"The Listener"
- A fictional short story By Chuck Peterka (c) 2011
Larry has worked for the National Security Agency for the last 25 years. He started out in the Soviet analysis directorate, where they took all the voice intelligence, cross referenced it with the various other events happening around the globe, to discern where and what the Russkies were up to. He moved up the organization, and even built some devices, software, and combinations of computers that now monitored across the globe looking for terrorist trends and plans.
So, now Larry was working the day shift, he was working the East Coast, New England desk, along with Debbie, a junior analyst, and Rashid, who maintained the hardware/software systems that did the bulk of the analysis. The computers would extract the information from all the cameras, telephone traffic (cell and landline), and other systems that "we'd tell you, but we'd have to..." as they say around the organization.
The computers scanned all the information, looked for patterns and key concepts, and then passed the suspect information on to Debbie and Larry. Things were never boring in the LPAR, Listening Post Analysis Room, and tonight was no exception.
"Larry, got a RWSG planning a police station takeover in Worcester, Mass." , said Debbie.
"Pass it on to Francis Rizzo in the Mass State Police, District 9.", he directed. Larry had listened to hundreds of Right Wing Separatists Groups, and the State Police knew what to do with the info they routinely passed on to them at least once a month.
He used to do a lot of the actual listening himself, but now he had computers, and Debbie, to do most of the grunt work, and he made the decisions on what was imminent, what was moderate, and what could be passed on for just further watching.
They got off work around 11:15 after the shift changeover, and headed out to their cars. Larry was a bit wound up, so he decided to stop off at Applebee's for a steak and some fries, and a cold beer.
Walking in the waitress took him down to a booth down near the windows. He sat down, ordered the beer, and looked at the menu. A couple of college kids came in, and the waitress seated them in the booth behind Larry. As he was reading the menu, he found himself listening to their conversation.
"That Bio Professor, what a old fart! Looks like he's never been out of the Anderson building."
"You should see my Elem Ed 107 teacher, Ms Solvin. She thinks teaching kids is the greatest thing in the universe."
"I got this really hunky teacher in my Art History 211 course. He was talking about a museum in Milan, and it was like we were right there with him walking the hallways. It was soooo real!"
The watress returned, and he ordered the New York strip steak and fries and another beer.
He sat back, and a young married couple came in with two kids, a boy about 8 and a girl about 6. The watress seated them in the booth in front of Larry.
As they sat down, Larry found himself listening to their conversation, along with the college kids behind him.
"Ok Betty, you sit over hear and Joseph you sit next to your dad. What do you kids want to eat?"
"Chicken Nuggets!" "Can I get a hot dog and french fries but no pickle or mustard, only ketchup, mom!"
"Derek that's his name, I just love that History teacher, too. Oh, can we get the nacho sampler tray?"
and on and on... and Larry found that he couldn't put them out of his mind. ..... and then you go on and show how he's slowly going nuts, because he's been listening to people for so long, that he can't turn it off, and it drives him off the wall... and he just get's more and more paranoid, goes to the Dr's office, and he's listening to the people in the waiting room,
goes to a library, and finds that he's pulling biographys off the wall reading what people said about other people.
goes to get gas, and finds that he's listening to the other customers as they pump gas.
. cool concept?
OK, well, gotta go.
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