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"I don't know why I write science fiction. The voices in my head told me to!"
- Charles Stross

Cosmic Teletype  
  A device that utilizes the fourth dimensional continuum to achieve communication at great distances.  

Joseph Rane was not a scientist, but he applied his own special talents in the creation of the cosmic teletype.

First, he mounted the two teletypes on a wooden bench, side by side... He next turned his attention to his cosmic radio.


(Cosmic Teletype from 'Cosmic Teletype' by Carl Jacobi)

He called it that for want of a better term. The earlier developments of this machine were lost in a frenzy of experimentation. Starting with a study of atomic power, Rane had developed a miniature atom-smasher; later he elaborated his instrument into a device of which he himself stood a little in awe.

"You see," he said one day to his housekeeper, "this machine as it now stands is based on a concept of the relation between time and space. It will project a ray through the fourth dimensional continuum. In other words, when turned to full power, is will cause a disruption of the space-time coordinates, a channel so to speak which leads from our own three-dimensional world into the fourth dimension. I am convinced that such a channel is being utilized by beings of other planets as a means of communication."

Rane then connected the two teletypes to the machine, with a loading coil between each. He pulled the switch, set the dynamos in action and awaited results.

From Cosmic Teletype, by Carl Jacobi.
Published by Thrilling Wonder Stories in 1938
Additional resources -

Jacobi also describes it as a "cosmic radio."

In use throughout the story, it is clear that it is as quick a mode of communication as a teletype; instantaneous transmission, followed by a short interval in which a message is read and responded to.

Read more about the hyperwave concept.

Take a look at some of these explicitly FTL communication methods:

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Additional resources:
  More Ideas and Technology from Cosmic Teletype
  More Ideas and Technology by Carl Jacobi
  Tech news articles related to Cosmic Teletype
  Tech news articles related to works by Carl Jacobi

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