There was silence for a moment. Then Carl's voice came through: "Hello? Anyone there? Is this the answering service? I was told this was the number for the free answering service... Hello?"

Someone wasn't sure what voicemail was. Leave a message. He's smart, he'll get it eventually.

Somewhere, Carl had scrounged up an actual answering machine:

"You have reached the office of the Fandom Island Gazette, your island's proud provider of all the news that you deserve to know about. Carl Kolchak, editor. Please leave your message at the tone and remember, home delivery subscriptions are still available."

And there was an actual