A Voice in the Wilderness by John Scalzi Read Free Book Online

Episode Four: A Voice in the Wilderness
    Albert Birnbaum, the “Voice in the Wilderness” and once the fourth most popular audio talk show host in the United States, told his car to ring his producer. “Are the numbers in?” he asked when she answered, not bothering to introduce himself, because, well. Aside from the caller ID, she would know who he was the second he opened his mouth.
    “The numbers are in,” Louisa Smart said, to Birnbaum. He imagined her at her desk, headset on, mostly because he almost never saw her in any other context.
    “How are they?” Birnbaum asked. “Are they good? Are they better than last month? Tell me they are better than last month.”
    “Are you sitting down?” Smart asked.
    “I’m driving, Louisa,” Birnbaum said. “Of course I’m sitting down.”
    “You’re not supposed to be driving yourself,” Smart reminded him. “You’ve had your manual driving license pulled. If you get pulled over and they check your car’s trip monitor and see you have the autodrive off, you’re going to get it.”
    “You’re my producer, Louisa,” Birnbaum said. “Not my mom. Now quit stalling and give me the numbers.”
    Smart sighed. “You’re down twelve percent from last month,” she said.
    “What? Bullshit, Louisa,” Birnbaum said.
    “Al, why the hell would I lie to you?” Smart asked. “You think I like listening to you panic?”
    “That’s gotta be bullshit,” Birnbaum continued, ignoring Smart’s comment. “There’s no possible way we can lose one listener in eight in a single goddamn month.”
    “I don’t make up the numbers, Al,” Smart said. “I just tell you what they are.”
    Birnbaum said nothing for a few seconds. Then he started hitting his dashboard, making him swerve on the road. “Shit!” he said. “Shit shit fuck shit shit shittity shit!”
    “Sometimes it’s amazing to me that you talk for a living,” Smart said.
    “I’m off the clock,” Birnbaum said. “I’m allowed to be inarticulate on my own time.”
    “These numbers mean that you’re down by a third for the year,” Smart said. “You’re going to miss your ad guarantees. Again. That means we’re going to have to do another set of make-goods. Again.”
    “I know how it works, Louisa,” Birnbaum said.
    “It means we’re going to finish the quarter in the red,” Smart said. “That’s two quarters out of the last three we’re down. You know what that means.”
    “It doesn’t mean anything other than we make sure we’re in the black next quarter,” Birnbaum said.
    “Wrong again,” Strong said. “It means that Walter puts you on his watch list. And when Walter puts you on the watch list, you’re one step away from cancellation. Then that ‘Voice in the Wilderness’ bit of yours won’t just be a clever affectation. You really will be out in the cold.”
    “Walter’s not going to cancel me,” Birnbaum said. “I’m his favorite talk show host.”
    “You remember Bob Arrohead? The guy you replaced? He was Walter’s favorite, too,” Smart said. “And then he had three bad quarters in a row and he was out on his ass. Walter didn’t build a multibillion media empire by being sentimental about his favorites. He’d cancel his grandmother if she had three red quarters in a row.”
    “I could make it alone if I had to,” Birnbaum said. “Run a lean, mean operation on my own. It’s totally possible.”
    “That’s what Bob Arrohead does now,” Smart said. “You should ask him how that’s working out for him. If you can find him. If you can find anyone who knows how to find him.”
    “Yes, but he doesn’t have you, ” Birnbaum said. He was not above base flattery.
    And Smart was not above throwing it back in his face. “And if you get canceled and leave SilverDelta, neither will you,” she said. “My contract is with the company, not with you, Al. But thank you so much for the attempted head pat. Where are you, anyway?”
    “I’m heading to Ben’s soccer