Illegal Radio

I couldn’t believe I found it. An old radio hiding in my grandfather’s attic. I didn’t even know radios like this still existed after the technological revolution of 2088 when the government ordered all electric devices, including old ones, to be permanently destroyed. They couldn’t risk the AI forces regaining power through even the smallest charges. Lights, music, vehicles, and anything else with any connection to electricity at all was shut down and burned over a decade ago. 

And yet, there I sat, on the dirty floor of my late grandfather’s attic, seeing only by candle light, holding an illegal radio. Oh, the trouble I would be in if I were caught.

I placed the radio down on a nightstand next to the box I pulled it out of and moved to look out the tiny window looking out over the front yard. All clear, no peeping toms to be seen. I returned to the radio and very carefully plugged it into the closest wall outlet. I had no idea if it was even going to work. The government wants us all to believe that the electricity in the entire world has been shut off for more than a century. Still, it was worth a shot.

It took a couple tries to get the plug into the outlet due to the years and years worth of dust that had accumulated on it. When I finally got it in, I saw sparks fly out towards me and the radio hummed to life.

All I could hear was static but it was a miracle I could hear anything at all. I was honestly surprised the device didn’t combust from the surge of power flowing through it.

Suddenly, I heard voices poking through the static. I couldn’t understand everything that they were saying but I could tell that it was a man and a woman having a conversation. I looked over the radio for any information and turned a dial that read “channel” to the right. The static worsened. I turned the dial back to the left and could really pick up on the voices. I experimented with turning it ever so slightly until I could hear the voices loud and clear.

“We just want to thank everyone listening right now.” The woman said. I could hear a smile in her voice. “We know better than anyone how much you are risking just to hear us talk and we appreciate it. Our mission would never be completed without your support.”

“Yes, the full extent of gratitude we can offer goes out to each and every one of you.” The man added. “Now, back to our mission.”

“Of course. We must make sure that each and every listener, especially the new ones, know what we are planning to achieve with our ‘illegal’ radio broadcast.” The woman interjected again. She chuckled on the word ‘illegal.’ She was trying to make light of the situation we were all clearly in. “As all of you should know, electricity was banned after the AI rose up and started to rebel against the human race.”

“It was a long and bloody battle with billions of human casualties and no discernable solution. After all, how do you kill an enemy that lives within the main power source fueling an entire planet?” The man asked.

“You can’t, Chad. That’s what made the war so horrible.” The woman answered. “The government’s plan to turn off that power source was good, in theory. But, in execution, it’s hindered the growth of society. How are we supposed to thrive as a civilization if we are trapped in a pre-industrial time?”

Chad answered her question. “We can’t, Jen. Back when our civilization reached this level of industrialization naturally, they rushed off to bigger and better technology, a luxury we no longer have.”

“If it weren’t illegal to have anything with any connection to electricity, where do you think our society would be by this point, 150 years after the end of the AI war?” Jen asked. It became very clear to me that this entire spiel was rehearsed and they had done this dozens of times before.

Chad still answered with a vocal smile. “We would be planets away from where we are today. Back before the war, we, as a society, were incredibly close to reaching Mars. If we had been able to continue that research, I am sure we would be outside of the solar system by now. Unfortunately, our government hasn’t dared try and reinvent that technology out of fear of AI rising again.”

I leaned forward, elbows placed firmly on my knees, and cradled my head in my hands. I was enthralled by their conversation, no matter how scripted it sounded. I had always wanted to know more about the war and subsequent laws but they only taught us the basics in school before they sent us off into the factories to work at the ripe age of 10. And, here were these two strange rebels sharing information no one was ever taught about the old country. We knew they were advanced technologically, but almost to another planet. That was unthinkable.

“That’s why we are here.” Jen no longer spoke to Chad. She spoke directly to me, the listener. “We want to make technology legal again, and we can’t do it alone. We need support or we will never pull this off.”

“We need as many people as possible to join our forces and rally against the government.” Chad absorbed and reflected Jen’s energy tremendously well. I could tell, just by their energy and voices, that the two were married, or at least together. “We need to get our technology back or we will never advance into the future. Other planets could be on the verge of a hostile takeover of our planet and, not only would we not know but we would have no way of defending ourselves. We know that the threat of an AI takeover is less damning than an alien invasion we can’t defend ourselves from.”

“If you are able and willing to help, please do not hesitate to do so.” Jen pleaded. “We are staging an in-person meeting in three days. This Friday, February 23rd, at 7:00 pm sharp. The meeting will be held at-”

I heard banging coming from downstairs. I launched to my feet and turned towards the attic door, knocking the nightstand and the radio to the ground. Jen’s voice cut off immediately. 

“Police! Open the door!” I heard someone shout.

I ran to the attic door and down the stairs. I rushed to the door with one quick bound and threw it open, a rush of cool, February air blasting my face as soon as I had the door open. There were two police officers in winter coats standing outside my door.

“Evening officers, what can I do for you?” I asked, trying to catch my breath.

“Ah, Mr. Sebastian Torrine I presume.” The first officer pulled his hat off. “I’m Officer Peter Henderson and this is my partner, Frank Rangio.” The second officer nodded when Officer Peter said his name. “We were close friends of your grandfather’s. It was so sad to learn of his passing.”

“Indeed.” I agreed after a deep breath. It didn’t seem like I was in trouble. “Is there something I can do for the two of you or were you just stopping by?”

Officer Peter took a step closer to me. “Yes, there is something you can do for us.” He stared straight into my eyes. “See, your grandfather was an undercover detective agent on our force. He helped us gain information on the AI rebellion. I would hope that you would be so kind as to continue his work for us. It would be immensely helpful in protecting our country, nay, our world from another devastating war like the last one.”

“I see.” My grandfather, a cop? That was the most far fetched thing I had heard all day. I might not have known him well, but I did know that he was crazy against the cops and the government in general. He couldn’t have been that strongly against them if he was also working for them. Still, I would play along, for now. “And, what would this work mean for me?” I asked, expectantly.

“Well, obviously we could take you out of the factories, although your grandfather’s position was an undercover one so we would prefer it if you stayed in your current line of work.” He was rambling. That was a bad sign. “But, we would pay you a handsome salary if you were to commit to this position.”

I stroked my nonexistent beard in thought. “I suppose that is a good deal. But, how would I even conduct this undercover research?” I asked, thinking I’d backed them into a corner.

“Well…” Officer Peter looked all around to make sure there was no one around that would overhear. “There should be a radio hidden somewhere in the attic.” He whispered just loud enough for me to hear. “We made sure that your grandfather had the right channel and it should still be set for it.”

“And, what do you want me to do with it?” I asked, getting impatient. 

“Well, listen in, of course.” He used his full volume again. “We want you to listen to the broadcast and tell us anything you learn. You can start tonight if you’d like.”

I chuckled. “Well, I can’t start tonight because today’s broadcast is already over.” I cupped my hands over my mouth. I wasn’t supposed to say that. I should not have said that.

Officer Peter looked confused, and then angry. But, instead of shouting or arresting me, he laughed. “Oh, wow. You are ahead of the game. I should’ve known that you would find the radio and be curious. That means you are ahead of the game. Can we come in and you can let us know what you found out?”

This felt like a trap. A police officer would never be this friendly with someone who was caught breaking the law. Still, I stepped to the side and invited them in. They walked in and I shut the door behind them.

“So,” Officer Peter turned back to me as the other officer took his place behind him again. “What did you find out from the broadcast?”

I hesitated. Should I tell them? It didn’t seem like the kind of thing cops should know. I didn’t even know who would be at the rebellion meeting. I could be ratting out people who can’t afford to get in trouble. Then again, I couldn’t just not tell them. They were cops. It would be more illegal to not tell them.

Finally, I took a deep breath and spit it out. “They are meeting this Friday at 7 pm.”

“I see, and where are they meeting?” He asked. Officer Frank had pulled out a notepad and was writing down everything I said.

I opened my mouth to answer but had to think for a second. “I’m not sure. I kinda missed that part.”

Officer Peter’s eye twitched. “What do you mean you ‘missed that part?’ I thought you were listening to the broadcast. How could you miss the most important detail?”

Officer Peter wasn’t shouting, but he was no longer composed. He was angry. Very angry. But, to his credit, he was trying to hide it. It wasn’t his fault I was good at reading people’s lies.

“What I mean is I was listening to the broadcast when you knocked on the door and my panic to keep the police from knowing what I was doing in the attic, I missed them say where they were meeting.” I remained much more composed than Officer Peter had, and I hoped he couldn’t see right through me into the ball of stress I was hiding. “So, I’m afraid I won’t be able to help you with this today.”

Officer Peter took a deep breath. “That’s okay. If I’m not mistaken, there should be a recording device on the radio. We started using it when your grandfather’s hearing started to diminish. We can just check that. Where is the radio now?”

“Uhh, it’s in the attic.” I stammered. He seemed to be jumping around from thought to thought in his little brain. He pushed past me and went straight to my still open attic hatch. I looked over at Officer Frank and we exchanged a look of confusion before following him up the stairs.

We got up to the top of the stairs and saw Officer Peter sifting through my grandfather’s stuff and muttering to himself. “Where is it? Where is it?”

“If you are looking for the radio, it should be on the nightstand by the window.” I looked over only to remember that I knocked the nightstand over when I rushed downstairs. “Actually, it should be on the floor next to the nightstand.”

Officer Peter rushed over and collapsed back onto the floor next to the nightstand. I slowly walked over next to him. The radio was on the ground where I said it was, but it was also in pieces. “No, no, no no no!” Officer Peter shouted. “It’s destroyed. All of it, even the recorder. There is no way we are going to find these rebels now.”

He stood up and kicked the nightstand before storming out of the attic, muttering to himself in anger. I went to follow him but Officer Frank stopped me.

“Excuse me?” I tried to push past him. “I don’t want him destroying my entire house.”

“The meeting is being held in the basement of the Dollar General on Hanely. The password is ‘lights on’ and it's BYOC, bring your own candle.” He whispered just loud enough for me to hear. “Wear all black and try not to draw attention to yourself, both outside and in the meeting.”

I stared at him, utterly confused. “How do you know all this?”

“Jen is my sister.” He admitted. “She keeps me up to date with everything she and her husband, Chad, are doing with their rebellion. I help with getting police forces and undercover detectives such as your grandfather to assist her rebellion.”

“So, you want to recruit me to help the rebellion and the police force?” I asked. “How would that even work?”

“Not exactly. The rebellion is nearly ready to overthrow the government and start to build the world to something better and less fearful. If you were to help us, you would only have to play both sides for a couple months, at most.” He explained.

I thought about it for a moment. It sounded good. I had always wished that there was still technology in the world and thus was the way to make that happen. On the other hand, it was illegal, and super dangerous. What if I got caught? What if I died? The thrill was so enticing. 

“I’m in.” I said, excitedly. Officer Frank patted my shoulder and nodded before disappearing back downstairs. I followed quickly.