THE TELESCRIBE MURDER: By Debra Daumier
May 4th, 2012“So that is your answer to secure communications,” the Minister of Communications said. He was standing in front of a one-way mirror. The Director of the Department of Secure Communications was nervous; the Minister was known for his ruthlessness dealing with what he considered to be “employees not meeting reasonable standards.” Apart from the Minister himself, there were not many people that found his standards “reasonable”. But being the husband of the Prime Minister, there was not much to be done.
The Director also looked at the two people sitting on the other side of the one-way mirror. At one end of the table, he spotted Phryni with Claudio sitting at the other side. Phryni was sitting straight with both hands placed on the table in front ofher. Next to her was an ancient notepad as well as an antique device called a “pencil”.
“Why not use computersor hyper devices,” asked the Minister. “Cyberhacking” answered the Director.
Hell’s bells, he thought. Even a child knew that any form of online communication could be hacked, hijacked, or abused. That’s why the Telescribe Corps was founded- a group of talented telepaths that were able to receive messages by sheer thought. Unfortunately, very few were able to tune in to a specific sender’s wavelength and replicate the message sent. He felt lucky that he had two top talents: Phryni and Claudio. Most countries had none or may be one; even India which its huge talent pool was only able to produce three.
He felt lucky that he had been able to enlist Phryni. She was a true find; talented, loyal and smart. She also had telekinetic abilities, which allowed her to write down the received message without even touching pencil or paper. This ensured that the received message was truly original and legit, and not manipulated in any way.
While the two men were watching, the woman closed her eyes. A moment later, the pencil started to write furiously on the notepad, copying the received message. The Minister was impressed. But suddenly the delicate gold necklace Phryni was wearing wrapped itself around her throat strangling her slowly. She kept her eyes shut while smiling secretively.
“What kind of blistering idiot is trying to murder your number one telescribe?” barked the Minister. The Director almost fainted. Just what he needed – a murder attempt with the Minister as the main witness.
Phryni knew that her delicate necklace would break before it could do her any real harm. She had put it on that morning with the sole purpose of flushing out the culprit. She had known for some time that there was a traitor among the telescribe community. In the last few months, too many of her fellow telescribes had been murdered. The modus operandi of “Jack the Gripper” (as he/she was known in the community) was elegant in its simplicity: attack the telescribe when he/she is most vulnerable– when receiving and transcribing a message. They all were killed in the same way: Raj in India was strangled with his lucky charm, Cristo in Mexico with his St. Christopher medallion, Sheila in Australia with her funky ethnic necklace, Thundercloud in Arizona with his totem necklace, and the list went on and on……
In all cases police were stumped. No motive and no recording of the perpetrator by any sensor or camera. So the telescribe community (sub rosa of course) had decided to take action. Since Phryni had telepathic as well as telekinetic powers, she was chosen to be the bait. She was happy to accept the task; flushing out the one slaughtering her kind was too important. Their combined“telesleuthing” had pinpointed Jack the Gripper to originate from Arlington, VA,the workplace of Phryni.
It had been quite easy to set up the trap. The visit of the Minister was too much of a chance for Jack the Gripper to forfeit. And lo and behold, once the attempt was made on Phryni’s life, the Minister summoned Action Forces to respond. With their “shoot first, ask questions later” attitude, they pulverized Claudio on the spot. Phryni was in shock. Claudio had always been so nice and professional….
“That solves the problem and keeps you safe”, said the Minister, addressing Phryni while entering the room. She frowned. Something just did not add up. When the Minister reached out to grab the notepad, she realized that there was a system to this madness. She decided to play dumb for now.
Once back at her apartment, Phryni relaxed with a nice glass of wine. Some things stayed the same since the beginning of civilization – “vino” being one of them. While she closed her eyes, savoring the quiet of her apartment, she felt a chill and heard a tinn yvoice. “You think you won?” the voice asked. “You really did’t. You and your kind need to be eliminated. Only then willI be able to rule supremely, disposing of all opposition, including that battleship of a wife of mine.”
Only then did she realize what had been nagging her all along: she was going to die by the hand of the true Jack the Gripper: the Minister of Communications. She immediately sent a last desperate message to all her fellow telescribes. When the Minister approached Phryni to telestrangle her, he suddenly felt tightness in his chest.“You b…” he thought before collapsing. Phryni sensed him dying.
A fitting end to a villain, she thought, may he rot in Hell. Mentally thanking her fellow telescribes for saving her.
The new Minister of Communications decided that he had to do something about the Telescribe Corps. As the former Director and cursed with the same telescribe powers, he knew too well what they were capable of. Hedecided that he didn’t have a choice; he had to clean house- starting with the elimination of its most prominent member– Phryni…
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©2012 Debra Daumier
