"Hi,
you have reached the Borg collective. Please leave your name and star
system and we'll assimilate you as soon as we can."
You
are dazed, bewildered, trapped in a world with no time, where color
collides with sound, and shadows explode. You see a sign up ahead. This
is no ordinary answering device; this is "The
As
the drugs take hold, you feel you are losing your grip on reality. You
begin to hallucinate. You see a telephone... The telephone is next to
an answering machine... You hear a faint click and a light flashes on
the answering machine... You hear a beep...
Hello,
this is Death. I am not in right now, but if you leave your name and
number, I'll be right with you.
Hello,
this is your local zoo. Do you like animals? We are experiencing severe
problems with hot water. Would you be so kind as to allow us to bring
our elephants over to your bathroom for a shower? (The most common response:
"Well, sure, but my neighbor's bathroom is bigger and better equipped
to handle elephants.")