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[Voice1]: -which connects to this section here with what I think are contact points here, which would complete the circuit. Oh, the light’s turned green!

[Voice2]: That’s how you know it’s working. See that wax cylinder turning in there, and the silver film wrapped around it? It’s recording your voice, Gigi.

[silence]

[Voice1]: HELLO, LISTENERS IN THE FAR OFF YEAR OF 2025! I AM RECORDING MY VOICE VIA THE HIGHLY-ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY KNOWN AS A DICTAPHONE. I AM GERALDINE MACY, THE SMARTEST WOMAN ALIVE!

[overlapping laughter]

[Voice2]: You think people will be pulling this out to listen to you a hundred and fifty years from now?

[Voice1]: Of course. Once I get published a dozen times in Nature, people will be dying to know everything about me. I’m going to be famous, Mattie.

[Voice2]: That’s Special Assistant Walstead. People don’t get to call me Mattie until they’ve shared a bed with me. But I’m impressed. Only took you a few days to get this gizmo working; I’ve been working on it since the Marshal left.

[Voice1]: Ah, I mean, working with Mr. Freestone helps with…lateral thinking. I just looked at how it was put together and figured out how it had to be wired.

[Voice2]: Is that so? You’ve mentioned him a lot in the past hour, haven’t you? I’ve talked to a few doctors and none of them know a thing about putting a device together. Granted, it was mostly pillow talk, but it does seem odd.

[Voice1]: Well…Victor isn’t a doctor. That’s why everybody calls him ‘mister’.

[Voice2]: Except you, who calls him Victor whenever your ears go red.

[silence]

[Voice1]: Mr. Freestone lets me call him that as a sign of respect, and sometimes I use it when I suspect people are about to be unfair to him. He led the charge against a band of infiltrating wizards and people still call him ‘the n*****’ behind his back. It’s disgraceful. Reminding them that the Mayor’s own daughter respects him keeps them polite. That’s all.

[Voice2]: Oh, don’t worry, I won’t say a thing. You two are cute, after all.

[Voice1]: WHAT?

[Voice2]: It’s almost storybook. Mysterious older gentleman comes into town, young inexperienced woman becomes fascinated by him-

[Voice1]: I-INEXPERIENCED?!

[Voice2]: I can tell when I’ve given someone their first kiss, Gigi. Older figure, inexperienced woman, can’t consummate their feelings because of her father or the laws of the land or some other malarkey. Don’t worry, I’m on your side here. I’ve seen some handsome Negroes in my day; sometimes you get the temptation.

[silence]

[Voice1]: Thank…you? But you’re wrong, and you’re being unfair to Vic-Mr. Freestone. Our relationship is professional, not some…illicit tryst masquerading as something else. Stop saying things that’ll get him arrested.

[Voice2]: You think the relationship’s professional, but does he think that? How much do you know about Victor? He’s a very quiet, very careful man. Maybe he’s just been waiting for the right moment to partake of you. You’ll never know unless you learn everything he might be hiding.

[Voice2]: For all his self-control, he’s still a Negro man. Desire lingers in all of their nethers. Don’t wait for it to pounce when you’re not ready. Dig into him. Find out everything about him. And when you know what he truly is and you want to take the stallion for a ride, you come back to me and I’ll teach you everything an enterprising equestrian needs to know.

[Voice1]: Oh, I see where this is going. This is another joke, isn’t it? You’re going to trick me into seducing him so you can embarrass me in front of my father or something, is that it?

[Voice2]: What? No, I’m serious. Men are eager to take advantage of women, so sometimes it falls to us to take advantage first.

[Voice1]: You…you are serious aren’t you? This is your serious advice. I thought you were just making idle jokes this whole time, but… you’re really ravenous, aren’t you? The kind of woman who’ll pounce on any man, or even a woman. I thought the Blue Wench was an act.

[silence]

[Voice2]: She was an act. I played it up for the crowd, gave them something to gossip about - infamy can make a career as easily as it breaks it. But I have loved many and pursued several of them, and gotten thrown out of homes and schools and towns over them. The Blue Wench is an act, but I’m real, Geraldine. And I am serious.

[Voice1]: Oh, um. I’m sorry? I didn’t think you’d be insulted. It’s just…true?

[Voice2]: You want to know an important difference between me and her? The Blue Wench doesn’t have standards, because that makes her funny. I do. It’s not just about whetting an appetite. It’s…it’s about enjoying yourself with enjoyable people, regardless of sex, regardless of skin, and not letting rules get in the way of that.

[Voice2]: And you clearly feel something about Mr. Freestone, so I’m trying to be straight with you, Gigi. Don’t hold back. Ask him about everything. Understand the people you’re attracted to, or you’ll end up fouling things for yourself. Anything you’re confused about, let me help you through it. You get it?

[Voice1]: I…refuse to acknowledge your insinuations concerning my feelings towards Mr. Freestone. But I do get it. He might have a reason for doing things at his pace, but I need to know what I need to know. That was helpful, Matt…Special Assistant Walstead.

[Voice1]: But you’d still better apologize! Regardless of whatever other motives he might have, Victor works with me because he respects my intelligence. To imply anything else insults us both. You have no right to be rude just because you’re ‘experienced’.

[silence]

[Voice2]: I am being rude, aren’t I? I’m sorry, my sense of propriety takes a turn for the worse when I get bored, and I haven’t seen hat or hair of any wizards since I got this monitoring position. Maybe Mr. Freestone doesn’t even find you attractive. It’s rude for me to assume.

[Voice1]: Do you?

[Voice2]: Do I what?

[Voice1]: Find me attractive. Did you just kiss me because you thought it’d be funny, or…do you?

[silence]

[Voice2]: You told me I could be a better person. I’m trying it out.

[Voice1]: And what is that supposed to mean?

[Voice2]: It’s getting dark and it’s starting to snow. You should get back to your house while you can. You know your mother worries about you.

[silence]

[Voice1]: Fine. I’ll be back. With questions. A lot of them!

[creaking noise, followed by wind blowing, followed by a loud slam and stomping footsteps]

[Voice2]: [quiet] Just a few more half-lies and subtle nudges. Once I’m a full assistant, no more hiding anything. Now how do I turn this thing off? Connecting the wire here turned it on so if I-

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