[TRANSCRIPT]

[click, static]

Birdie? You there?

[one beep]

Is that…is that you? Are you really here?

[one beep]

Okay—okay, jesus christ—wow. Hi. Oh my god, hi.

[click, static]

Right, I guess we’re not gonna have me translating full morse sentences in real time. Though—I’m up for that if you are?

[two beeps]

Two dots…that’s the letter “I” but…maybe you’re thinking what I’ve been thinking if we ever got a chance the talk. One beep for yes, two for no?

[one beep]

Yeah? Okay, do it again. One beep for yes. 

[one beep]

And two beeps for no?

[one beep]

Okay, how long do we have?

[two beeps]

No? Oh—yeah, I have to ask yes or no questions, huh? Can you stay for an hour?

[two beeps]

Half an hour?

[two beeps]

(sigh) Fifteen minutes?

[five beeps]

Five…five? You can stay for five minutes?

[one beep]

Ugh, okay. I guess I’ll take what I can get. What are you doing that you can only stay on the radio for five minutes? I’ve got all the time in the world, I could sit by the radio all day. Where do you have to be?

[click, static]

Right, yes or no. Um…are you safe?

[one beep]

Okay, that’s good. 

Will you tell me where you are?

[two beeps]

Why not?

[click, static]

Yeah. Alright, Whiskey, focus on the important questions…

Huh. That’s funny, I guess I really have started to think of myself as Whiskey. I mean, obviously that’s not my name, but after so many months of referring to myself by it, I guess it’s starting to worm its way in. 

Jesus, sorry, I’m so used to just saying every thought I have out loud but you’re here, you’re really here. 

Is Birdie your real name?

[two beeps]

That’s what I figured. Did you—did you pick a code name because you’re talking to people you don’t want to know the real you?

[one beep]

Really? How many people are you talking to??

[one beep]

Yes—yes, what?

[one beep]

Oh, one. One person. You’re just talking to me?

[one beep]

And you don’t want me to know who you really are. 

[click, static]

(sigh)

Okay. Right. That’s—well, you don’t know my real name either. But you do know everything else about me. 

Are you…this is a stupid fucking question maybe, but are you a young person? An old person? A kid somehow?

Um, okay, wait, so I’m thirty-four, I’ll be thirty-five in a few weeks actually. Are you older than me?

[one beep]

Yes. Okay…um, I don’t know why I asked that, what does it matter. Are you—do you know what happened in ’68?

[one beep]

You do. Well, can you tell me?

[one beep]

Yes? You will?

[two beeps]

You won’t?

[one beep]

Well, which is it?

[three beeps]

Is it too hard to explain over morse code?

[one beep]

Do you think we’ll ever talk face to face? Or…voice to voice or, I don’t know, some other method?

[one long beep]

One dash, not dot. Is that…I don’t know?

[one beep]

Right. Okay. 

Um, whatever happened in ‘68…did it happen everywhere? The whole world?

[one beep]

(sigh) Okay. That’s what I thought but it’s still…

I don’t know what to ask you, Birdie, I’m sorry. I—there’s too much! There’s too much I want to know. I want to know what you know about what got us here, I want to know who you are, I want to know what your job was, but I’m running out of time and I—

Is whatever’s in Denver related to what happened in ’68?

[one beep]

It is. If I went to Denver, could I figure out what happened?

[two beeps]

Are you just saying that because you don’t want me to go?

[one beep]

Yes? You are just saying that?

[two beeps]

No. Oh, yes, you don’t want me to go? Because it’s dangerous?

[one beep]

Okay but…look, it’s great to be talking to you and all but why the hell should I trust you?

[click, static]

Birdie?

[one long beep]

You don’t know. Great. Helpful. 

Denver, the collision point. Does that collision have to do with other people?

[three beeps]

Three dots. Too hard to explain over Morse, huh? Yeah, that feels like it’s going to be a pretty convenient excuse. 

[two long beeps]

Two dashes, what does that mean? That’s…M, what does that…

[two long beeps, then one very long beep]

Birdie? Birdie. 

[click, static]

Oh.  I guess our five minutes are up. Two dashes is goodbye. 

Then, goodbye, Birdie. 

[click, static]

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