Salesmen Traps

The Salesmen Traps were built by Gadget Hackwrench to secure the ruined aircraft in which she lived until she met the other members of the Rescue Rangers.

Canonical Information

Description

The Salesmen Traps are built into a wide hall with a concave ceiling leading to the cockpit of Gadget's aircraft home. The first trap is a tripwire over the entrance, which fires a single plunger scaled to rodent-size, possibly as a warning shot. From here, any intruder may view a variety of lethal implements built into the walls of the aircraft corridor. Chip was able to lead the group a short distance into the corridor without setting off any traps, so there is presumably a safe path that can be taken without setting off any traps. Stepping on a single trapped location on the floor, however, unleashes a hail of projectiles and falling lever devices. The following are visible as the Rangers make their way across the trapfield: a constant stream of plungers, what may be a cannon, two lightbulbs that shatter into glass shrapnel, several hammers of both wooden and metal construction, an axe, a falling radio, a large safe that falls when the target steps on a button in the impact zone, at least two darts, two spurts from flamethrowers, and several flying knives. Should the victims manage to cross this field, removing a piece of cheese from a button at the end of the hallway drops a net weighted with three padlocks onto the intruder. At this point, the Gadget can bring the Battlesphere from its microwave hangar and deal with the intruders personally.

Observations

The Salesmen Traps seem to be a mix of lethal and non-lethal weaponry. A hit from a hammer, flamethrower, knife, or axe, for example, would likely kill a rodent. The plungers, however, probably would not except in case of a lucky shot. Chip takes a hit to the face from a rodent-scaled plunger and suffers no ill effects once it is removed. Also, the entire group is captured by a human-scaled plunger fired directly downward. If not for Monty's strength and cheese-induced mania, the group likely would have remained trapped until Gadget came to see whom she had captured. Finally, the weighted net at the end of the course was designed only to capture the target.

Episodes

Seen in To the Rescue (Part 3).

Accepted Fan Fiction Conventions

It seems to be widely accepted that, following Gewgaw's presumed death, Gadget was very distraught and actively withdrew from the world at large. In keeping with this, fanfic authors have Gadget build Salesmen Traps in order to stop not only salesmen, but everyone who seeks entrance. Sometimes this is supplemented with some sort of external threat, such as a terrorist organization who wanted Gewgaw and Gadget dead in Dr. Indy's The Ranger That Never Was. The Salesmen Traps may also come back to haunt Gadget, as in Michael Demcio's Rhyme and Reason or BOC42's Closer Than a Brother.