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diff --git a/29910.txt b/29910.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7d38a4c --- /dev/null +++ b/29910.txt @@ -0,0 +1,987 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Second Voice, by Mann Rubin + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Second Voice + +Author: Mann Rubin + +Release Date: September 5, 2009 [EBook #29910] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SECOND VOICE *** + + + + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + + _We proudly enter a new name in the science-fiction sweepstakes. + This is Mr. Rubin's initial appearance in the field. His literary + efforts to date add up quite handsomely, we think. QUOTE. I have + sold to the TV show, TALES OF TOMORROW and two literary quarterlies + have published my fiction. Last year I won the Stephen Vincent Benet + Award for my one-act plays produced at Stanford University. UNQUOTE. + The reading pleasure is yours._ + + + the + second + voice + + _by ... Mann Rubin_ + + + Spud, world-famous dummy, talks + to Mars with surprising results. + + +Crawford completed the rehearsal in less than an hour. He listened to +the orchestra run through its selections, okayed the song the guest +vocalist had chosen, then finished up with a long dialogue between Spud +and himself. When it was over he checked timing with the program +director, made a few script changes and conferred briefly with a Special +Service Officer about the number of troops the auditorium could hold. +Everything was running smoothly. It was going to be a neat, +action-packed show. + +Backstage he looked at his watch. He had almost two hours before the +regular show began and he was restless. Two hours at Harlow Field could +seem like two years. Guards and restrictions all over the place. + +Harlow Field was the largest experimental base in the world, a veritable +garden of atoms, the proving grounds for every secret weapon ever +imagined. The security and the tight regulations gave Crawford the +jitters on each of his visits. + +He smoked a cigarette and tried making small talk with some of the +soldiers on backstage detail. He posed for a picture and gave an +interview to a reporter from an army newspaper, then excused himself and +went to his dressing room with Spud propped in the crook of his arm. + +He was used to it now; the applause, the audiences, the pictures, the +autographs, the fuss. Everywhere the response was the same. They had +either seen him in the movies or on television or in the nightclubs, +where he first broke in his act. Now they wanted to establish an +identity with him, to touch the merchandise, to stand close so that they +could write home about the visiting celebrity. Crawford was a realist. +It was all part of being a name. + +It had taken him just five years to make the big time. Five years of +road shows, coast-to-coast tours, one-night stands and a dummy named +Spud to make him the hottest ventriloquist in the business. His act was +tight, well-paced and popular. He had a weekly radio show, a television +program and a seven-year contract with a major Hollywood studio. He was +riding high. + +Still he hadn't forgotten the soldiers. Two months each year he took +time off to travel the USO circuit. His agent tore his hair, reminding +him of the financial losses, but the USO had given him his first break +so he had always answered their call. He liked enthusiastic audiences +and the cheering of laugh-hungry men made him happy. Entertainment was +his business and he enjoyed exhibiting his talent. The wider the +audience the better he liked it. + +His dressing room was located back of the auditorium. He closed the door +behind him, put Spud on a chair and began getting out of his rehearsal +clothes. He lit a cigarette and looked at himself in the mirror. He was +tired and needed a shave. In the last week the pace had been fast. The +USO tour still had a few days to run, but he was looking forward to its +end. A vacation, the luxury of relaxation would all be his then. + +He opened a drawer of the dressing table and pulled out a bottle of +Scotch. There were two hours to be killed before the show. He drank a +shot and thought about it. A shower, a shave, a good dinner and a walk +around the base would consume the time. After the show he would drive +back to town and check in at a hotel for a good night's sleep. + +He was putting the bottle back in the drawer when a knock sounded on the +door. He said "Come in," thinking it was one of the cast and didn't turn +around. He heard the door open, glanced into the mirror and glimpsed +Colonel Meadows, the Commanding Officer of Harlow Field, and a man in +civilian clothes he didn't recognize. He turned around, reached for a +bathrobe. + +"Don't mind us, Robbie," said the Colonel. "Just dropped by to say +hello." He was a small, plump man and his face was always red and +perspiring. Crawford knew him slightly from the other two times he had +played Harlow Field, but this was the first time the Colonel had ever +paid him a backstage visit. + +"Got a fan here who wants to meet you," continued the Colonel. "Shake +hands with Dr. Paul Shalt, one of our base scientists. He and I just +caught your rehearsal. Fine, very fine." + +The doctor's name struck a chord and Crawford dug deep until it focused. +Dr. Paul Shalt was a physicist working with the army. He specialized in +the development of radar, was the chief developer of the electrical +detonator used in atomic bombs. + +"I enjoyed your performance very much," said Dr. Shalt. "Your voice is +extraordinary." He had a smooth, angular face, black hair and black, +penetrating eyes. "Amazing range." + +"Thanks," said Crawford. + +"And the clearness of tone is phenomenal," said Dr. Shalt. "Has it +always been like that?" + +Crawford nodded. "When I was a kid it embarrassed me, my voice," he +said, smiling. "A trick voice, everybody called it. But it's a definite +asset to a practitioner of the art of ventriloquism." + +"You should have seen Dr. Shalt while you were on stage," said Colonel +Meadows, beaming at him. "He was running all over the auditorium testing +your voice with one of his gadgets." + + * * * * * + +Crawford grinned. "I didn't realize I moved my audience so." + +Dr. Shalt laughed. "What Colonel Meadows says is true. I'm _very_ +interested in your vocal range. While you rehearsed I tested the quality +and sound of your tone." He stopped, looked around the room until he +discovered Spud where Crawford had put him on the chair. He walked over +to the dummy and touched the wooden head with his hand. + +"Actually it's a _second voice_, that sound and vibration you use for +Spud. It's perfect, perfect for what I need, that second voice." + +Dr. Shalt put the dummy back in the position he had found him in, +reached into his pocket and brought out a small glass-enclosed +instrument which he held in front of him. + +"Do you know what this is?" he asked, approaching the dressing table. + +"Never saw it before," Crawford said, examining the gadget. A small +arrow flickered nervously within a glass cage. + +"It's called a Voice Oscillator," explained Dr. Shalt. "It's sensitive +to the slightest tonal inflection. We use it to measure the pitch and +volume of a human voice." + +"What's all this got to do with me?" Crawford asked. + +"This--we want to use the voice of Spud for an experiment. A very +important experiment. With your permission, we'd like to do it +immediately." + +"I'm afraid that's impossible," said Crawford. "I have a show in +about--" + +"Our equipment is all set up," interrupted the doctor. "The entire test +will take forty-five minutes. We'll have you back in no time." + +Crawford frowned. He was tired and he'd looked forward to relaxing a +while before the show. "Couldn't we make it some other time," he said. + + * * * * * + +The Colonel spoke then. "Robbie, do you remember reading four years ago +that our radar system was able to beam signals to the moon and have them +returned?" + +"Sure," said Crawford. "It got a big play in all the newspapers." + +"Well, our scientists are now ready to conduct a similar experiment," +said Colonel Meadows. "This time to Mars." + +"To Mars!" repeated Crawford, wondering what it had to do with him. + +"Only this time we plan to send a _voice_, a human voice that can travel +through interstellar space," said Dr. Shalt. + +"But that's impossible!" Crawford exclaimed. + +"With the average voice, yes," said Dr. Shalt. "Cosmic disturbances +would drown out a normal voice amplified a thousand times beyond its +regular frequency. But a voice in a higher octave--like your second +voice ... Well, we believe there's a certain resonant intonation which +can be curved and regulated in any direction, in the voice you use for +your dummy." + +Crawford nodded. + +"Spud's voice contains that quality," continued Dr. Shalt. "I believe it +can reach Mars and bounce back. I'm asking you to be the first man ever +to throw his voice to another planet." + +There was quiet for a moment when he finished. Crawford's cigarette had +gone out and he relit it. The smoke steadied him. Outside, in the +auditorium the orchestra had begun to rehearse again. + +"Where's the station set-up?" asked Crawford finally. + +"It's right here on the field, Robbie," Colonel Meadows said quickly. +"We've had it under wraps for the last eight months. It'll be a +tremendous thing if it works." + +Crawford dragged on his cigarette a last time and stamped it out. He +walked over to Spud, lifted the dummy into position in the crook of his +arm. + +"What do you say, Crawford?" asked Dr. Shalt. There was a note of +urgency in his voice. + +"I don't know," said Crawford slowly. "My crazy voice is my bread and +butter. Can't you use somebody else? Somebody whose voice isn't his +life?" + +"We've wasted weeks testing every man on this field," said Dr. Shalt +solemnly. "The average voice becomes static as soon as it gets past +Earth's atmosphere. But your voice can break through. I've studied every +vibration, every quiver of it. It bends and flexes with each cosmic +pressure. You _must_ let us try." + +Crawford looked at Colonel Meadows. + +"Robbie, I promise you there's no danger involved," the Colonel said. +"There's been a great deal of time and effort put into this project and +we'd like to see it work. This week Mars and Earth are the closest +they'll be for the next three years, so it must be done _now_. It's your +duty to help in this important project." + +Crawford nodded. The matter of patriotism and duty had not occurred to +him. "Of course, Colonel, I'll be glad to help." + +He looked down at the dummy. "What do you say, Spud? Want to be the +first voice to reach Mars?" + +"Sounds crazy," came the high, squeaking reply. "But it ought to put us +in the history books." Spud's glass eyes shifted to the other two men in +the room and one lid winked. "Calling Mars! This is Spud O'Malley, old +quiver voice himself, coming in for a landing." + +"Good! You'll do it," said Dr. Shalt excitedly. "And if we succeed the +publicity will be worldwide." + +"Sure," said Crawford. "An actor likes publicity. But are you sure my +voice won't be strained?" + +"I'm sure," Dr. Shalt said. "You'll be talking into a microphone in the +same tone you use for a broadcast. Nothing more." + +"How long will it take?" asked Crawford. + +Dr. Shalt checked his watch. "Fifteen minutes for the voice to reach +Mars and fifteen minutes for its return." He took out a black notebook +from his jacket pocket and began to outline the plan while Colonel +Meadows put through a call to the laboratory. + +Spud's voice was to be relayed directly to a giant amplifying unit which +would project it into space. Those regulating the voice in the control +room would hear nothing but vibrations because of the high frequency it +would immediately attain while passing through. Only on its return from +Mars would Spud's voice become audible on Earth. It sounded fantastic +but Dr. Shalt spoke of it as if it were a certainty and Crawford knew he +was recognized as a great scientist. + +A few minutes later Colonel Meadows hung up the phone. He said +excitedly, "Everything's set. All the equipment is ready and there's a +command car waiting outside." + +Crawford caught a quick glimpse of himself in the mirror. No shower, no +shave, no quiet dinner, no walk; all that would have to come later. He'd +been hooked. "I'm ready any time you are," he said. He folded Spud in +his arms and followed the two men to the door. + +They did not speak much in the car. The laboratory was on the Northern +rim of the field, a ten-minute drive from the auditorium. Approaching +the building, Crawford noticed the high radar towers and the steel +fences surrounding its frame. They rode past three different guard posts +and numerous military policemen before the car halted at the main +entrance. + +Immediately they were ushered into a small broadcasting studio which was +soundproofed and closed off by a heavy metal door. This was Dr. Shalt's +home grounds and he took charge. + +A microphone had been set up and Dr. Shalt had Crawford test Spud's +voice while a technician in the control booth measured it acoustically. +After an exact tone had been determined for the amplification unit, Dr. +Shalt briefed him on some details, patted him on the back and +disappeared into the control booth followed by Colonel Meadows. + +Crawford lit another cigarette and smoked nervously while he awaited the +go-ahead signal. There was a dry tightness in his throat and he +concentrated on relaxing his tension. + +High on the studio wall a large clock hacked away at the seconds, and +behind the glass facade of the control booth he could see Dr. Shalt and +his assistant manipulating dials on an intricate panel. It was almost +three minutes before he heard another sound beside the creak of his own +impatient footsteps. Then Dr. Shalt's voice came on the feed-back, the +speaker system connecting the studio with the booth. + +"Crawford, talk into the mike when we flash you the sign. Keep talking +for a minute. And remember--it's just another broadcast. Good luck." + +Crawford nodded, deposited the cigarette in an ashtray. He moved into +position and slid his fingers along the inner wires of Spud's back until +they fitted into place. Spud's head came alive. + +Dr. Shalt brought his right hand down in a long, sweeping motion. A +bright red bulb above the control booth winked into life. Robbie +Crawford went into his act. + +Inside the booth Dr. Shalt, Colonel Meadows and a technician watched +Crawford performing in pantomime and listened to the strange vibrations +emanating from the speaker. They could distinguish no understandable +sound for the amplifier had lifted the voice beyond human hearing as it +released it to the stratosphere. They sat quietly, content to wait for +the voice to return from its long, lonely journey. + +Crawford spoke until he saw Dr. Shalt signal for a conclusion. A moment +later the red bulb blinked out and the broadcast was ended. Crawford +felt cold and his hands were perspiring freely. He saw the beaming face +of Colonel Meadows motioning him to come inside the booth. He wiped his +face, and coughed to relieve the tension in his throat. + +The Colonel was the first to greet him as he entered the booth, and his +handshake was enthusiastic and firm. Dr. Shalt remained bent over one of +the instrument boards rotating a dial, but looked up and nodded +excitedly. + +"It will be another ten minutes," he said. "Sit down. I've sent out for +some supper." + +"How did it go?" Crawford asked. + +"Good! Good! By now it's half way to its destination." + +An orderly came in with a tray of sandwiches and coffee and for the next +few minutes they ate and Dr. Shalt described the intricacies of the +operation. The technician stayed glued to the receiver, earphones +resting lightly across his head. + +After ten minutes Dr. Shalt stood up and looked at his watch. "It's +time," he said. "Turn up the resonator." He moved closer to the +receiving set as the others gathered around him. The low hum of the +monitor signal became louder as the technician switched on a new lever. +The static emerging from the speaker thickened, obliterating all other +noises. Another two minutes went by.... + +Crawford watched it all, aware of the tension and anxiety on each face, +feeling the throbbing excitement himself. So they stood, tensely +expectant, awaiting the return of his voice.... + +Suddenly the technician whispered, "I've got it! It's coming! I hear it +returning!" He swung around, offering his earphones to Dr. Shalt, who +grabbed for them hurriedly. The scientist raised the cups to his ear and +waited. The room fell into deeper silence. + +"Yes, yes, it's the voice! Turn up the resonator to full volume! We've +got it! The voice is completing the circuit!" Dr. Shalt said tensely. + +The technician turned another dial as far as it would go. The sound of +the static rose to a roar. Then abruptly the static broke, died out and +a strange new sound came in. It was Spud! Spud's voice creeping back +from a trip to Mars, thirty-five million miles away! + +"_Hello.... This is the voice of Spud O'Malley. I speak to you from +Harlow Field in the United States of America. My voice is being sent to +you by a newly invented Amplification Unit developed by Dr. Paul Shalt +at this experimental base. This is the first time such an operation has +ever been tried. We extend our heartiest greetings, our deepest +felicitations ..._" + +It went on, the high, squeaking voice, friendly, humorous, alive; +sending back to them the words that Crawford had spoken into the +microphone a few minutes before. + +Crawford studied the faces of the other men. They had worked and planned +a long time for this single moment, the realization of a long pursued +dream. Colonel Meadows was rubbing his hands together gleefully. The +voice was reaching its climax. Success was assured. History had been +made! + +There was a little silence as Spud finished speaking. The technician +reached across leisurely to shut off the resonator. + +Suddenly the voice started again. The technician's hand froze in +mid-air. The same high, squeaking tone, the same inflections, the same +pitch. But this time it was commanding, authoritative. + +"_This is Mars. We have received your voice. We know of you, know your +language. We want you to know that we do not like intruders. We want no +contact with you. Seek us out no more. The voice was received clearly. +It fits our frequency well. We will keep it so that no more +communication from you is possible. Let this be a warning. Stay away! We +do not want you!_" + +The voice stopped and there was silence again. Then Colonel Meadows +chuckled. "Very clever, Crawford! You really startled me for a moment." + +"Yes," said Dr. Shalt, smiling. "So you made a little joke at the end. +Very clever." + +Crawford's back was to them as he stared at the loudspeaker. His face +was contorted in a surprised grimace and the flesh was suddenly white +and lifeless. He turned to face them, his body rigid and his mouth +trembling as he whispered: + +"That voice--that last voice--it wasn't mine! _That wasn't me +speaking!_" + +Dr. Shalt laughed. "Superb actor. A great performance, Mr. Crawford. We +are most grateful to you." + +"Robbie's a born comedian," added Colonel Meadows, his eyes sparkling +with the humor of the situation. "Never misses a chance to clown." + +"Don't you understand--_it wasn't my voice_!" screamed Crawford. He +looked from one man to another, his eyes pleading for belief. "The +second part was not mine!" + +They stared at him, their smiles fading. + +Colonel Meadows said, "What do you mean, Robbie?" + +"Didn't you hear when I spoke? I never said those last things. Didn't +you hear what I said?" + +The technician answered him. "We didn't hear a thing, Mr. Crawford. The +amplification was too high. It was nothing but mumbling when it passed +through this room." He looked at Dr. Shalt for confirmation. + +"I explained that to you myself," said the doctor. "You could have +recited the Gettysburg Address and we'd never have known until it +returned." + +Crawford stared down at the limp form of Spud hanging across his arm. He +ran a hand across his eyes, dropped the dummy onto the desk. Turning +back to Dr. Shalt, he began to speak in a taut, controlled voice. + +"Dr. Shalt, I swear to you that was not my voice at the end. I finished +with a goodbye. The voice that spoke after that moment of silence was +somebody else's voice. It's up to you to find out whose." + +"Don't be absurd," said Dr. Shalt, irritably. "That was _your_ voice, +_your_ pitch. The voice of your dummy, Spud." He wasn't going to be +taken in by any warped sense of humor. Robbie Crawford was the best +ventriloquist in America. He was also noted for his practical jokes. "An +experiment of this magnitude shouldn't be treated so lightly," he added +acidly. + +"You've got to believe me!" screamed Crawford. His voice was choked and +his pale face was glistening with perspiration. "It was someone else, +imitating my ventriloquist voice! I swear it was not me!" + +Colonel Meadows sat down abruptly. The technician ran from the booth and +returned a moment later with a glass of water. Colonel Meadows motioned +for him to give it to Crawford. + +The ventriloquist gulped down the water, then went over and sat down +beside the Colonel. + +"Look," he said quietly. "I'm not joking and I'm not out of my head. It +was a shock to hear a voice so like my own, to hear it threaten us, to +know that it's traveling from another world. It's like hearing an echo +that shouldn't be." + +The Colonel exchanged a puzzled look with Dr. Shalt. After a moment the +doctor reached down and picked the dummy up and brought it to Crawford. + +"Crawford, listen to me." His voice was gentle, sympathetic. "Perhaps +you've been working too hard. These USO trips, the rehearsal, the +excitement of the last hour. Maybe you forgot what you said, or said +more than you recall." + +"I remember everything I said," Crawford said quietly. "I stopped when +you gave me the signal. That voice came after I stopped. Can't you +check--?" + +A phone in the back of the control booth rang sharply and Colonel +Meadows answered it. He spoke for a few moments, then hung up. "That was +the stage manager calling from the main auditorium. You've got ten +minutes before the show. How do you feel?" + +Crawford blinked in surprise. He had almost forgotten the program. He +tried to rise, found his legs trembling. + +"He's in no condition to put on a show," said Dr. Shalt. "Better +postpone it." + +"No, no, I'm okay," protested Crawford, walking around the small floor, +exercising his hands. "It's my show. They're waiting for me. Let's get +going." + +In the car, during the ride to the auditorium, he did not speak. He sat +with Spud resting snugly against his chest, drumming his fingers on an +arm rest while Colonel Meadows and Dr. Shalt talked, tried to convince +him of the invalidity in his reasoning. There was a simple explanation +for the voice; either he had forgotten part of his speech or maybe some +amateur radio ham had somehow managed to pick up their signal and was +playing a joke. He was too intelligent a man to be frightened by such +coincidence. They spoke to him reassuringly all during the ride. At the +stage door he thanked them, then went inside the auditorium to give his +performance. + +The ovation that greeted him was tremendous. The orchestra played his +theme and an army announcer introduced him as the Number One +ventriloquist in the world. He walked out slowly from the wing, waving +and grinning at the audience with Spud sitting erect on his arm. + +The soldiers roared and whistled as Spud's head spun, drooped and tilted +in the opening routine that he was famous for. Crawford stopped in the +middle of the stage, rested his foot on a chair that had been provided, +sat Spud on his knee. The applause dwindled gradually and the other +members of the cast moved into their positions. The army announcer +walked forward to engage Crawford in conversation--to feed him questions +that would be answered in Spud's high, squeaky voice. + +"Hi, Robbie, Spud," said the announcer. "What took you so long getting +here?" + +It was Spud's answer. All eyes focused on the dummy's face as it bent +forward and its mouth opened slowly. A wooden hand moved up and +scratched a wooden head. But only a gurgle came out of the open mouth! + +The announcer looked at Crawford, motioned him to speed up. "Speak up, +Spud. Can't hear a word you're saying. No time to be bashful." + +Again the dummy's mouth opened, the head bobbed and the eyes blinked. +The gurgle became a half-strangled gasp. It whined unsteadily a few +moments then broke off completely. The cast in the wings began to stir +nervously. Crawford was obviously straining. A vein throbbed in the +center of his forehead and his lips were tight over his teeth. + +"Stage fright," he said in an aside to the audience. Turning his head +aside, he coughed and cleared his throat and pretended to whisper with +Spud. "Speak up, Pal. This is what we rehearsed for." + +The mouth of the dummy flapped up and down without cadence. The soldiers +snickered, squirmed restlessly. A sound started, a low, plaintive wail +that broke into a dirge and finally into a wild shriek from Crawford's +lips. He screamed and kicked over the chair his foot was balanced on. +The dummy toppled to the floor. + +"I can't! I can't! My voice is gone!" He was screaming and clutching at +his throat, trying to loosen his collar. The curtains closed behind him +as soldiers leaped to their feet all over the auditorium. + +He screamed, "I've lost my second voice! They took it from me! The +Martians stole my voice!" + +The announcer grabbed his arms then and tried to lead him from the +stage. Crawford shoved him away. + +"They took it," cried Crawford. "No matter what they tell you, the +Martians took Spud's voice. It fitted their frequency. They'll use it to +reach Earth! I can't get it back!" + +Colonel Meadows and several MPs who were stationed in the wings came out +and dragged him from the platform. + +The G.I. audience remained silent a moment longer, then broke into loud, +nervous rumbling. Seconds later Colonel Meadows returned to the +microphone and held up his hand until the confusion died down. He +explained briefly about Dr. Shalt's experiment and how Crawford had been +asked to participate. He told how a human voice had been sent to Mars +for the first time and how Crawford had suffered a temporary shock on +hearing his voice return from this journey. + +He assured the audience that Crawford would receive the best medical +care and would probably be back performing at the field in a few short +weeks. He asked the soldiers to remain in their seats and let the show +continue out of respect for a great performer. + +The orchestra began the refrain of a popular song and the guest vocalist +appeared wearing a white strapless evening gown. She blew warm, friendly +kisses to the soldiers. The response she received was a healthy one. + +And the show went on.... + + + + +Transcriber's Note: + + This etext was produced from _Fantastic Universe_ March 1954. + Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. + copyright on this publication was renewed. Minor spelling and + typographical errors have been corrected without note. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Second Voice, by Mann Rubin + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SECOND VOICE *** + +***** This file should be named 29910.txt or 29910.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/9/9/1/29910/ + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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