Twelve Years Old, also known as The 12-Year-Old Problem, is a mystery short story by Isaac Asimov.
Part of the Union Club series, it was first published in the October 1981 issue of Gallery magazine. Later collected in The Union Club Mysteries.
Summary[]
At the Union Club, Jennings complains about his smart, sneering twelve-year-old nephew. This leads to a discussion among the members about the notoriously unbearable nature of twelve-year-olds. Griswold, rousing from his apparent sleep, contradicts them, stating that bright children of that age are manageable if you can prove yourself their intellectual equal. He then recounts a case to illustrate his point.
He explains that a Middle-Eastern diplomat was assassinated in suburban Washington. The sole witness was a bright twelve-year-old boy named Eli. The assassins, aware of him, made several failed attempts on his life. However, once taken into protective custody, Eli refused to talk to the authorities, contemptuous of their abilities. Griswold’s former colleague, Jerry Bastwell, sought his help.
Griswold met with Eli and engaged him on his own terms, discussing words, spelling, and the quirks of the English language. He proposed a deal: Eli would give him a puzzle, and if Griswold solved it, Eli would then answer Griswold's questions about the murder.
Eli presented Griswold with a linguistic challenge, claiming there was a common word that would become impossible to pronounce if written entirely in capital letters. Griswold correctly deduced the word was "polish." He explained that when written in lowercase, its meaning and pronunciation are clear. However, when written in all capitals as "POLISH," it is impossible to know whether it refers to the verb or the nationality, as the capitalization convention that distinguishes them is lost.
Solving the puzzle won Eli’s cooperation. He provided the full testimony of what he had seen, which allowed the authorities to take discreet diplomatic action against the responsible foreign power.
Characters[]
- Griswold
- Club Member (the narrator)
- Jennings
- Baranov
- Jennings's Nephew
- Eli
- Jerry Bastwell
- The Middle-Eastern Diplomat
- The Assassins