Project Gutenberg 2009-09-05 Public domain in the USA. 116 Rubin, Mann 1927 2013 The Second Voice Produced from Fantastic Universe March 1954. Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net "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.) Reading ease score: 77.6 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories Ventriloquists -- Fiction PS Text Science Fiction Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy 54520 2025-08-12T09:49:05.957563 text/html 50472 2021-01-05T12:45:47 text/html 203596 2025-08-12T09:49:09.739561 application/epub+zip 201951 2025-08-12T09:49:07.534569 application/epub+zip 83025 2025-08-12T09:49:06.512565 application/epub+zip 290659 2025-08-12T09:49:11.442578 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 282658 2025-08-12T09:49:09.116588 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 141817 2022-09-14T03:34:16.486893 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 47294 2025-08-12T09:49:05.707570 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 47168 2021-01-05T12:45:47 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 47159 2021-01-05T12:45:47 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 20710 2025-08-12T09:49:11.566543 application/rdf+xml 12282 2025-08-12T09:49:07.003566 image/jpeg 3172 2025-08-12T09:49:06.759565 image/jpeg 18318 2021-01-05T12:45:47 application/octet-stream application/zip 140199 2021-01-05T12:45:47 application/octet-stream application/zip 18300 2021-01-05T12:45:47 application/octet-stream application/zip 203664 2025-08-12T09:49:05.968574 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