411

by Ray Hecht

Jacob was a simple 411 operator (back in the day, when that was a thing). A bit anxious, a bit awkward, but not dangerous. Yet when his love is spurned he decides to take matters into his own hands and discovers he has the power to change the world. Its time for revenge.


The secret underworld of 411 operators will be revealed. Note the references of William S. Burroughs and the cutup technology, in audio format. There's a bit of Palahniuk in there, though this author is reluctant to admit it. Disturbing, cynical, well-researched, and maybe some mindless shock value. The point is, get ready to learn about untold depths of the 411 scene.


Telephone service jobs, don't you miss it?

ebook

First published August 22, 2013

About the author

Ray Hecht was raised in America, from the Midwest to the West Coast, on a starchy diet of movies and comics and science fiction paperbacks. Mostly writing about such states as California and Ohio, and such provinces as Guangdong. Lived in Shenzhen, China since 2008, that Special Economic Zone & Hong Kong-bordering chaotic city of the future, occasionally partaking in freelance journalism for various local publications. Ray now lives in Taiwan.

Reviews

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unusual soft horror! Clever!

411 by Ray Hecht starts out like it's just a guy tired of his job, and then people in general, but it goes beyond that! He starts a clever psychic attack on thousands of people, a curse, but he didn't expect it would come back on him! Slightly dark but very clever! I think we have all been in this guys shoes, in the very beginning, hating a job, but we change jobs. He doesn't. He does something more!😉

[Richard Derus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3* of five

Like listening in on Steve Bannon's internal monologue. I feel a little queasy, a lot filthy, and not entirely pleased.

[Vedrana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this short story😊

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intriguing look into the life of Jacob, a young man that works at a 411 call centre, whom seems a bit quirky in the beginning, but then decides to take matters into his own hands by asking Emily, a fellow co-worker, out on a date. Once Jacob and Emily get to know each other, Emily decides that the relationship 'isn't working for her', and tells Jacob that it's over. Upset by this turn of events, Jacob switches his work shift from day to night, going through the motions of sporadic phone calls from certain individuals that make him rethink his meagre existence.

Once Jacob goes off the rails, he begins recording individual phone calls, even placing a recording at Emily's home. Throughout this story, Jacob details the horrors of dealing with the same types of customers on a daily basis, and how this affects his lifestyle, as he learns his company is shutting-down operations and moving overseas. In the end, Jacob has become a completely different person, relaying his experience at the call centre by deciding to travel to such destinations as Auschwitz, and desiring to see Nagasaki.

I enjoyed reading how Ray described in detail Jacob's demise, from being a quiet young man, wanting to find a job to keep himself entertained, to a disturbed individual, whom gets a thrill from recording voices. Ray does a fine job of leading us readers into believing that Jacob has become 'one of them', a human that exists solely for the purpose of non-existence. Through Jacob's experiences, we are shown a side of human beings that we often turn a blind eye to, wanting to only see the good despite the hatred that often exists within humanity. A fine work that makes us think twice about how others are perceived.

[Jonathan Antony · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this story about a year ago and loved it. Here's my review from back then.
......

A truly excellent story were a man called Jacob finds himself in a god awful job, surrounded by equally awful and disgusting people, as his old dull life, and his very own ethics slip slowly away from him.

This modern day psychological horror story was a joy to read as the author delves into a single man's rotten lifestyle that has been forced upon him by the modern world as he discovers a technique to vent his revenge on the people he hates (which is mainly everybody), becoming a tyrannical monster in the process. Not the type of tyrannical monster that destroys civilisations by stomping on them or tearing them down in a Godzilla kind of way. The monster he becomes, and the power that he creates, is a much more frightening and terrible thing.

[Jamilaih · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disturbing...interesting, but disturbing.