Double or Nothing

"Double or Nothing" by Jack Sharkey is a science fiction short story presented in the format of an imaginative narrative written in the early 1960s. The story explores themes of invention and unintended consequences, following the misadventures of two friends, Burt and Artie. As they attempt to create groundbreaking machines, their efforts often lead to chaotic situations, particularly when an anti-gravity device spirals out of control, generating increasingly absurd and troublesome results. In the story, Burt Lindstrom serves as the more practical half of the duo, continually caught in Artie's grand schemes. Their latest invention—a machine purported to create anti-gravity—unintentionally produces a synthesizer that conjures cornflakes, bowls, and other kitchen items in copious quantities, leading to overwhelming chaos as these items rain down around them. As the malfunctioning device continues to create duplicates of itself and other objects, the situation escalates into a humorous and catastrophic crisis that escalates beyond their control. The narrative is punctuated with witty dialogue and satire, using the premise of science to reflect on the unpredictability of human creativity and ambition. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

John Michael Sharkey was an American writer who published over eighty plays, many under pen names.