Letter of the Law by Alan Edward Nourse
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"Letter of the Law" by Alan Edward Nourse is a science fiction short story likely written in the early to mid-20th century. The narrative centers around themes of justice, deception, and cultural misunderstanding as it explores the complexities of interplanetary legal systems and the consequences of actions taken by individuals unacquainted with alien customs. It delves into the interaction between humans and the Altairians, shedding light on the societal norms that dictate
the nature of truth and law for the inhabitants of Altair I. The story follows Paul Meyerhoff, who is tasked with dealing with Harry Zeckler, a con artist who has been imprisoned for defrauding the native Altairians by selling the same piece of land to multiple buyers. As Meyerhoff attempts to navigate the bizarre legal proceedings in the alien court, he realizes that the Altairian legal system is built on a culture where truth is convoluted, and lying is a survival tactic. As the trial unfolds with ludicrous accusations against Zeckler, he concocts a dramatic defense based on the paradox of being a liar, turning the courtroom chaos to his favor. Ultimately, his ploy not only secures his own release but also complicates future relations between Earth and Altair, leaving Meyerhoff with the burden of managing the fallout from Zeckler's actions. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Nourse, Alan Edward, 1928-1992 |
|---|---|
| Title | Letter of the Law |
| Series Title | Produced from "Tiger by the Tail and Other Science Fiction Stories by Alan E. Nourse" and was first published in If Magazine January 1954. |
| Credits |
Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net |
| Reading Level | Reading ease score: 76.5 (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 | Legal stories |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 24275 |
| ISBN (HTML) | 979-8-238-24275-0 |
| Release Date | Jan 14, 2008 |
| Last Update | Jan 3, 2021 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 446 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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