_QRM--International code signal meaning "Interference" of
controllable nature, such as man-made static, cross modulation from
another channel adjoining or willful obliteration of signals by an
interfering source._
_Interference not of natural sources such as electrical storms,
common static, et cetera. (Designated by International code as
QRN.)_
--_Handbook, Interplanetary Amateur Radio League._
Korvus, the Magnificent, Nilamo of Yoralen, picked up the telephone
in his palace and said: "I want to talk to Wilneda. He is at the
International Hotel in Detroit, Michigan."
"I'm sorry, sir," came the voice of the operator. "Talking is not
possible, due to the fifteen-minute transmission lag between here and
Terra. However, teletype messages are welcome."
Her voice originated fifteen hundred miles north of Yoralen, but it
sounded as though she might be in the next room. Korvus thought for a
moment and then said: "Take this message: 'Wilneda: Add to order for
mining machinery one type 56-XXD flier to replace washed-out model. And
remember, alcohol and energy will not mix!' Sign that Korvus."
"Yes, Mr. Korvus."
"Not _mister_!" yelled the monarch. "I am Korvus the Magnificent! I am
Nilamo of Yoralen!"
"Yes, your magnificence," said the operator humbly. It was more than
possible that she was stifling a laugh, which knowledge made the little
man of Venus squirm in wrath. But there was nothing he could do about
it, so he wisely said nothing.
To give Korvus credit, he was not a pompous little man. He was
large--for a Venusian--which made him small according to the standards
set up by Terrestrians. He, as Nilamo of Yoralen, had extended the
once-small kingdom outward to include most of the Palanortis Country
which extended from 23.0 degrees North Latitude to 61.7 degrees, and
almost across the whole, single continent that was the dry land of
Venus.
So Korvus' message to Terra zoomed across the fifteen hundred rocky
miles of Palanortis to Northern Landing. It passed high across the
thousand-foot-high trees and over the mountain ranges. It swept over
open patches of water, and across intervening cities and towns. It went
with the speed of light and in a tight beam from Yoralen to Northern
Landing, straight as a die and with person-to-person clarity. The
operator in the city that lay across the North Pole of Venus clicked on
a teletype, reading back the message as it was written.