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 Fat Power’s comm, screen:
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. Fat Power was escorted to the surface by a fleet commanded by the proudest, fattest pilots on the planet. The crowd of natives preened fur and waved tentacles. One, smartly rotund, turned happily to his frankly fat mate.
“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 Fat Power, a considerably slimmed down Ron and Alice donned shiny new Galactic uniforms made to their own end-point specifications, and strode proudly down the ramp, arm and arm with Biddle. As the massed Galactics saw them, there was a roar of appreciation for two sleek, slim Terrans, at the peak of physical condition. Now the party began in earnest, with plenty to eat. After all, Ron and Alice would need it. They had a return trip to make.