The voices

About The voices

The voices by Edward Wellen is a science fiction short story written in the mid-20th century. It follows a man who briefly becomes an accidental human radio receiver and overhears a deadly domestic exchange, touching on themes of technological happenstance, infidelity, and fatalism. Nicholas Kane, a meticulous chemical engineer, has accumulated metal in and on his body over the years—dental work, a metal tooth, steel-rimmed glasses, a hearing aid, and a gold wedding ring he habitually taps against his teeth. One morning that tap completes a momentary, freakish circuit aided by a migrating sliver of graphite in his palm, and he hears a distorted conversation between a woman and a man named Bill that ends with a blow from a clock and a horrified “What have I done?” Shaken, he suspects accidental radio pickup and leaves work early to surprise his wife. At home he finds her dozing, murmuring “Bill?” with one hand near her glasses and the other toward the bedroom clock—recreating the scene he overheard. The tale ends on the chilling realization that he has listened to the imminence of his own murder, and that going home has set it in motion.

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