The Little Black Bag
"The Little Black Bag" is a science fiction novelette by American writer Cyril M. Kornbluth, first published in the July 1950 edition of Astounding Science Fiction magazine. The story concerns a futuristic medical (doctor's) bag accidentally sent back in time several centuries to the mid-twentieth century, the ethics of this occurrence, and the turmoil that ensues.
Plot summary
In the future of 2450 A.D., the majority of humanity exhibits reduced intelligence and is supervised by a superintelligent minority in order to maintain the semblance of social normality. A "physicist" goads his minder into giving him specifications for a time machine, which he uses to send a "doctor" friend's automated medical kit into the past. The bag is found by Dr. Full, an alcoholic physician who no longer practices medicine. Attributing its extraordinary properties to advances made since he last practiced, he uses it to heal a seriously injured young child. The patient's eighteen-year-old sister, Angie, discovers the futuristic patent application date on one of the instruments and grasps the financial opportunities. She blackmails Full into taking her on as a partner.The responsibility helps Full recover from alcoholism. He is soon running a clinic with the help of Angie, with his patients being blindfolded during procedures. While Full is content to simply treat injuries and illnesses, Angie wants to specialize in the more lucrative field of plastic surgery. When Angie learns that he intends to turn the bag over to the medical establishment for the good of humanity, she grabs it and tries to leave. In the ensuing scuffle, the instruments spill out. Without thinking, Angie stabs Full with a surgical knife meant for amputations, killing him. Initially shocked, she quickly recovers and disposes of the body in the bag's incinerator.
Angie's next patient accidentally sees the sharp instruments and balks at the surgery. To reassure her, Angie demonstrates their safety by harmlessly running a scalpel through her arm. Unconvinced, the client requests another test. Meanwhile, in 2450 A.D., a technician notes the bag has been used for murder and deactivates it. Angie runs what has just become an ordinary scalpel across her own throat, with fatal results. The bag's contents rust and decompose soon after.