Almost anything can be thought of as part of a system. Chaos theory is based on that idea; we don’t always see the system at work because we’re looking at it from within the system itself or because we don’t have the tools to see the entirety of the system. Dr. Grew, the protagonist of “Speed Trap,” isn’t a systems man, but because he attends many conferences and meets a lot of scientists in other fields, he’s had occasion to think about how systems—better systems—can make him and everyone function much more efficiently, get more done. The other side of systems: conspiracy theory. The world is full of people who see conspiracies everywhere. Often those who see conspiracies where there are none are very systematic—one might say “obsessive,” even “paranoid.” Then again, there are times when paranoia isn’t anything but a sane response to a real threat. Dr. Grew’s ditemma—and yours—is to decide what is really going on in this rather tantalizing little puzzler from 1967.
