confident Nevada criminal defense attorney who takes pride in finding legal loopholes. He recognizes the novelty of Howley's request, manages the defense strategy, and orchestrates the trial tactics that secure an acquittal while protecting his client from casino retaliation.
• Jason Howley: A lean, myopic inventor with thick glasses and a crisp, precise demeanor. He wants to force public and scientific recognition of psionics by using his mind-guiding device to break a casino bank and winning the resulting court battle.
• District Attorney Thursby: An ambitious prosecutor under heavy pressure from casino owners to recover the lost fortune. He rushes to indict Howley, confident that the gadget's obvious effect on the roulette wheel will secure a conviction, only to see his case fall apart.
• Dr. Herbert Pettigrew: A frustrated professor of physics from UCLA holding multiple degrees. Subpoenaed to testify about his exhaustive physical testing of the device, he admits under oath that the box contains no mechanisms capable of affecting matter.

In Its Own Voice

"You don't patent new devices for blowing safes or new drugs for doping horses, do you?"

Howley crisp answers when explaining why his casino-influencing gadget cannot be submitted to the standard patent office.

"The box could not possibly have any effect on either the wheel or the ball."

Dr. Pettigrew reluctantly delivers his expert scientific conclusion regarding the physical properties of the plastic enclosure.

"It's the only good luck charm I ever had that worked."

Howley disarmingly explains the function of his invention to a smiling jury during his defense testimony.

What It's Really About

The story presents a lighthearted exploration of legal definitions versus physical reality. It examines how human institutions—specifically courts of law and established scientific disciplines—struggle when confronted with phenomena that defy standard categories. The core argument rests on the distinction between physical mechanisms and mental intent; because the law regulates physical tools of fraud, an empty box that relies entirely on human mind power exposes a fundamental loophole in the legal system. Ultimately, the narrative suggests that dramatic public demonstrations and courtroom spectacles are sometimes necessary to break scientific orthodoxy and force society to investigate extraordinary new fields of human potential.

Why Read It Today

Or Your Money Back is a quick, entertaining read for fans of classic mid-century sci-fi, legal thrillers, and clever courtroom maneuvers. Written with a dry, ironic sense of humor, the story moves swiftly from its initial office consultation to its satisfying trial climax without getting bogged down in dense exposition. Readers who enjoy stories featuring resourceful lawyers, underdog inventors, and systemic loopholes will appreciate how the narrative balances legal technicalities with light science fiction concepts.

The piece reflects the period attitudes of 1950s pulp magazine fiction, featuring straightforward, dialogue-driven prose and rapid pacing. The technological premise is simple rather than hard sci-fi, asking the reader to accept the concept of psionics without technical jargon. It feels like an expanded episode of classic speculative television, offering a satisfying narrative arc where human ingenuity and legal cleverness successfully challenge both commercial interests and institutional skepticism.