Episode 7: The Silent Circle
Narrator: You’re listening to episode 7 of The Electronic Lover. This is a serial story, so catch up with the previous episodes before listening to this one.
In the last episode, Talkin’Lady and SaltySherlock made history by being the first couple to get married online, in the chatroom, with all the guests attending virtually. SaltySherlock is now an occasional part of the online community, though Margot has repeatedly asked that he stay out of the women’s forum.
Joan: I know this is verboten
But I’d like to let my husband in the room
Margot: We have talked about this, Joan
Can we hold the discussion elsewhere?
Joan: It’s important
It’s a warning
For the women
In the forum
What he’s found is quite alarming
Alex: I hate to be
A fox in the henhouse
Frankie: Oh Lord,
Please don’t call us hens
Joan: But he is a fox!
Margot: What the heck is going on?
Alex: I’ll tell you what
A discovery!
A man I know
A married man
Tells everybody here
He is single and available
A real “bachelor”
But with a wife and kids at home
Joan: It’s someone we all know!
Theresa: Is it ShadowBrad?
He flirts with all the women
(Rude!)
Frankie: And what about PolterGuy52?
(Yeah could be him…)
(Wouldn’t surprise me)
Theresa: Deception!
Frankie: Betrayal!
(Skullduggery!)
Margot: Everyone, let’s slow down
Theresa and Frankie: Treachery!
obfuscation equivocation disinformation misrepresentation manipulation falsification deceit!
Frankie: Who on earth would
Come on the computer
And tell lies?
Narrator: Wow. Okay, remember it’s 1984.
Margot: Can we please discuss this elsewhere?
Joan: The matter is grave, GoGo!
Alex: Everyone is not who they seem
Theresa: ??
***
Alex: I came home from the war
A broken man
Became a cop
So I could hide
Looking out at the world
But never inside
Love was not in my realm
Darkness stronger than light
Until Talkin’ Lady
Goddess! Queen!
Came into my life
I was raised on the block
With the guys
Learned that women
Should stay in their place
My father warned me
To steer clear of the ones with brains
And big mouths
And big ideas
I went along for too long
Never found love that was right
A meat and potatoes kind of guy
Until this hot tomato
Showed me
Showed me all a woman
All a woman could be
And now I can show the world the real me
Margot: Alex:
We are all broken Looking out, hiding out
Living life in fragments Looking out, hiding
Lonely Looking out, hiding out
A little afraid
Without true love
What you do you reveal? My Father warned me
What version of you Went along for too long
Do you show? Never found love
Who knows the real you? Who knows the real you?
Who knows the true you? Who knows the true you?
Narrator: How was everyone presenting themselves in the chatroom?
Exaggerations, embellishments, outright lies?
Frankie: I think I’m better looking on here
Theresa: Ha ha. Me too, for sure!
Joan: Protect yourselves, ladies!
Joan and Alex: Beware!
Narrator: Joan and Alex log off with a flourish…
***
I read all of Infinite Jest
My favorite book is Ulysses
Your haircut looks great
I’m going out for a pack of cigarettes
This shit is pure
I’m on my way
I’ll be there in ten minutes
My phone is running out of battery
Sorry I’m just seeing your text now
I’m really broke
I have no idea how fast I was going, officer
The dog ate my homework
I did not have sexual relations with that woman
I am not a crook
I own a mansion and yacht
I have Native American blood
My mother is descended from the House of Romanov
My dog is part wolf
I was an all-state tennis champ
My wife and I are separated
We won’t charge your account
There’s really nothing I can do
I did not chop down that cherry tree
You can cancel at any time
This won’t hurt a bit
I cannot tell a lie
Narrator: What’s everyone supposed to make of all that? And the doubt starts creeping in…
Theresa: How do we know the truth
About anyone?
Frankie: About each other, even?
Stacks, you changed your handle
Theresa: Why are you SirStacks now?
Trying to prove a point?
Susan: It’s nothing like that.
I have been thinking about
How we feel inside
How we express that
How we represent ourselves
Just an experiment for now
Any objections?
Frankie: Not from me, Stacks
You’re the kind of guy
I’d like to see more of in the world!
Theresa: Here, here, Stacks
You go explore your masculine side
Susan: Thank you, friends!
I feel a little giddy about it
***
Theresa: What about Bunnypop?
Anyone know him?
I think he might be a teenager
Frankie: The day after my daughter…
Theresa and Susan: Charlene!
Frankie: Right, Charlene–
Came to the wedding
She received
A private message
From RockCity!
Susan: RockCity? Who’s that?
Frankie: He wanted her to describe herself
Paint a picture with words, he said
Susan and Theresa: Too creepy!
Frankie: And she already spends too much time
Cavorting with who knows who
In the music forum
Theresa: I don’t think we should ever reveal
Our phone numbers or our home addresses
Frankie: But what if we want to call each other
Put a fruitcake in the mail?
Susan: Who would exploit that?
Susan and Theresa: It’s too sinister!
Margot: Listen guys
I screwed up
SaltySherlock should not be allowed in our women’s forum
I should have stopped it
The community is growing so fast
I’ve been working overtime
Susan: Or maybe you’re too busy with your new fella, Buck!
Margot: People get carried away at weddings
It’s nothing, I swear!
Jeeze, gossip spreads fast around here
Theresa, Frankie, Susan: But what about Alex’s warning?
Narrator: The discussion goes on for days, and while the longtime members trust each other, a brief exchange catches Talkin’ Lady’s attention because she’s still, like, monitoring all the conversations. Saving them on her floppy disk. The conversation seemed innocent enough.
Susan: What about Talkin’Lady?
Do we think she knows more than she is letting on?
Frankie: We should just be straight with her
Ask her outright
Theresa: She will be frank with us
Susan and Frankie: She sees everything
Susan and Theresa: She reads everything
Susan: I want to trust her but…
Frankie: I trust her, don’t you?
Theresa: Of course I do.
Do you?
Theresa, Frankie, Susan: Are you there, Joan?
***
Did you previously live on Chestnut Street?
Are you acquainted with the person in question?
On the night in question, did you walk directly home after the party?
Have you ever driven a car with a manual transmission?
Would you describe Mr. Simmons as your boss?
Are you a resident of the state of Colorado?
Did you meet the victim recently?
Do you know how to use a handgun?
Do you lock your doors at night?
Would you say you are a private person?
Are you legally blind in one eye?
Is your mother a registered nurse?
Do you normally keep cyanide in your garage?
Narrator: Joan didn’t answer, but she was there. And she took it upon herself to come up with a plan to make sure everyone could trust one another.
Joan: Women! All hands on deck!
Here in our garden paradise
The fruits and flowers
So abundant
We dance unclothed
And rejoice
We grow
We open up
And bloom
Susan: Wait! Where’s Go-Go? Did anyone message her?
Joan: Not important!
But – now the apple has arrived
We must close the gates
We will not forfeit trust
We will join in confidence
In The Silent Circle
Initiation
Initiation
Initiation
Narrator: One by one, Talkin’Lady approaches the women in the forum and requests that they meet her privately and divulge a secret to her and only her. Sounds legit.
Joan: Dearest Friday
You must now tell me
your most intimate secret
Frankie: I had an abortion at 15
Please no more questions
All: By confiding, we put our trust in Joan
Joan: T-Rex, you have never
Spoken of your father
Theresa: He is in federal prison
For racketeering
No contact for years
All: By confiding, we put our trust in Joan
Narrator: Privately, each woman confesses something. Like sinners or penitents entering Joan’s virtual confession booth.
Joan: And you, Stacks, what have you been hiding?
And why has your handle changed?
Susan: I am exploring my masculine side
I have already told the others
Joan: But are you really a man?
Be honest with me
We have been through too much together
Susan: I am starting to figure that out
I was born a girl, if that’s what you mean
I have never said this out loud
But I believe myself to be a man
And heretofore
I would like to be called STAN
Joan: You know me to be worldly and open-minded
But if you are a man
This violates our rules
Demolishes our trust
Stan: Please don’t banish me now
When I am most vulnerable, Joan
Joan: Why are you so vulnerable?
And why did you not consult me first?
Stan: I felt I could not tell anyone
I feel like an evolving constellation
A lily blooming
A wave emerging
Electricity on the brink of
Transmogrification
It is more than just my handle
If you could only see me as I see myself
If you could only hear my true voice
Joan: And now you will divulge this to no one else
Only I will know your truth
All: By confiding, we put our trust in Joan
Joan: By the power
Invested in me
You are all now held
in highest-esteem and safety
In The Silent Circle
All: What is revealed in our circle
Remains with Joan in our circle
Our lips are sealed
***
The Electronic Lover 