“It’s a phone,” Ment observed, rather pointedly. And it appeared to be not just an ordinary phone, but a very decidedly ancient model. Possibly one of the earliest forms of cellphone ever manufactured. It looked worn from years of overuse, despite the fact that no human had so much as touched one of these obsolete devices in decades.

“Naw, man,” Glyph replied. “It ain’t just no ‘phone’.” Glyph was an expatriate from the Americas working the slides of Hong Kong. He was dressed in the custom casual clothing of a street mankler, roaming the streets in search of styles to emulate for the insatiable appetites of the various corporate entities he worked for. He had heard that Ment was looking for something unique to take back to his executive board in Los Angeles.

“So, what makes it special?” Ment asked. “Besides the fact that it somehow survived the 1990’s intact?”

Glyph leaned in close.

“It’s magic,” he said. He wasn’t joking. “You doubt. Here, watch.”

Glyph picked up the phone and pressed a single button.