I Speak for Earth Read Online Free PDF

grip gently.
    “Look, you’d better open it,” she said. “It’s official. It has the UN frank on it, and the return address is in the UN district of New York.”
    Joe came alert suddenly. “Not my recall!” he said, jerking to a sitting position. “Here—gimme!” He began to tear the envelope open, and stopped in mid-movement. His forehead creased with a frown.
    “That’s odd,” he said.
    “What is, honey?”
    “It’s addressed directly to me here. Not ‘care of’ you, or anything. Not forwarded from my box at the post office either—thoughthey wouldn’t forward anything. How’d they know where I was staying?”
    There was a bad blunder. Maggie covered her taut alarm by pouring fruit juice into glasses and adding ice cubes. She said, “Let’s face it, honey, I haven’t been exactly trying to conceal your presence here—and believe me, some of the neighbors are beginning to wonder about that!”
    Joe hesitated. At length he shrugged and took out the letter. It was a single sheet of printed letterhead, with a brief but pointed message. The heading was “United Nations Selection Project, Office of the Board of Control”—which meant nothing to Joe at first sight. He read on:
Dear Mr. Morea
,
    You have been selected as a candidate for the task of representing this planet at the capitol of the Federation of Worlds. Accordingly, I would request you to present yourself at this office at your earliest convenience. I would remind you that this falls under the category of “extraordinary special services” which is referred to in Clause Eighteen of your contract with the United Nations Star-ship Project, and is therefore semi-mandatory
.
    I look forward to making your acquaintance
.
    The signature, bold and black, was “Fritz Schneider, for the Board of Control.”
    “What is it, honey?” Maggie said in a voice she had to keep steady by main force.
    Joe didn’t answer for a moment—just went on staring at the paper. After a while, he snorted and thrust it towards her. “A hoax, probably,” he said. “Either that, or someone at the UN has gone out of his mind.”
    Maggie took the letter and studied it for long enough to give the impression that she was reading it. Then she said, “But Joe! That’s absolutely wonderful! Goodness, you must be so proud!”
    “Proud of what?” said Joe shortly. “I think it’s probably a hoax. That’s why it was sent directly here, instead of to my box address.”
    “But that doesn’t have to be right,” Maggie objected. “If they’ve been considering you as a candidate, then they’ve probably been keeping a watch on you pretty closely. Naturally they’d know where you were. And besides, this signature—hereally is one of the Board of Control. Fritz Schneider, I mean.”
    “How do you know?”
    “Why, his picture was in the papers a few weeks ago! Joe, this is wonderful! I’m so proud!” She dropped the letter on the breakfast tray and caught his hands affectionately.
    “Well, I’m afraid you’d better prepare yourself for a big disappointment,” sighed Joe. “Look, if Schneider’s name and picture were really in all the papers, then anyone could know about him.”
    “But—oh, Joe, who’d go to such lengths? Look, why don’t you just call the number given on the letter? That’d tell you at once if it was right or not.”
    Joe shook his head. “I don’t want to,” he said reluctantly. “Honey, I—I just don’t want to.”
    She looked at him, not saying anything.
    “Besides,” Joe went on in a low tone after a long pause, “I don’t think they’d consider me if they actually knew I was living here, would they?”
    Maggie stared at him blankly. After a moment she threw her head back and went off into peals of laughter. “Lord above, honey! Lord above! Is there some worry about the code of morals my neighbors subscribe to bothering you? Sweetie, I don’t think it’s a hoax, and in fact I think it shows that the people on this