Death of a Mutant by Charles V. De Vet
A blond, silent boy with extraordinary powers is arrested by Sheriff Derwin near White Bear Lake and confined as the last surviving member of eight “mutants” discovered years earlier in the Lake of the Woods. Authorities believe the group became murderers after being brought to the University of Minnesota, and the boy is accused of at least thirty deaths, including twenty-seven patients at Anchor Hospital and three people in White Bear Lake. Derwin is warned that the boy can kill merely by touching people, yet the prisoner is passive, apparently understands speech, and repeatedly watches the sheriff with an urgent, hopeful expression. Unable to make the boy speak, Derwin tries to question him through nods and gestures. The boy responds eagerly when Derwin describes the deaths, smiling when told of the hospital victims and the people he is said to have touched. Angered by this apparent satisfaction, Derwin vows to see him hanged. The sheriff investigates the three local deaths. At the funeral of Carl van Sistine, a friend insists Carl died from a long-standing brain tumor and agonizing attacks, not from the boy. An elderly man says that when the boy visited his sister Louise, who was dying painfully of cancer, he put a hand on her chest; her moaning stopped, and she died peacefully. The man admits he was glad she was released from suffering and argues that dying people should be allowed to choose death. A widow whose husband George had silicosis remains furious: although George was suffering and doctors said he could not recover, she rejects any claim that the boy had the right to kill him, especially since his death leaves her and her children without support. Derwin begins to wonder whether what seems wrong to others might seem right to the boy. Derwin buys the prisoner decent clothing. Soon afterward, the boy uses his power to pass his hand through the cell-door lock, escapes unseen, and leaves White Bear Lake. Derwin alerts another sheriff but asks that officers not shoot him, believing he will not resist arrest. The boy rides a freight train to St. Paul, avoids a policeman, and flees when he is noticed. In a park, he approaches a young mother’s carriage, where a frail child with a large, spasmodically wobbling head sits. Before he can do anything, the mother sees him, screams, and attacks him, calling him a beast. Terrified, he runs from the park as police pursue him. He injures his ankle while vaulting a fence, continues toward the Mississippi, and dives into the river. Sergeant Robert Kirk orders him to halt, then shoots when he continues swimming. The boy jerks at the shot and slowly sinks beneath the water.
By Charles V. De Vet · First published 1959 · Genre: Science Fiction, Psychological Thriller, Crime/Murder Mystery · 5,790 words
First lines
He was born with strange and wonderful powers. But the world was not yet ready to accept the benefit of those powers. -- The world kills what it does not understand!
The boy stood on the low hill with his head tipped back and his throat exposed to the early morning chill. He was dressed in faded trousers -- from which most of the tan coloring had long since been washed away -- and a coarse blue-denim work shirt.
Genres
- Science Fiction — The narrative fundamentally depends on genetically engineered mutants with superhuman telekinetic abilities. The premise of superhuman powers created through genetic engineering is central to all plot elements and the core conflict.
- Psychological Thriller — The story's primary tension derives from understanding the boy's psychology, his inability to communicate, and his mysterious motivations. Derwin's investigation focuses on comprehending the boy's mind rather than establishing simple criminal facts.
- Crime/Murder Mystery — The plot is driven by investigation of 30+ murders and examination of specific victims. Derwin interviews witnesses and families, collecting evidence, though the mystery extends into psychological and moral dimensions rather than simple whodunit resolution.
- Tragedy — The boy's execution is inevitable and sealed from narrative's beginning. The story explores themes of doom, suffering, and the protagonist's inescapable destruction despite possible alternative moral understandings of his actions.
Tags
science fiction · mutants · superhuman abilities · telepathy · genetic experimentation · silent protagonist · misunderstood outsider · small-town Minnesota · White Bear Lake · St. Paul · mid-20th century · sheriff investigation
What this Textopian page supports
Death of a Mutant is listed on Textopian as a short story by Charles V. De Vet, dated 1959 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Short story
- Author: Charles V. De Vet
- Date: 1959 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Science Fiction, Psychological Thriller, Crime/Murder Mystery, Tragedy, Philosophical Fiction
- Length: 5,790 words
- Structure: 1 section, 128 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
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- Work identity for Death of a Mutant by Charles V. De Vet
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