who is calling?

zeph’s pop culture quiz #57
Who is calling?
The public phone is ringing. Who is calling? And a scene from which book is cited thereby?
    Simply leave a comment with your educated guess—you can ask for additional hints, too. [Leaving a comment is easy; just click the ‘Leave a comment’ at the end of the post and fill in the form. If it’s the first time you post a comment, it will be held for moderation. But I am constantly checking, and once I’ve approved a comment, your next ones won’t be held, but published immediately by the system.]

UPDATE and partial solution (29 January 2013):
Detail of the season 2 titlecard of the television series 'Person of Interest' (Nolan 2011-present)
S.A.S. has solved the first part of the riddle. It is the artificial intelligence called ‘The Machine’ from the television series Person of Interest (Nolan 2011-present) calling John Reese (Jim Caviezel) via a public pay phone. The scene is from the end of the final episode of season one, Firewall (S01E23). As a recap the scene is repeated and then continued at the beginning of The Contingency (S02E01). Now the question remains: Which scene from which book is cited here? Hint: The citation becomes even more explicit in the latest episode, Prisoner’s Dilemma (S02E12).

UPDATE and final solution (08 February 2013):
Mona did it, identified and quoted the correct passage from William Gibson’s ‘Neuromancer’ (1984)—congratulations! In the scene from Prisoner’s Dilemma (S02E12) I hinted towards, a pay phone rings next to Harold Finch (Michael Emerson) walking on the street. Due to the dramaturgy of the story Finch ignores it and walks on. Then the next phone near to him starts ringing … Here is the complete scene from ‘Neuromancer’, when the artificial intelligence which goes by the name ‘Wintermute’ calls Case, the main human protagonist:

There were cigarettes in the gift shop, but he didn’t relish talking with Armitage or Riviera. He left the lobby and located a vending console in a narrow alcove, at the end of a rank of
pay phones.
    He fumbled through a pocketful of lirasi, slotting the small dull alloy coins one after another, vaguely amused by the anachronism of the process. The phone nearest him rang.
    Automatically, he picked it up.
    “Yeah?”
    Faint harmonics, tiny inaudible voices rattling across some orbital link, and then a sound like wind.
    “Hello. Case.”
    A fifty-lirasi coin fell from his hand, bounced, and rolled out of sight across Hilton carpeting.
    “Wintermute, Case. It’s time we talk.”
    It was a chip voice.
    “Don’t you want to talk, Case?”
    He hung up.
    On his way back to the lobby, his cigarettes forgotten, he had to walk the length of the ranked phones. Each rang in turn, but only once, as he passed. (Gibson 1984: chpt. 7)

GIBSON, WILLIAM FORD. 1984. Neuromancer. New York: Penguin.
NOLAN, JONATHAN. 2011-present. Person of interest [TV series]. New York: CBS.
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Comments
  • S.A.S. Monday, 28th January 2013 at 17:15

    Could it be the machine itself consisting of / using and connecting all the communication devices and surveillance systems?

    • zephyrin_xirdal Monday, 28th January 2013 at 22:02

      This is correct—it is the machine itself calling. But … which series, which season, and which episode? And, much more important: What scene from which book is cited? Hint: The citation becomes even more explicit in a later episode.

  • S.A.S. Tuesday, 29th January 2013 at 06:41

    Person of Interest. Either episode 23 from the first season or the first episode from the second. I am not so sure. I guess I have to keep on watching to get the hint…

    • zephyrin_xirdal Tuesday, 29th January 2013 at 20:34

      This is absolutely correct—congrats on the partial solution! I’ve updated the post accordingly and gave yet another hint.

  • Mona Wednesday, 6th February 2013 at 20:26

    The phone nearest him rang.
    Automatically, he picked it up.
    `Yeah?’
    Faint harmonics, tiny inaudible voices rattling across some
    orbital link, and then a sound like wind.
    `Hello, Case.’
    A fifty-lirasi coin fell from his hand, bounced, and rolled
    out of sight across Hilton carpeting.
    `Wintermute, Case. It’s time we talk.’
    It was a chip voice.

    http://project.cyberpunk.ru/lib/neuromancer/

    • zephyrin_xirdal Friday, 8th February 2013 at 10:52

      Congratulations, that’s exactly it! I updated the post accordingly.

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