Rundown

In Short

In this science fiction short story, an amnesiac man finds himself stranded in a strange town called Westboro without money, identification, or memories of who he is. Physical weakness plagues him, and ordinary citizens treat him with hostility or mockery because of his filthy appearance. Driven by a desperate, life-or-death urgency, he wanders into a local bar called the Inn of Six Horses to beg for a ten-cent piece. After a violent confrontation with the bartender leaves him on the floor, he finally receives the coin he sought, revealing a startling mechanical secret that redefines his entire existence.

The Story

The story opens in a crowded subway station in Westboro, where an unnamed man is shoved onto the platform by an indifferent rush-hour crowd. Struggling against disorientation, he realizes he has no recollection of his identity, his past, or how he arrived there. When a young boy passing by reacts with fear and calls him a dirty man, the protagonist looks down and discovers his clothes are filthy, torn, and utterly ruined. A missing wallet compounds his panic, and as he fumbles through his pockets, he finds only a dirty handkerchief and two copper cents. This tactile reminder triggers a faint alarm about his dangerously slow pulse and a medical situation he cannot quite remember.

Attempting to escape underground, he struggles past a turnstile, but physical pain and public ridicule force him out onto the nighttime streets. He wanders through Westboro trying to flag down a cab, use a telephone, or seek help from authorities, but every door is slammed in his face because he lacks money. Remembering a vague Shakespearean quote, he stumbles toward the neon-lit Inn of Six Horses hoping for salvation. Inside, the bar's meager occupants—a weary bartender named George, an observant local named Shorty, and a cynical regular named Pete—dismiss him as a professional beggar.

The man begs for a single dime, offering his two cents in exchange, but the men mock his mathematical logic and accuse him of trying to run a scam. Growing desperate as his body fails him, the man lunges for the change resting on the bar. Anticipating the move, George unleashes a powerful right hook that knocks the man flat to the floor. As Pete and Shorty discuss how to cover for George with the police, they notice the fallen man lacks a pulse. Yet, defying death, his lips move and his eyes plead for the coin.

Overcome by a sudden, reluctant impulse of conscience, George picks up a dime and presses it into the man's motionless hand. The man miraculously revives, slips out into the night, and leaves the three patrons behind in stunned silence. Fifteen minutes later, George and Pete piece together the bizarre reality: the man did not want the coin for food, telephone calls, or shelter. Instead, he possessed a mechanical slot in the middle of his chest and a rhythmic ticking inside his body, exposing a chilling truth about what he actually was.

How It Unfolds

• The voyage begins: The protagonist emerges from a subway crowd in Westboro with total amnesia, discovering his clothes are in tatters and his wallet is gone.
• The city rejects him: After failing to secure help from cab drivers, policemen, and shopkeepers, he faces constant scorn for looking like a homeless vagrant.
• The plea for charity: He takes shelter inside the Inn of Six Horses, where he begs three hostile men for a single ten-cent piece to save his life.
• The violent clash: When the desperate man lunges for money on the counter, an exhausted bartender named George punches him hard enough to knock him out cold.
• The mechanical reveal: After receiving the dime he begged for, the man walks away, leaving the patrons to discover that he possesses a ticking mechanism and a coin slot in his chest.

The People

• The man wakes up with amnesia, tattered clothes, and a dangerously failing internal system. He wants only a single dime to survive whatever medical or mechanical crisis threatens him. Standing in his way are public hostility, physical weakness, and a total lack of funds. He ends up surviving the encounter, revealing himself to be a mechanical being.
• George works as a lean, mean, and weary bartender who feels like he has just finished a grueling day of peddling vacuum cleaners. He wants to be left in peace, but reacts with violent suspicion when he thinks someone is trying to steal his money. He ends up striking the protagonist and later giving him the crucial coin out of unexpected remorse.
• Shorty acts as an opinionated local patron who sits at the bar and provides sarcastic commentary on everything around him. He wants to mock the protagonist and protect his friend from legal trouble after the punch. He ends up stunned and bewildered alongside the others as the man's true nature comes to light.
• Pete serves as another cynical regular at the bar who judges the protagonist harshly as a professional bum. He wants to run a strict, no-nonsense business and quickly worries about the legal fallout of a dead man on the floor. He ends up participating in the shocking realization about the stranger's mechanical body.

In Its Own Voice

The subway train announced its arrival with a screech of grating steel.

This opening line establishes the abrupt, sensory disorientation that plunges the protagonist into his frightening new reality.

"Nobody gets nothing free here, this ain't no mission or nothing."

This hard-edged dialogue from Pete highlights the cold, transactional nature of the world the amnesiac must navigate.

"What kind of guy is it, anyway, who walks around with a slot in the middle of his chest that he puts dimes into?"

This closing question from Pete delivers the story's eerie twist, reframing the man's desperate struggle in science fiction terms.

What It's Really About

The story explores themes of dehumanization, empathy, and the hidden depths beneath ordinary appearances. By portraying the protagonist as a filthy vagrant whom society instantly dismisses, the narrative examines how quickly people turn away from those in need. The characters judge the man based entirely on his outward dirtiness and perceived lack of worth, mirroring real-world biases against the homeless and destitute. Yet beneath this social critique lies a science fiction twist that reframes the central question: what defines a human being? The physical slot and ticking mechanism suggest that humanity and vulnerability are not restricted to biological flesh and blood. Ultimately, the narrative questions whether compassion depends on knowing someone's origins, showing that even hardened skeptics can respond to a plea for survival when forced to confront another's absolute need.

Why Read It Today

Readers who love classic mid-century speculative fiction with a sharp, twilight-zone twist will find much to admire here. Robert Lory crafts a taut narrative that feels like a brisk, atmospheric puzzle, combining gritty urban realism with an uncanny premise. Reading it feels like watching a noir vignette slowly curdle into science fiction, driven by sharp, snappy dialogue and mounting tension. It demands patience with its cynical characters and bleak, hard-boiled setting, where working-class men speak in a sharp, weary vernacular typical of early 1960s pulp magazines. While the period attitudes are rough around the edges, the payoff is a masterclass in economy and suspense. What stays with you long after the final page is the startling image of the ticking stranger and the unsettling realization of how easily we misjudge the walking wounded around us.

Would you like to explore another short story from this era?