If you missed part 1-3…

1/6 || The Idea For The Telephone || Rec. 219

2/6 || A dead cow almost stops the telephone from existing || Rec. 219

3/6 || Meeting Alexander Bell for the first time || Rec. 219

Amber gets a call at the salon…

“Jon, can you hold on a second, I gotta answer this call really quick.”

Amber went into the back office while Jon snuggled deeper into in the comfy fuzzy chair, basking in the warmth emanating from the heating element of the 2885 era vintage nail dryer that was currently curing the freshly laid neon orange paint Amber had just applied to one set of his toe nails.

20 minutes later Amber returned, “Sorry about that Jon. It was my ex. He’s bitching about moving out. I told him last night he had to get the frick out, and he’s not letting it go. This has been going on all day.”

”Oh no! Amber, I’m so sorry. I thought this guy was the one! I guess I haven’t been back in a while. Want to talk about it?”

“Yeah, this was recent. He’s a dick. He cheated on me with my sister at a life union ceremony. So yeah, life unions are forever ruined for me.” Her eyes began to well up as she recalled the memory.

Jon responded with sincerity and a touch of concern in his voice, “do you want me to erase him from your memories?”

“No, it’s too close to my sister, it wouldn’t hold. Just continue your story, it’s helping distract me from the shitty nature of my lived life.”

“Okay, well if you change your mind, let me know. Anything I can do, I will. You’re my girl Amber. It’s my purpose to make sure you’re good. I don’t like seeing you in pain.”

“I appreciate that Jon, I really do. Now where were you? I think maybe going back to what once was the United States of America.”

Did you know that we hacked Jon’s computer and stole the file with his precious Often Unnoticed Moments.

We also had a chat with him about using ‘Password’ as his password.

But you can get access to the drive, any new ones he records here for $5 of your currency units a month!

Jon carries on with his story…

Oh yes, well before I went back to what was once the U.S. I had to plant a few sublims around London.

I went to 1871 and bought 2 ads. One ad I had the print shot put on flyers that were posted around town specifically on the route that Alec would walk in the middle of his work day. The other one I ran in a newspaper that Alec would regularly read.

The ad read: [Are you on a path to let the world hear each other? For a limited time get the Bell Labs people talker Telephone. Great for kids!]

I added the ‘for kids’ bit because no one would really pay attention to the ad if it was for kids. Back then, no one cared about kids, they were looked at more like future income earners for the family.

Anyhow, anyhow, the ad ran for 3 months. Then I had them run the same campaign every year for 4 years.

After that was done I headed back to my office and had Anna take me jump me to 3024.

Once back to my now sliver, I hailed a drone to return to the U.S.. On the way there I had Anna Iris book me a train to Boston in 1874. I needed to make it there to connect with Alec during a very pivotal week in his life. I had a friend of mine who lived in Boston in the 1870’s do some recognizance to track Alec’s movements. He discovered that Bell hung out at a specific bar very regularly, I can’t recall the name of it right now, I’m so tired…

Anyhow, I had Anna reserve me a room at a hotel of her choosing within walking distance of that bar. I prefer to walk to locations I have to try to time my meetings at, it allows me to see the city and find unique shops I otherwise wouldn’t have stumbled upon.

…When he was about to quit on the multi-telegraph, and, subsequently, the telephone. I had a two week gap to catch him, so, time was of the essence. I needed to arrive in Boston on the first day of those two weeks.

I got home in time and caught the train out of Phoenix station on December 5, 1874. The hard thing about this period of time, and sadly the downside to train travel, is that it takes a long time to get to the other side of the country, and you have to hit a few connections, which 9 out of 10 times slows you down even more because you miss a connection, or your connecting train is late. It took me 6 days to get to Boston so I was there a day later than I would have liked.

The train ride was beautiful though. There was so little development back then and just so much nature, thousands of bulls cascading across the plains was such a majestic sight to see.

Cowboys tried to rob the train which was a real a drag. Some dignitary was on board, and his wife had bunch of priceless jewelry, he was apparently transporting a Chest full of cash and gold.

That added like 1 day to my arrival time alone.

I just kept drinking through it all, the robbers didn’t bother me. However they were very confused by why I wouldn’t acknowledge them and wasn’t afraid. I’ve found as long as you don’t get in their way, bandits tend to ignore you.

They did kill a guy though, which was not pleasant, and made the rest of the ride on that train stink terribly in that car.

Which made It a really challenge to have sex with the closeted gay cobbler I met while having drinks in the bar car. But he was hot as frick, and he didn’t have a bed in his room, and I had a private one. So…

Hey, I had to sleep in there anyway. Don’t judge me. But damn, do gay guys before the 80’s know how to provide pleasure. I think it’s because they are all just so pent due to the fact that they can’t expresses their true selves, so when you give them the opportunity to, they give you all they’ve got!

Anyhow…. I got to Boston on December 11th, went to the hotel to put my stuff away and...

You know, the service back then was so much more warm, friendly, and inviting. They were paid much worse too. Like today a person that works in a service position is basically a local celebrity, making hundreds of thousands to millions of doge, but somehow they don’t take as good care of you. It’s such a backwards thing in history.

Sorry, back on track, I put my things away, and figured I’d head over to see if I could catch Alec that night.

He never showed up, but met some great people!

Amber, there was this couple I met that was so much fun, Carla, and Bill, we got so drunk together. They knew everyone in the bar, and at one point a sailor came in and the whole bar started singing sailor songs. At like 2am, honestly can’t remember the exact time, they took me to a party at one of their cousins houses. Boy, could the Irish in the day drink! We sang and danced until the sun came up, then had some coffee and a chat. My NanoMeds were working at full steam to keep me from getting too drunk so I could still work the next day. Well, at least that’s what Anna Iris told me, she kept yelling at me to slow down, but I was having fun, and it’s so rare that I get to have any fun.

Anyhow, it actually wasn’t smart, she was right, per usual, I was sluggish and tired, even after taking a nap and having the NanoMeds repair my brain. Because later that day I met Alec for the first time, for the second time, on the 3rd night. The bar was empty and I was there alone mid afternoon siping on a Hendricks gin with a splash of Cranberry nursing my hang over.

But then!

He walked in!

Sadly, he sat at a booth, and not the bar.

Frick. Booths are harder, you have to find more of an acceptable excuse to approach, as opposed to a bar where chatting with others is the whole reason for sitting there… Weather or not people consciously know that is irrelevant, it is.

I thought about doing the, ‘talk loudly with the bartender strategy,’ but that move requires someone high in extroversion to get a result, which Mr. Bell is not. So. I had to go the, ‘slightly too drunk overly friendly and intrusive’ route.

Faking a loose stumble, I sauntered over his direction.

“Ahh, Frankestein. Great original science fiction.”

“Original.”

I may have been slightly more drunk than I realized from the previous nights events. So I had Anna Iris do a blood Toxin flush with the NanoMeds… Which would take effect in about 30ish minutes.

Anyhow, I recovered… “I mean, her writing is just so unique and vivid, and is there any other SciFi writers out there that can even compare? I think not!.”

“I mean, yeah, I guess I would have to agree.” Bell said with a ‘you’re right, but also, I’m sizing you up,’ look on his face.

Commence acting, “Right man! I mean, her pros, uhhh, her pros, they make me melt and cringe at the same time. Who got you into her?”

“Well I read a lot, always have, so I just stumbled upon it in the library, this is my 6th time through, reading it calms me down when I’m stressed.”

“Ahh, buddy, what’s going on, why you stressed? Tell papa Jon all about your wow’s.” I said while waving my hand towards me in a ‘come on, let’s hear it,’ kind of way. The guy needed someone to talk to, he was clearly tense.

I could tell because his shoulders were hunched forward, his jaw clenched tight enough that I could see the muscles twitching in his cheek. His fingers drummed nervously on the worn pages of Frankenstein.

"Uhh, it's just fricking life, man. It sucks—both my brothers died of tuberculosis, and I thought I could pull off the multi-telegraph. But I don't know, I can't, and all this money is on the line. Mr. Hubbard's money is at risk, which could bankrupt him, and he's all up my ass about getting it done. But he has no fricking idea how difficult a feat this is; it's just all on me. And my dad has money in this thing, so I'm afraid of how it will affect our relationship if I lose his money. But I can't, man. I just fricking can't."

“Ahh yes. Self doubt. That’s a brutal one. I had it once. Know what I did to get over it Alec?”

“What?”

“Let go of it and trusted myself.”

“Oh yeah, because it’s that easy, what was your name again? Jon?”

“Oh no, I said nothing about easy. Haha! My dear boy. It’s usually very challenging, but once done. It’s gone for good.

Here, try this.

Close your eyes.”

“Okay…” After an unsure glance Alec did as he was told.

“Pull up the core of your stress. What’s at the heart of it?”

“Umm, I guess the money on the line.”

“Okay, but what’s behind that?”

“Letting my father and Mr. Hubbard down.”

“Good, we’ll come back to that, what’s beneath that?”

“I don’t know, is this really doing anything?”

”Just go with me here Alec, there’s always something hidden, something out mind doesn’t want to show us right away, don’t think, just let it out.”

Alec sat there quiet for a moment, then said, "I guess I'm afraid I'm right, and won't be able to handle the success. The weight of the idea scares me. I know I'm right, but if I'm wrong, I'll suffer ridicule and shame, and Mabel will never marry me or want me."

“Now we’re getting somewhere, you’re good at this.” I shouted with excitement!

He smiled.

“Okay, Okay. Got a little excited, let me calm down, tell me more about what you think you’re right about?”

“I call it the Telephone… I’m pretty sure. No. No! I’m sure I can transmit sounds via electrical impulses as waves across an electrical current. It’s better than the multi telegraph, anyone could use it, everyone could talk to, and get this! Hear, yeah, hear one another, through a wire.” He told me as he pointed at his ear and nodded confidently.

With a coy smile I said, “You don’t say! When you make it, let me know. But what’s the something that’s not quite clicking then? I mean, you seem so sure.” I knew he was stuck, I just needed to transmit this last solution over to him without explicitly telling him so I didn’t frick up the recording. This was the last idea he needed to make the telephone work.

It had been stumping him for months, according to him… And, well, history…

“Well, not to get too technical, but I’m struggling with creating a device that could both vary the strength of the electrical current based on the vibrations of sound, and transmit the variable currents in a way that would reproduce the sound accurately at the other end.

And honestly, It’s driving me a bit mad! It comes through, but not clearly.

The issue is figuring out how to effectively transmit continuous, undulating electrical signals that mimic the vibrations caused by sound waves, rather than intermittent electrical pulses, which is what telegraph systems currently uses.

Uhhh, maybe they are right, maybe it’s not possible….” He said as he let out a deep sigh, slumped in the booth, and threw his hands up in defeat as his head drooped towards the floor.

I started flicking his beer.

‘Ding’

‘Ding’

‘Ding’

“Huh, look at that, waves.” I said looking at them, then him, then the waves again, then him again, all while doing the eyebrow thing.

Amber chimed in, “The eyebrow thing.”

Yeah, you know, the eyebrow thing, when you raise and lower them kind of quickly in a ‘come on, you can get it, I’m telling you something without telling you something,’ kind off way.

“Ohhh right, right, I get what you’re saying. I don’t know why you felt the need to tell me, but okay, go on, continue.”

He wasn't quite getting it. He needed the needle.

“Hey I know this is out of left field, but a string follows a needle, but what does a needle follow?”

“What in bloody hell are you talking about sir?” Bell belched at me in annoyance.

Then…

It clicked…

He went silent, the only noise in the place was the clinking of glasses as the bartender placed them in a neat row after drying them off.

Frick. This is where I almost messed up. I know better too, but it was because I accidentally got drunk. Not my fault, alcohol was stronger back then! The potentially greatest fuck up in history was that he almost had the idea while I was sitting in front of him, and that’s a big no-no, it would have ruined all the work he and I had done up until that point.

Luckily, as I saw the gears turning I saved my ass by asking him about his fathers research. I knew he’d pick up the thread of the idea later and run with it.

The guy worships his dad, and just lit up and went crazy, he bought me like 3 more beers, one of which did not at all help me as he tried to teach me the basics from this fathers book, ‘The Standard Elocutionist.’

Anyhow, I eventually got out of there. The odd fella went to the restroom then left without saying goodbye. I was a bit hurt. This job is so thankless sometimes, ya know?

Back at the Salon…

"And that was that! My job was mostly done. I just had to do two more things: get Mabel to agree to date/marry him, and retrieve the NanoCams after the agreed upon date."

“Jon, what would have happened if you would have been in the view of the recording when the idea was sparking in Alec’s head?”

“Fuck, you can’t tell anyone about that, that was seriously bad.

Had that happened, I would have had to erase Alecs memories of me, but also the idea. Which means he probably wouldn’t have figured it out. It would have been to risky for me to meet him again and become a key player in his story. I wouldn’t have been able to try again, because I was already there and I can’t show up in the same place within 3 days or 50 miles of being there.

I probably would have lost my job.”

Amber, being the clever woman she is, asked, “why not just meet him earlier in his life?”

“Well, my bright young maiden, the computer helps me time and track optimal integration points. There are only certain moments in a persons life when they have all the necessary knowledge in their head to make the connections we need them to make to manufacture the idea we need them to manufacture. An integration probability of 80% or higher was calculated to be only with in those 5 days. I wouldn’t have had another opportunity integrate the last key element of the idea to make the telephone work, he would have given up for good, and probably would have went on to live a depressed and simple life as a teacher. Which isn’t the worst thing for him, but devastating for the rest of humanity.”

“And history may not have gotten the telephone?”

“Correct, or we would have gotten it later, in a different way, setting off a whole chain of alternate events that would really muck stuff up in the timeline. I mean, The Source could have probably fixed it, but I really don’t like the paper work I have to do when I get in trouble.”

“Oh, well, I’m so glad to know all of human history is resting on the shoulders of weather or not you want to do paperwork.”

“It’s fine!” Jon said as he waved his hand down, brushing off the comment, but also showing off his new, freshly painted nails.

Read Episode 5