Bluebox, The – 1 · Part 1

Bluebox, The – 1 · Part 1 (1/2)
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**Chapter 1** "I knew it," Jeffrey muttered to himself. "One letter in my INBOX, and it had to be this one." In the past three years of his dealings with the government, they had always used private couriers to correspond, or more often the telephone. But when the message came via MCI MAIL, he knew that his three-year project was at an unsuccessful end.

From: George F. Frankel MCI ID: 213-9164 To: * Jeffrey Landers MCI ID: 150-1060 Message-ID: 5M113684/818802K3 Subj: Final Project Decision – Confidential

Dear Mr. Landers,

It is with great regret that we must inform you that your proposal to refine, and implement the use of, the device we have discusssed has been denied. Unfortunately with budget cuts applied, this department does not have the resources to properly administer programs which consist primarily of research and development. I will personally keep the proper information on file so that, if the situtation changes, we might be able to continue work on what could be a valuable tool to our society. I also commend your work and thank you for your efforts to this point. Formal notification will be sent to IDT shortly along with cost recovery information.

Sincerely Yours,

Gen. G. F. Frankel Human Services

He switched the terminal off. Government Imbeciles. Not only did they make any sort of effective demonstration impossible, but they had to break the news through MCI MAIL. Strangely, he felt little anger. He had a good time working on the project, excellent pay, at the mere expense of his social life. His time had been devoted to endless revisions, modifications, and testing of the Device. It wasn't his fault that the Federal people who came to test it were just too– too– boring to use it. Unfortunately he'd never be able to prove that. He wasn't sure of the situations that caused the tests to fail. It worked for him, he felt, because he had a good imagination.

Good enough to think up the device in the first place means that one must be good enough to use it. The Device was a thought amplifier. Bred from some licensed Japanese electro-encephalographic technologies that never saw any use outside some experimental psychiatric clinics that (giggle) were now being sued for some sort of fraud, the Device was a miracle more stunning than the space program, the new light-speed superprocessors, or Ronco's solid-state IR laser turkey carving set. It started out as a device which could clarify thought patterns for analysis by trained therapists, for use in mental hospitals. The Feds got involved when the NSA wanted to know if it could be used to read minds.

Even if Jeffrey could have spent a few years researching that application, he wouldn't think of it– because certainly he wouldn't be ALLOWED to think of it if the device became a reality. But Jeffrey's employer, Interactive Device Technologies, liked the idea of lucrative government contracts and encouraged him to continue with the development. Three years later, Jeffrey and IDT had finished the thought amplifier, but this last MCI letter meant that there was NOBODY, and that meant nobody, interested in continuing with it. Now that IDT had no hopes of a $12 billion contract, Jeffrey would probably be out of job.

*** Chapter 2 *** Cheryl walked into the Lab. "Is that the TA-12?" she queried, pointing to the metallic blue box on the counter, without even saying hello. Jeffrey knew at that instant he was being set up. Cheryl never had anything to do with the technical staff. He had seen her around the building often enough, but learned quickly of her distaste for the techies, and had properly ignored her ever since. Undoubtedly one of the IDT managers got a carbon-copy of the MCI letter and sent Cheryl in to cheer Jeffrey up, rather than stopping in themselves. How unthoughtful. He didn't want to be cheered up.

Cheryl was still standing there, though, and Jeffrey racked his mind to remember what she had asked him. "Yes, that's it." Cheryl didn't waste a second. "It doesn't work, huh?" Nice cheering-up job, Jeffrey thought. He answered in a tone normally reserved for when you lose your best friend. "It works fine. It just doesn't work for everyone, that's all. All the government people who tested it were so skeptical, so narrow-minded it couldn't have possibly worked." He wondered if he was rationalizing it or not. Cheryl continued her insistent questions as if she had a list of them. "It works for you?" "Yes.

And most other people can use it too." "Oh." It sounded like she just ran out of questions. "Sorry to be ignorant. I just don't pay much attention to what our experiments do, that's all." Jeffrey reached behind him and picked up the Device. "Have a seat", he said, pointing to a chair across from him. Cheryl sat. "All it is, primarily, is a thought amplifier. It looks to what you're thinking, and retransmits it so that you can see it more clearly. But the big advantage is that it transmits to others within a few feet. Want a sample?"

*** Chapter 3 *** Cheryl nodded without saying a word. Jeffrey started his long- rehearsed demonstration speech, required so that the visitors would know what's going on and would have some margin of safety should something go wrong. "Touch your finger here for a second", he said, pointing to a small metal circle on top of the Device, which was in his lap. Cheryl did. "All you did was allow the device to calibrate itself to your…" (he hated the oversimplification)… "'wavelength', so you can participate. You know what the Device does, and it's easier to show you it's abilities than to tell you. All you have to know is this: This box cannot reproduce itself in this color in your mind.

It's a safety device that took almost nine months to install. If I were to try to fool you into thinking that the demonstration was over, you'd notice that the box was red, not blue, because it won't let you see it any other way. There's a timer on the top that will end the demonstration in…" (he set the timer) "about ten minutes. That's another safety device in case for some reason I can't turn it off. It'll also turn off on any sort of sensory disturbance, so you have to be comfortable before you can start." He elected to omit the usual comment about using the rest-room first. "The final safety device limits the amount of pain and suffering you can feel no matter what happens to you.

In the image that the box presents, you could stab yourself with a knife and would feel only momentary discomfort. And of course, you wouldn't sustain any real-life damage. That prevents the Device from being used to torture someone, for the most part. Now just clear your mind for a moment, and relax." He looked up at her. She closed her eyes. He stole a quick peek at her uncrossed legs and the space between them, that had crossed hi mind many times before. Why didn't she like the technical people? Such a waste. Oh well. He leaned back and pressed the switch to start the demonstration, then put his hands at his sides. He opened his eyes. "Cheryl?" She opened hers without saying anything.

The box was red, instead of blue. It was incredible– she could have, by any other measure, been actually sitting there staring at a red box there with Jeffrey. But no, the box was blue, and her eyes were closed. It just SEEMED that way. She moved her arms. They moved. Fingers too. "Everyone always does that", Jeffrey giggled. "Obviously it works with you. Yes, everything seems normal. Your fingers wiggle. And no, they aren't really wiggling in real life. But, for now, they might as well be." "Incredible. You did this?" Jeffrey smiled. "Yup. Three years for this. But you haven't seen anything yet!" They both got up.

Just as they got to their feet, the walls and ceiling of the building vanished, revealing the trees, sky, clouds, and such outside. It may have been 41 degrees on the outdoor thermometer 5 minutes ago, but it was a comfy 70 or so now. "How did that happen?" "Easy. I just decided that the walls should go away, and even before I imagine it happening, it does. The Device reads what I'm thinking, and makes it seem like it's happening. It was all so simple once we got the basic theories straight. Notice how there's no detail left out?" Cheryl looked around the room (what was left of it) and nodded. Jeffrey continued. "In actuality, that's not true.

For all we know, none of the things we're not looking at this second exist. But once we go to look at anything, the image gets filled in from our own thoughts. For the most part, what we see, hear, smell, feel, or taste depends on who looks at it first– it fills in the detail from that person's memory. The other person sees that as the first imagined it. But the person who's holding the physical box has the ultimate authority. Watch." A small metal box appeared on the counter, with a lid that was closed. "There's an index card inside that box with a four-digit number on it," he said, "but I don't know what it is because I haven't decided on one.

Why don't you open the box and see what it says? Cheryl walked over to the box while Jeffrey looked around outside. It was mid-afternoon. Some birds flew nearby, something not formerly present. "It's 9601, the last four digits of my phone number", Cheryl reported. How did that happen?" "Either because you wanted it to, or because the Device decided that it was the most likely thing to put there. I don't know your phone number and couldn't have put it there. See?" Again, Cheryl just nodded. With that, the numbers on the card changed to 2066, Jeffrey's office extension number. Jeffrey explained.

"You might create something out of your imagination… but if there is a conflict, the box-holder gets his way with reality. The problem with the tests was that the people who tried it either didn't have the imagination (faith if you like) to make the device work for them, in which case the only effect they ever saw was the box changing color, or they couldn't mentally lock on to the signals from the box, which meant that even THAT didn't happen." Again, did he really know? Maybe not. It could take years of research. Oh well. "Come on, let's go."

*** Chapter 4 *** Cheryl wheeled around and discovered that Jeffrey had sprouted a perfect pair of wings, feathers and all. It was one of his favorite diversions, which he had developed after weeks of testing. He picked Cheryl up from behind; his arms fitting into the somewhat innocent space below her breasts. She was very light because he had decided that she should be, at least for now. She didn't complain about it. In an instant Jeffrey cringed down, and leapt into the air. It was too fast for Cheryl, who felt that the exciting part had been rushed. They were already fifty feet above the ground, coasting over the trees towards downtown.

With a few flaps, Jeffrey lifted them both to several times that altitude. "Nervous?" he asked. "No, I'm fine." It wasn't convincing. The only other person he'd ever taken on this tour couldn't take it too well. Jeffrey pitched upwards a little bit and slowed down, then gained some more altitude, and generally swooped around a bit. The scenery was breathtaking, and the feeling was unparalleled. "Afraid of heights?" Jeffrey remembered how he had thought of the Device as a tool to eliminate such fears, the last time he asked that question. Cheryl didn't answer. With nothing to lose as far as Cheryl's opinion of him, Jeffrey did the only thing he could think of to remedy the situtation.

He dropped her. Cheryl screamed, fell a few feet, and stopped in midair at Jeffrey's command. She couldn't have done that herself. He stopped in midair and had her float up to him, facing him. "You see? There's nothing to be afraid of. You can't get hurt here. And I wouldn't let you get hurt anyway. She didn't look resentful. She looked down at the streets below, then reached down as if to see what was holding her up. It always seemed to take a while for people to get "the idea"– that the constraints of reality no longer hold. "It can be like an amusement park– thrills without danger, or whatever amuses you." Cheryl was now smiling. It was time for Jeffrey to try and promote that idea.

It was no fun here with someone that didn't understand, and it looked like Cheryl was beginning to. Jeffrey continued. "Take my hand," he said. "I think you've got the idea." She did. Jeffrey's wings disappeared. A moment later they started falling, from the five thousand feet (funny, we weren't that high up a moment ago) to the town below. Jeffrey looked straight at Cheryl. She looked up at him. It had worked! She felt enough confidence in him to be able to take her eyes off the approaching Earth. He couldn't keep his feeling to himself. "I'm impressed, Cheryl. You've got more inside than I credited you for. Congratulations." He pulled her to him, and held her tight.

She wrapped her arms around him, and looked down. Just before they reached the earth, a large pool of water appeared below them and they splashed harmlessly into it, coming to an almost instant stop. Cheryl, who had let go just as they reached the water, paddled back over to Jeffrey and grabbed onto him again. He liked the feeling where she was pressing against him. Finally, she spoke up again. "Can we try it again? Not the fall, I mean, but flying around? I'd like to try it out for myself." Jeffrey nodded. A moment later, they were both in midair, and Cheryl had developed some nice orange feathers.

Jeffrey followed Cheryl as she flew back towards the company, swooped down over the trees, and shrieked with excitement. "I want to try landing", she said. "Will you go first?" Jeffrey agreed, and lined up in front of her, feet down, heading for the flat roof of IDT's main bu

Bluebox, The – 1 · Part 1 (1/2)
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