Project Gutenberg 2008-01-14 Public domain in the USA. 178 Nourse, Alan Edward 1928 1992 Edwards, Al Nourse, Alan E. (Alan Edward) Letter of the Law Produced from "Tiger by the Tail and Other Science Fiction Stories by Alan E. Nourse" and was first published in If Magazine January 1954. Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net "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.) Reading ease score: 76.5 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories Legal stories PS Text Science Fiction Category: Short Stories Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy 59852 2025-10-10T06:47:19.532199 text/html 56251 2021-01-03T06:43:11 text/html 87849 2025-10-10T06:47:23.029183 application/epub+zip 86641 2025-10-10T06:47:20.986195 application/epub+zip 86640 2025-10-10T06:47:20.022189 application/epub+zip 158915 2025-10-10T06:47:24.575162 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 151817 2025-10-10T06:47:22.487172 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 128167 2022-09-11T09:14:08.404378 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 53628 2025-10-10T06:47:19.290193 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 53512 2021-01-03T06:43:11 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 19323 2025-10-10T06:47:24.697162 application/rdf+xml 10833 2025-10-10T06:47:20.519173 image/jpeg 2924 2025-10-10T06:47:20.267176 image/jpeg 22271 2021-01-03T06:43:11 application/octet-stream application/zip 21221 2021-01-03T06:43:11 application/octet-stream application/zip 85105 2025-10-10T06:47:19.538190 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia