The Second Voice by Mann Rubin
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"The Second Voice" by Mann Rubin is a science fiction novella published in the early 1950s. The story revolves around an ambitious ventriloquist named Robbie Crawford, who finds himself involved in a groundbreaking experiment at a military base. The main theme of the book is the intersection of performance art and scientific innovation, particularly how a unique vocal talent may unlock communication possibilities with other worlds. The narrative follows Robbie Crawford as
he prepares for a show with his ventriloquist dummy, Spud. Unexpectedly, he is approached by Colonel Meadows and Dr. Paul Shalt, who reveal that they want to test if Crawford's second voice can be sent to Mars, as it possesses qualities suitable for interstellar communication. While initially hesitant, Crawford agrees, and during the experiment, Spud's voice is indeed sent to Mars, only to return with a threatening message from the Martians who warn them to stay away. This shocking turn leaves Crawford in disbelief, as he realizes that the voice he heard was not his own. The climax hinges on his desperate attempts to perform while struggling with the sudden loss of his vocal ability and the chilling realization that the Martians could potentially use his voice against Earth. The story artfully explores themes of identity, technology, and the unforeseen consequences of scientific progress. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Rubin, Mann, 1927-2013 |
|---|---|
| Title | The Second Voice |
| Series Title | Produced from Fantastic Universe March 1954. |
| Credits |
Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net |
| Reading Level | Reading ease score: 77.6 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature |
| Subject | Science fiction |
| Subject | Short stories |
| Subject | Ventriloquists -- Fiction |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 29910 |
| Release Date | Sep 5, 2009 |
| Last Update | Jan 5, 2021 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 253 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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