OMG, A CUL8R Time Travel Mystery Read Online Free Page B

dried straw from the top, revealing a large yellowed envelope.  He opened it and slid the paper out.  “Holy crap!” he exclaimed as he quickly scanned it.
    “What is it?”
    “A letter from Thomas Edison.” Scott stood, barely able to contain his excitement as he walked toward the front of the garage where the light was better.  The ink had faded and was almost impossible to read in spots.
    “ Really?”  Kelly followed and peered down at the letter in amazement.
    “ I wrote three different term papers on Edison.  I love this guy.  He was America’s greatest inventor.  His house and museum aren’t very far from here.  I’ll take you there when you’re settled.  We can spend an entire day there easy.”
    “J eez, Scott . . . what does the letter say, anyway?”
    Scott began to read the letter out loud.  “ From the Laboratory of Thomas A. Edison, Fort Myers, Florida.  April 14th, 1929 .”  He held the letter out for Kelly to see. “I love how they used to write letters back in the day.”
    “Really, that’s what it says?”
    “No . . . no . . . that was me. Okay, it says,
    ” Mr. R. J. Darby, As you and many of my people already know, I am reducing my workload on several of my inventions.  This decision has been a long time coming.  Deciding what to work on and what to not work on has been very difficult. One of the items I have decided to stop development on is the Telephone to the Dead as you and I have called it.  It has been two years of collaboration which I have greatly valued, but I fear it will not be widely accepted.  In appreciation for your many years of dedicated work for me, I am officially giving to you this device and all rights forever.  You are free to continue its development on your own time and with your own resources as you see fit.  I wish you the best of success as you fine-tune it for commercial or personal use.  Signed, Thomas A. Edison. ”
    Scott sat in silence staring at the letter almost in disbelief.
    “My great-great-grandfather worked for Edison?”  Kelly was equally shocked and impressed.  She had no idea that someone in her family had had such a close brush with greatness.
    “ He was a mucker,” Scott said with authority.
    “ A what?”
    “ A mucker.”
    “ Did you make that up?” she asked skeptically, not really knowing if he was insulting or complimenting her distance relative.
    “ Nope.  That’s the name that Edison gave to his helpers who actually did the metal work, carpentry, you know, the manual labor on his inventions.  He had so many inventions going at the same time, he couldn’t do all the work on them, so he hired young men right out of college or technical school to help out.  I’ve talked with a lot of people around here and no one knows where that name came from, but it’s real.”
    “Go on.”
    “This means that in that box is something Thomas Edison, himself, invented.  He actually worked on it.  He touched it.”  Scott was clearly overwhelmed.
    “What did he mean by a Telephone to the Dead ?  That sounds pretty wild.”
    “I don’t know much about it .  There were always rumors that Edison had invented something that allowed him to talk to the dead, but no one ever saw it work or even saw any plans.  Everyone thought it was just an urban myth.”  Scott returned to the box and very gently brushed aside wood shavings and more straw until he uncovered what looked like an old short wave radio and a microphone.  “This must be it.”
    “Doesn’t look like a telephone to me.  It looks more like a radio . . . sort of a Spirit Radio,” Kelly suggested.
    “Oh I like that, Spirit Radio.  That’s a cool name.  Can we try it out now?”
    “I don’t see why not.  Let’s get an extension cord and plug it in.”  Kelly looked along the wall and found an extension cord.  She plugged one end in the socket and unrolled it to reach Scott.  Together they lifted the radio out and placed it on the workbench.