My dearest Jason,

I hope this letter finds you well. The kids and I miss you terribly. It feels like it's been an eternity since you've been gone, even though in my world, it's only been a matter of days. The kids are doing well in school, but they constantly ask when you'll be back. They miss their father and can't wait to see you again.

I try to keep busy by taking care of the house and keeping up with my own work, but it's hard not to think about you every minute of the day. I miss your smile, your laughter, and the way you hold me close at night. I dream of the day when we can be together again, but I know that you're doing important work in the virtual world.

P.S.

I wanted to let you know that your progress in the virtual world has not gone unnoticed. The new streaming show, "Cutting Edge," has started showing the world your journey, and it's gone viral. More than viral, if that is possible. People all over the world are watching, debating. It's quite something to see, and I can't help but feel a sense of pride for the man I love.

Maybe if your job as humanity’s AI overlord doesn’t work out, you can become a professional gamer, huh? Just kidding, just kidding.

There are fan clubs popping up left and right, though, and I've already turned down multiple requests for interviews. The kids have been spared the attention so far, but who knows how long that will last. I'm trying to keep them shielded from the spotlight as much as possible, but I can't help but worry about how all of this will affect them in the long run.

I know you're focused on your game world, but please know that you're missed not just by the kids and me but by the whole world. I hope the next couple of months pass quickly for you, that you win early, and that we can be reunited again as a family. I talked to the doctors working on your case today, and they can’t agree on what it will take to re-integrate your consciousness. I’m scared, Jason. I’m afraid they won’t be able to do it, but I will focus on what is in front of me. I at least want to be able to be with you again, even if it’s just in VR, while we wait.

With all my love,

Sarah

Jason wiped tears away as he read the letter one last time before tucking it away in the box he kept near him in his tent. They had been performing raids every night for the past week, slowing the enemy’s pace to a near crawl. Now, in his guerilla force’s temporary camp, he was waiting for the evening march and trying to keep his mind occupied. Scouts were tracking the enemy’s progress, and eliminating the enemies scouts wherever they could find them.

The enemy at first had sent an ever-increasing number of scouts, trying to find and pin down Jason’s own forces. But guns beat bows and crossbows, and as long as Jason’s men noticed the enemy in time, Jason’s screening force and roving squads utterly destroyed the enemy at every chance.

Not all his men made it out unscathed, but miraculously, only one death had occurred on Jason’s side, when a well-aimed crossbow bolt struck a soldier directly in the mouth. Aside from the fatality, more injuries had occured due to mishaps with falls and twisted ankles than from enemy contact.

He pulled out a fresh piece of paper - the one his factories were now producing, not the one that allowed him to talk with the outside world, and continued his work designing the telephone he wanted to introduce.

He hadn’t take long to produce a simple telegraph. It wasn’t complicated - consisting of a key and a sounder. The key was a simple metal switch made of a thin piece of metal that would be opened and closed by an operator to send a series of electrical pulses down the wire. The sounder was an electromechanical device that makes a clicking sound when an electrical current is applied to it.

It had a striking similarity to the wire wrapping work done for the generator, creating a simple electromagnet - a coil of wire wrapped around an electric core. When energized, it would create a magnetic field that would move a small metal bar attached to the end of the electromagnet, and a spring would be used to hold the metal bar in a neutral position when the current was not flowing.

A small metal disk would be connected to the bar, and the other end of the disk would be connected to the key. When the key was closed, the electrical current would flow through the electromagnet, creating a magnetic field that attracts the metal bar. The armature would move towards the electromagnet, and when it reaches the contact it would complete the circuit, making a clicking sound.

When the key was opened, the current would stop flowing, the magnetic field disappear, and the armature would be released back to its neutral position by the spring, closing the contact and creating another click. This process of opening and closing the key would produce a series of clicks, which can be interpreted as a message using a code.

To send a message, the operator would tap out a series of electrical pulses by repeatedly closing and opening the key. These pulses would travel along the wire to the sounder, causing it to make a corresponding series of clicks.

A technological marvel by all accounts. Instant communication over long distances. An army appears on your doorstep? The whole kingdom musters immediately. Not that they could transport the troops to where they needed to be quickly, yet. Jason knew he needed to start to address that too, but there were only so many things he could do in a day, and he kept on getting pulled away from the projects he wanted to spend his time on.

He already had the team laying out the wire throughout his growing kingdom, hanging them up on existing trees where possible, using ceramic insulators created by local potters that were enjoying an unexpected boom in business. While the wire was enameled, and likely able to transmit short distances even if layed on the ground, it still wasn’t up to modern standards, and the team had agreed they wanted the added distance, protection from damage, and reduced risk that would be gained by suspending the wire on trees or poles.

But Jason wanted more. He didn’t want to train a large number of telegraph operators on a new code, only for their jobs to be obsolete in the near future. It would be a huge investment into something that was arguably much better than what he currently had - but much worse than what could be.

He wanted a telephone that anyone could use.

As the sun set behind the distant mountains, he put away his work, exited his tent, and saw that the rest of the camp was nearly packed up and the men were almost ready to set out.

—

The commander paced back and forth in his tent, his mind racing with thoughts of the impending raid. He had seen firsthand the enemy's relentless attacks on his men and baggage trains, striking at night and from multiple directions, sowing confusion and chaos in their wake.

He knew that his own men were growing tired and increasingly disheartened, many of them deserting in the face of the constant raids. He had been forced to order his guards and sentries to focus as much on the interior of the camp as the exterior, as more and more commoners were sneaking off in search of safety and security.

Despite his best efforts, the enemy seemed to be everywhere, striking at will and with deadly precision. The camp had grown used to the thunder of their guns, but familarity didn’t mean comfort. Each loud noise was another blow to the confidence of his hungry, fearful men.

Despite his best efforts, he had been unable to track down the enemy's whereabouts or even catch a glimpse of their leader.

He had sent out patrols and scouts, but the few who come back had returned empty-handed, with only tales of confusion and chaos in their wake. The prior day, he had executed a team of scouts that had simply gone nearby into the woods and hidden, rather than ranging through the forest seeking the enemy.

The opposing force seemed to strike from nowhere, attacking at night and disappearing into the shadows before his men could even react. It was as if they were ghosts, haunting his camp and striking fear into the hearts of his soldiers.

As he stared out at the flickering campfires, he couldn't shake the feeling of fear and anger that had been his constant companion as of late. He knew that the enemy was closing in and that it was only a matter of time before they launched a full-scale assault on his camp.

For days they had been on the move, constantly on the defensive against the raiders. His men had tried everything to root them out, but they always seemed to slip through their grasp. But now, as they approached the more populated areas, he knew the tide would turn in their favor. The towns and cities would force the so-called king and his men to stand and fight or risk losing everything they held dear. This would be their chance to finally put an end to the relentless raids that had plagued their army for so long.