voice.
“Ah, Dr. Biddle, um, you might need to talk to President Mariachi.”
“Also, we have to finish out the term with our classes.” Ron added.
Biddle, who had no previous experience with losing control, stared amazed at the two members of his staff. As he realized that he had spoken a favorite fantasy aloud, he sank into one of the other chairs.
“Dr. Biddle.” Alice said, unconsciously ironic. “Please let us table this discussion for now. We have a job to do.”
Dr. Biddle started, and then stared. Both Alice and Ron were pointing to the coordinate readout, which impossibly, perplexingly, showed the ship’s position to be just outside the rings of Saturn. The image shifted disturbingly, clearing again to reveal a pattern of stars never seen from Earth. Dr. Biddle had expected that Ron and Alice would be the primates included in this experiment, but he hadn’t expected himself to be included as well.
“I’ll press charges just as soon as we return to Earth.” Biddle began in tones of quiet menace. “Don’t think you can run forever. You have just kidnapped a Dean of Faculty, and as soon as this crazy ship of yours hits Terran authority, you are under arrest. I hope you are satisfied. When you get out of jail,” he continued, warming to his theme, “that is,
During this speech, Biddle’s voice had risen, and he ended with a bellow which should have terrified his subordinates. Ron and Alice, however, were too busy with navigation and communication to pay attention. When silence finally fell, they said nothing. They simply pointed to the comm, screen.
Back on Earth all normal business had ceased, as each Galactic visitor took joyful notice of the event. Finally, two minds among the new member species had been sharp enough to penetrate the wilderness of false clues and dietary guilt which had been sown in the ready soil of Terran obsession with weight. At the solid evidence that Terra had at last passed the test the Galactics celebrated. In Delhi, India, fireballs ran through the less crowded streets, and launched themselves into the air, scattering sparks. Residents who came outdoors at the sudden noise and light were promptly overrun by the ubiquitous /klik, and bounced upon, pummeled, tossed, and otherwise enthusiastically congratulated by a multitude of entities.
In Antarctica City the single Floom, solitary emissary of his/her/its privacy-loving species, rose up from a self-dug snow cavern, quite startling the other inhabitants by rolling genially among them, emitting jovial, ice- shattering booms.
In addition to the sudden flurry of excited alien activity, users of electrical equipment everywhere were treated to the second Earth-wide Galactic message, which Biddle saw displayed on the
PEOPLE OF EARTH: WELCOME TO FULL MEMBERSHIP IN THE GALACTIC FEDERATION. CONGRATULATIONS. RESEARCH BY DR. RONALD CORCORAN AND DR. ALICE GEERY HAS FINALLY PROVEN THAT TERRANS ARE ABLE TO SELECT TRUTH OVER PREJUDICE.
Most Terrans were perplexed for several days, but by the end of the week the Corcoran-Geery drive became a household word. Once Dr. Biddle recovered from his initial shock at being an unwilling passenger on an impossible journey, he was in a mood to listen. By the end of the trip, he had become a good friend. He was also the first Terran to see truly rapid weight loss in action.
Their destination was a pleasant
Earth-like planet circling a modest star roughly in the vicinity of Betelgeuse.
“Well, Azra, they did it. I knew all along that the fat Terrans were as smart as the rest of us. Too bad they had to put up with so much from Terrans not so well endowed.”
Azra nodded serenely in reply. On board
