"Say, pardon me," some man said to me. "Am I hearing things or did you hear--"
That's how it was for the next hour. Everyone, it seemed, had heard it. But every woman was sure it had been a woman's voice, and every man was sure it had been a man's. I left finally, and went to my store.
Minnie, the salesgirl, and Frank, my stock boy, were already there. They had the radio on, but they were talking over it.
"Say, Mr. Ostersen," Frank called as I walked in. "Did _you_ hear it?"
I sat down and discussed it with them, but we couldn't tell each other much. Frank had been in the store when he heard it. Minnie had just been walking in, her hand on the doorknob. Minnie was sure it was a girl's voice, about her own age, with just the trace of a Bronx accent. Frank and I held out for a man's voice, but where I was sure the man was in his early forties or late thirties, Frank was positive it was a young man, about twenty or twenty-two.
We noticed the radio, finally. It had been broadcasting all that time, but we hadn't paid any attention.
"... voice was heard in all parts of the country, at nine-oh-three this morning, Eastern Standard Time. This voice, purporting to be that of--of the, ah, Deity, announcing the Judgment Day, was heard--ah, was heard in all parts of the country." The voice hesitated, then continued. "In place of our usual program, we now bring you the Reverend Joseph Morrison, who will speak on--" The voice stopped for a moment, then came back with renewed vigor. "The Reverend Joseph Morrison!"
We listened to the radio most of the morning. The Reverend Joseph Morrison seemed as confused as the rest of us, but he was followed by news announcements. The voice had been heard, as far as they could make out, in every country on earth. It had spoken in every language, every dialect and sub-dialect.
Minnie looked dazed as the reports piled in, and Frank looked shocked. I suppose I looked as startled as my normal dead-pan would show. At eleven-forty-five I decided to call my wife. No use. I couldn't even get the operator.
"... possibilities that this is a hoax," a voice was saying from the radio in an unconvincing tone. "Mass hallucinations are far from unknown, and the chance must be considered. In the Middle Ages...."