Rates were, Ben knew from personal experience, calculated as a ratio of homicides and population. But he also suspected that arguing with Rap was akin to arguing with a Joker. Pointless, in a word, unless one wanted a headache. "Oh, certainly," he says dryly. "Different in places where firearms are allowed too, of course. And where one might might certain tensions. All sorts of variables, really. It's complex mathematics."