Ever since the first wobbly revolutions of the Edison cylinder, the playback of recorded sound has depended on the vibration of air molecules, directed in such a way that the tympanic membrane, located in near enough proximity, can receive them. This is an entirely mechanical process whic
(more)h, in its basic principle, resembles the way fluid moves through narrowing and widening channels, and terminates much as falling rain captured in a barrel.
The latest breakthrough eliminates the need for the sound wave, converting it into a pulse of light, which is shot through space and intercepted by the brain directly, without the intermediary of the eardrum, by an organ or system of organs we have yet to fully describe. As I will shortly demonstrate: we have weaponized this process.
(The man in the lab coat steps to the left of the stage to a table on which is a small object, a pistol, which he picks up and aims at another white-coated man seated at the back of the auditorium. Gasps can be heard.)
Dr. Hawley has volunteered to participate in this demonstration. Now, without further ado...
(The pistol emits a series of clicks, and there is the strong smell of ozone.)
Dr. Hawley. Would you explain to those gathered just what has transpired?
“The Gettysburg address... all of it. All two minutes. It came to me.... instantaneously.”
How do you feel, doctor?
“Fine... perhaps even... slightly energized.”
Now, ladies and gentleman, can you imagine how useful such a device or devices might be in directing a soldier, a platoon, a company in the battlefield?
“Oh, yes!” Hawley stands up. His forehead explodes and emerging, wormlike, his frontal lobe pulsates, its fissures forming a crude mouth, which speaks: “We have waited so long for this moment!”
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