Chapter 1: A Glimpse into the Future

“What exactly happens when you enter that room?”

I found myself in the new offices of a production company where I had taken on a summer role. While they referred to me as a production assistant or "PA," my tasks often resembled that of a gopher—fetching coffee, picking people up from LAX, and handling various errands that others preferred to avoid. I was genuinely excited to be part of this environment and embraced every task as an opportunity to expand my horizons and transform my life.

“In that room, there’s a massive machine, towering over me and stretching across half the space. I receive a stack of papers intended for either the Paris or Tokyo offices, and my job is to feed them into the machine one by one, face down. I must do it slowly. The machine emits a subtle sound as I retrieve each page from the other side, one at a time. If all goes well, a faint red mark appears on the back of each page. Once I've processed them all, I find him to confirm their successful transmission.”

Michael shifted in his seat, stroking his chin and locking eyes with me as he pondered his next question. “And then what happens?”

He proceeds to his office behind the machine and calls to verify the papers have arrived. If it’s the Paris office, I hear him speaking in French; for Tokyo, he uses English.”

“Fascinating…”

Indeed, it was. I once heard him—Jerry, as he was called—refer to the machine as a facsimile, a term I wasn't acquainted with back in 1985.

NOTE: In 1964, Xerox Corporation unveiled LDX (Long Distance Xerography), marking the inception of what would evolve into today’s fax machines. The ITU G3 Facsimile Standard, developed in 1980 by Japan’s NTT and KDDI, catalyzed the global adoption of fax technology as a means of communication. In 1985, GammaLink released the first computer-based fax board, GammaFax, which seamlessly integrated computers into the expansive network of fax machines, far surpassing the internet's reach at the time.

While computer-based faxing facilitated mass communications and introduced the nuisance of junk faxes, it also empowered smaller-scale fax management.

We found ourselves seated on a balcony overlooking the busy freeway. Despite the noise and pollution, we relished this moment of conversation before returning indoors. I drew my chair closer, the metal scraping against the concrete, barely audible over the traffic’s roar.

“He mentioned last week that this machine will eventually shrink to a desktop size, allowing everyone to have one at home. He believes we’ll soon carry around devices that resemble computers, fitting in our bags or purses. These gadgets will come with cameras, games, and the ability to communicate without needing to be plugged in or confined indoors.”

“And you say you’re not into science fiction, Connie? What do you call all of this he’s been describing?”

I paused, gazing beyond the freeway toward the hillside homes of Encino, south of Ventura Boulevard—“THE boulevard”—and wondered what it might be like to live or visit there.

“The future, perhaps. I can’t imagine any of this materializing in my lifetime. Before working here, I had no idea you could send documents to another country using a machine. He claims these machines have existed for some time and are continually getting smaller. Maybe by the time we’re twice our current age, some of this will come to fruition.”

“What would that be—around 2015?” His laughter was tinged with disbelief, as if he were mocking my sentiments. “Next, you’ll tell me you’ll be able to pull that tiny computer from your pocket and connect with people worldwide—perhaps even on another planet—when you need assistance.”

In response, I countered, “That could very well happen. Imagine if you wrote a script that gained widespread acclaim, but the decision-makers were hesitant to invest in it—along with you—because of the financial and reputational risks involved. Wouldn’t it be incredible if we could mobilize people across the nation—or even globally—to express their interest and willingness to pay for it on television, sending a unified message to those who needed to see it, all at once?”

“So, not a telepathic communication, but a tangible message that could influence and sway opinions? Your vision of the future does sound intriguing.” Michael rose from the table, stretching his arms. He was shorter than average, with early signs of aging and a few gray strands at his temples. “Now, I must return to my script. If I can finish it by tomorrow, you could give me a lift to Hollywood to deliver it to the studio. Or perhaps you have a spaceship that could transport us faster?” His arms reached skyward, mimicking flight as he mouthed something indistinct over the traffic noise.