Hazel Bergeron, mother of the escaped criminal and fourteen-year-old genius Harrison, says that if she were Diana Moon Glampers, the Handicapper General, she would make the device that plays in her husband’s ear play only chimes on Sunday in “honor of religion.” Her husband, George Bergeron, must wear the device because it provides a mental handicap for him; if he did not wear it, he would have an "unfair" intellectual ability that would render him, in some ways, superior to others in the community.

Wearing the mental handicapping device makes it difficult for George to sustain a train of thought, as his thinking is frequently interrupted by incredibly harsh, discordant, and loud sounds. Sometimes, the sounds are so awful that they make his eyes water. Hazel sees the pain that George is in and feels somewhat badly, as she can imagine the toll it must be taking on him. Hazel does not need to wear such a mental handicapping device because she is of average intelligence by nature; thus, George’s device makes his ability “equal” to hers.

Hazel believes that she would make a good Handicapper General, and George comments that she would be as good as anybody else (since steps have been taken to make sure that everyone’s ability—mental or physical—is roughly the same as everyone else’s). Hazel replies, "Who knows better'n I do what normal is?"