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"In 1970 I found little difficulty staying 30 years ahead of the man in the street, and now I find it difficult to stay 18 months ahead of the man on the street."
- Vernor Vinge

Whisper Line  
  A means of communication between prisoners held in wide separation.  

"...My God, this must be real! You're talking the gutter lingo. You must be real. Who are you?"
"Gully Foyle."
"But you're not in my cell. You're not even near. Men are in the north quadrant of Gouffre Martel. Women are in the south. I'm South-900. Where are you?
"North-111."
"You're a quarter of a mile away. How can we - Of course! It's the Whisper Line. I always thought that was a legend, but it's true. It's working now... It's a miracle."

"What's a miracle?"
"There's an acoustical freak in Gouffre Martel... they happen in underground caves... a freak of echoes, passages and whispering galleries. Old-timers call it the Whisper Line..."

Technovelgy from The Stars My Destination, by Alfred Bester.
Published by Berkley in 1956
Additional resources -

Compare to the use of the same idea in whispering galleries from Jules Verne's 1864 novel Journey to the Center of the Earth.

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Additional resources:
  More Ideas and Technology from The Stars My Destination
  More Ideas and Technology by Alfred Bester
  Tech news articles related to The Stars My Destination
  Tech news articles related to works by Alfred Bester

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