arguing, suck it in, and soldier on, and I’ll give you a nice sweetie to take away the nasty taste.”
“I don’t take sweeties from strangers,” said Happy. “And God knows, no-one’s stranger than you these days, JC.”
“I am going to change the subject,” said Melody. “Because it’s either that or start hollering and hitting people, and I can always do that later. Probably while shouting I told you so! Have any of you noticed there aren’t any security cameras? Not here in the corridor, or in any of the rooms, not even down in the entrance lobby. Rather unusual, wouldn’t you say, for a company with so many important and highly illegal secrets to protect? Given that they were ready to lock in their test subjects for the night, you’d think they’d at least want to keep an eye on everyone . . .”
“Not if you don’t want any official record of what you’re doing,” said JC. “Melody, my dear, I’ve been thinking . . .”
“Oh, that’s always dangerous,” said Happy.
“I was wondering if there was anything you could try that doesn’t require any of your amazing but unfortunately not-at-all-here equipment?”
“Well,” said Melody, reluctantly. “There is something I’ve been considering . . . Electronic Voice Phenomena. I might be able to put something together using my mobile phone and the room computer. Give me a minute.”
She darted back into Room Three, and the others filled the doorway, looking in, because Melody didn’t like to be crowded when she was working, and was quite capable of making that clear with a sudden back elbow or some other violent hint. She pulled the computer apart with brutal thoroughness, rooted through its guts and then linked some of them to her mobile phone. JC leaned in beside Happy, and spoke quietly in his ear.
“Do you have any idea of what she’s doing?”
“Not a clue,” said Happy.
“I can hear you!” said Melody, not looking up from what she was doing. “It’s really quite simple . . .”
“Oh God, don’t let her explain!” said Happy. “Any time she tries to explain something scientific to me I end up with hysterical deafness for a week! In self-defence!”
“I am surrounded by Luddites,” said Melody, working happily away. “Noisy ones, too.”
“What are Luddites?” said Kim. “They sound sort of cuddly.”
“Am I the only one who paid attention at school?” said Melody.
“Probably,” said JC. “You swot, you. You could geek for the Olympics.”
“And pardon me for being dead!” said Kim. “A girl can’t study everything. I did extra drama classes. And flower arranging.”
“Colour me surprised,” said Happy.
Melody put her phone to her ear, and listened intently.
“Can you hear the sea?” Happy said helpfully.
“You slap him, JC,” said Melody. “I’m busy. Wait . . . I’m getting . . . something. I can hear voices . . .”
“What’s odd about that?” said Kim. “It’s a phone.”
“But I haven’t dialled any number,” said Melody. “I am very definitely hearing voices, but . . . too far away to make out. Voices, in the system. Are they always there, perhaps, hidden behind our everyday calls? Drowned out by millions of common calls and conversations?”
She fiddled with the exposed parts of the computer, and what she was hearing burst suddenly from the speakers. A sound like a never-ending wind, strange background noises like the singing of insane whales, the frantic pattering of a million angry insects. And then, slowly, human voices began to come forward, rising above the background gabble. Human voices, but far and far away, as though they’d had to cross some unimaginable distance to reach the world. It wasn’t even clear what languages they were using.
“I just had an unnerving thought,” said Happy. “Could we be hearing the collective unconscious? I’ve always wanted to listen in to that.”
“You are entirely right, Happy, that is an unnerving thought,” said JC.
“I don’t take sweeties from strangers,” said Happy. “And God knows, no-one’s stranger than you these days, JC.”
“I am going to change the subject,” said Melody. “Because it’s either that or start hollering and hitting people, and I can always do that later. Probably while shouting I told you so! Have any of you noticed there aren’t any security cameras? Not here in the corridor, or in any of the rooms, not even down in the entrance lobby. Rather unusual, wouldn’t you say, for a company with so many important and highly illegal secrets to protect? Given that they were ready to lock in their test subjects for the night, you’d think they’d at least want to keep an eye on everyone . . .”
“Not if you don’t want any official record of what you’re doing,” said JC. “Melody, my dear, I’ve been thinking . . .”
“Oh, that’s always dangerous,” said Happy.
“I was wondering if there was anything you could try that doesn’t require any of your amazing but unfortunately not-at-all-here equipment?”
“Well,” said Melody, reluctantly. “There is something I’ve been considering . . . Electronic Voice Phenomena. I might be able to put something together using my mobile phone and the room computer. Give me a minute.”
She darted back into Room Three, and the others filled the doorway, looking in, because Melody didn’t like to be crowded when she was working, and was quite capable of making that clear with a sudden back elbow or some other violent hint. She pulled the computer apart with brutal thoroughness, rooted through its guts and then linked some of them to her mobile phone. JC leaned in beside Happy, and spoke quietly in his ear.
“Do you have any idea of what she’s doing?”
“Not a clue,” said Happy.
“I can hear you!” said Melody, not looking up from what she was doing. “It’s really quite simple . . .”
“Oh God, don’t let her explain!” said Happy. “Any time she tries to explain something scientific to me I end up with hysterical deafness for a week! In self-defence!”
“I am surrounded by Luddites,” said Melody, working happily away. “Noisy ones, too.”
“What are Luddites?” said Kim. “They sound sort of cuddly.”
“Am I the only one who paid attention at school?” said Melody.
“Probably,” said JC. “You swot, you. You could geek for the Olympics.”
“And pardon me for being dead!” said Kim. “A girl can’t study everything. I did extra drama classes. And flower arranging.”
“Colour me surprised,” said Happy.
Melody put her phone to her ear, and listened intently.
“Can you hear the sea?” Happy said helpfully.
“You slap him, JC,” said Melody. “I’m busy. Wait . . . I’m getting . . . something. I can hear voices . . .”
“What’s odd about that?” said Kim. “It’s a phone.”
“But I haven’t dialled any number,” said Melody. “I am very definitely hearing voices, but . . . too far away to make out. Voices, in the system. Are they always there, perhaps, hidden behind our everyday calls? Drowned out by millions of common calls and conversations?”
She fiddled with the exposed parts of the computer, and what she was hearing burst suddenly from the speakers. A sound like a never-ending wind, strange background noises like the singing of insane whales, the frantic pattering of a million angry insects. And then, slowly, human voices began to come forward, rising above the background gabble. Human voices, but far and far away, as though they’d had to cross some unimaginable distance to reach the world. It wasn’t even clear what languages they were using.
“I just had an unnerving thought,” said Happy. “Could we be hearing the collective unconscious? I’ve always wanted to listen in to that.”
“You are entirely right, Happy, that is an unnerving thought,” said JC.
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