In 1926: living at the edge of time - Monoskop

230 ARRAYS
resistance, all the more so since the medium of tube mail emphasizes the
current technology of most telephone conversations: the people at opposite
ends of the line are physically connected by a wire or tube. Although
a wireless telephone service from New York to London begins in January
(Heimer, 100), Denmark joins the European telephone network ten
months later with a cable running through the North Sea to the German
town of Warnemiinde (8 Uhr-Abendblatt, October 19). [see Wireless
Communication] Between tube mail and wireless communication, the
classic telephone network thus remains the primary technical device by
which the State makes its power felt. Once Antoine's mother and Colonel
Bigua, the "man who steals children" in Supervielle's novel, have reached
a surprising agreement, Helene asks her servant Rose to call the police
and say that any further investigations are unnecessary, since the child
has been found. "'Where?' a deep voice at the other end of the line asked
with severity. But, suddenly trembling, Rose hung up, without really
knowing why. And her mistress approved" (118).
Despite their already overwhelming authority, the State and its bureaucracy
seem to aspire to an even greater degree of surveillance-and
a greater degree of power presence without bodily presence. In Fritz
Lang's film Metropolis, this vision is a reality for Fredersen, the "Master
of Metropolis." At the height of the workers' revolt, he receives a tickertape
message from Grot, the engineer in charge of the "central power
plant." The technical circumstances of Fredersen's return call evidently
take it through three different levels of yet another hierarchical power
relation: "In the office of the Master of Metropolis, we see a large
tickertape machine on the wall by the door. Fredersen comes in, inspects
the tape, then turns a dial on the apparatus. Seen from behind, he turns
another dial. The characters 'HM2' appear on an illuminated screen in
front of him. Then a series of images from the central power plant appear
beneath. Fredersen adjusts the picture to 'hold' as the image of Grot, the
chief engineer, appears by a control panel, rushing nervously to and fro.
Fredersen picks up the receiver of a telephone next to him and presses a
button" (Lang, 102). Confronted with the workers' threat to destroy the
central power plant, the engineer panics. But the picture phone makes it
impossible for him to hide his nervousness from the Master's view. [see
Employees] Finally, Grot receives a definitive order from Fredersen's end
of the line, an order meant to eternally establish the Master's control over
the workers: "Title: 'If they destroy the power plant, we will flood the