The Demolished Man

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

Alfred Bester's other famous novel besides The Stars My Destination, The Demolished Man is a Reverse Whodunnit centering on Ben Reich's attempt to get away with the murder of a hated business rival and the efforts of Esper policeman Lincoln Powell to prove his guilt. The novel heavily inspired the psychic police of Babylon 5, although the ones in the novel are by far more benevolent. The name of the author was used for the Psi Cop character played by Walter Koenig, along with the Death of Personality, inspired from the titular "Demolition."

Tropes used in The Demolished Man include:
  • All Psychology Is Freudian
  • Armor-Piercing Question: Reich, to Jerry Church: "What do you want?"
  • Benevolent Boss / Nice to the Waiter: Reich makes a conscious effort to be well liked by his employees due to a wish to avoid enemies. Thus, its not really a Pet the Dog for him.
    • Particularly since it doesn't work; he can charm his servants face-to-face, but behind his back they hate and fear him.
    • It does work for most of his employees, just not on the few he screws. And he actually does want to be nice to everyone, it's just that he's willing to throw people to the dogs if he feels it will help him.
  • The Blank
  • Casual Interplanetary Travel
  • Coca-Pepsi, Inc.
  • Consummate Liar: Reich because of his Ear Worm; Powell might fit as well, as he refers to an aspect of his personality as "Dishonest Abe" which makes him do things like making up outrageous lies and telling them with completely convincing sincerity.
  • Ear Worm: An In-Universe example, which Reich uses to protect him from telepathy.
  • Fantastic Recruitment Drive: There's a scene where the Espers are trying to find undiscovered Espers. There is a line of people moving through an area, and an Esper broadcasts something along the lines of, "If you can hear this, please go through the door on your left."
  • Freudian Excuse: a highly literal example, as Reich murders his (unknown) father on account of psychological hang-ups
  • Friendly Enemy: Reich and Powell both have great respect for each other, and Powell tells Reich directly that he wants him to be caught and undergo the Heel Face Mind Screw because there is so much that is admirable about him
  • Future Imperfect: Ear Worm jingles are called "pepsis" but no one can remember why and things from the 20th century are considered ancient if remembered at all
  • The Future Is Noir: One of the original examples
  • Heel Face Mind Screw: what it means to be "demolished", a process of Loss of Identity which at the end of the book happens to Ben Reich. Granted, it's used here an alternative to capital punishment so it arguably avoids the Family-Unfriendly Aesop that usually comes from this trope.
  • Hero Antagonist: Lincoln Powell
  • Idiot Ball: Translate the telegraphs at the beginning.
  • Letters 2 Numbers: Names like Wyg&, ¼maine, @kins and S&erson.
  • Luke, I Am Your Father: D'Courtney is actually Ben's father and far from being his enemy, actually wanted to make amends for abandoning him, something for which he felt great guilt
  • Madness Mantra: After a while, Reich's Ear Worm becomes this- essentially, when Espers try to read his mind, even if they can't read particular thoughts, it's quite clear he's having a breakdown.
  • Meaningful Name: Ben Reich. Who, it so happens, is about to, almost without realizing, it start a Fourth Reich...
    • It's also possible that Lincoln Powell might be meaningful. Also, Jerry Church if you look at the relationship between the Catholic Church and the Nazis.
    • And, of course, in a Meta way as stated above, the Babylon 5 use of Bester and "Demolition".
  • A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Read: Subverted. Powell claims that telepathy is a dreadful burden, but he's actually feeding his boss a line.
  • Mutant Draft Board: The Esper's Guild which is based in part on something like a bar or medical association, especially in the sense of mandating using their powers for beneficial ends, but also dominates the lives of its members, including stipulating that they marry one of their own.
  • Noodle Incident: It's possible to make Powell blush by asking him "Who stole the weather?" We never find out why.
  • Painting the Fourth Wall: The conversation at the telepath cocktail party, which is represented as lines of dialogue intersecting (and reusing each others' words) in two dimensions.
  • Proto Cyberpunk
  • Psychic Powers
  • Rousseau Was Right: Powell makes a statement about this at the end, and it drives him throughout the novel. People are good but the barriers between them cause misunderstandings. That's why he wants to catch Reich and is appalled at the idea of a death penalty. He sees Reich can be good and that humanity needs people like him. It's also behind the eugenics program of the Guild, once everyone can read minds they can break down the barriers.

"Powell peeper....Powell friend"

  • Smug Super: Powell and other Espers fall into this to varying extents, but are fairly benevolent about it as examples go.
  • Society Marches On: Despite the characters stated disconnect from the 20th century, the book is pretty emblematic of the time it was written in respect to gender roles. On the other hand, there is a scene where a black applicant is accepted into the Esper's Guild on account of his latent talent, which suggests that at least their group is meritocratic. Also, the president of the Guild is Asian.
  • The Stars Are Going Out
  • Unconventional Formatting
  • Unusual Euphemism: "Frab" and "slok" for "fuck" and "shit".
  • Villain Protagonist: Ben Reich
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