The Man Who Was Frozen in Time

by Brad Bennett

Welcome, everybody! I'm Malcolm Mossburger, and this is TALK RADIO!

(Music fanfare)

And have we got a doozie for you tonight, folks? Fredrick Fonglemyer is my guest. And get this: Freddy was cryogenically frozen in 1952 and just unfrozen this year. It's a truly incredible tale causing quite an uproar. Freddy, would you care to explain your story of traveling ahead through time?

Be glad to Malcolm, at the end of 1952, a science laboratory under a secret government project assigned me after I volunteered for their experiment. They were working on a nuclear fusion cryogenic program initially funded by President Truman.

Nuclear fusion cryogenic, what is that?

Truman started the program, and my company won the contract. It is a way to preserve living tissue for extended storage. We were using nuclear energy to drive its process—all innovative. However, 1952 was an election year, and newly elected President Eisenhower gave us notice that he would end the funding.

Why did he kill it, Freddy?

The program intended to send a person ahead in time for experimental purposes, but Eisenhower thought it was useless. What good would it do if the traveler couldn't report back and relate any information?

But you're saying your team went ahead with it, anyway?

Yes, we had invested too much effort in the program to abandon it, so we decided to continue with limited funds.

Okay, Freddy, my next big question is, why you? Why were you singled out for this trip?

The team felt it should be someone who had no family or spouse and was willing to do this for science. I fit that role as a 35-year-old lab worker, so I volunteered.

So they froze you, stopping your heart, and placed you in some sort of suspended animation in a deep-frozen state. Sealed and not to be opened until 2024?

We weren't exactly sure of the year; the instructions advised personnel to open the unit when its mechanism showed its cooling system was beginning to deteriorate.

And where were you secluded?

I was in a private facility when the program started, but the bureau closed when their funds dried up. They then placed me in a warehouse at Walter Reed Veterans Hospital in a rental unit, monitored by only one technician.

And that's where you stayed all those years?

Yes, but after the technician retired, I somehow was forgotten in the paperwork. Only the unit's alarm going off alerted the hospital staff that there was a problem in the basement.

Basement! Did they put you in the basement?

Yes, I had been classified as medical storage.

No way! Well, what happened when they found you?

My presence became a problem. Because the program had ended, there were no funds or information to continue the experiment. The hospital revived me but took no liability for my care. They released me, and I had to go on my own with just the original funds placed in the capsule.

But now that you've come out, what happened next?

I became an embarrassment. My original records had been lost or destroyed when the program ended. All I have is a 1952 driver's license.

Wow! What a fantastic story, Freddy. It raises all kinds of questions. You just came from 1952, a time without the internet, TV, or cell phones, a completely different world from the post-war U.S.

Malcolm, I can tell you I was baffled as hell by the technology you have now. I had heard of TV, but it certainly wasn't seen much in 1952.

Now you say you were released on your own for about six months?

Yes, I had that time traveling around and exploring Washington, D.C., before I was arrested.

Arrested! Tell us, what happened?

Well, they had placed ten thousand dollars of spending money in my capsule for use when I thawed out. Now, that money in 1952 would've bought you a big house. But at today's expenses, I couldn't survive on that. I couldn't get a job, and I had no valid ID. So, I soon became homeless, sleeping in the park.

And then you were arrested? Why?

The experience was just too much, Malcolm. I explained my plight, but of course, they didn't believe me. I grew angry and told them to check my records and find my ID.

But they put you away instead, didn't they?

Yes, I was outraged. I threatened the government. I told them I was Frederick Fonglemyer, born in 1917. But since I was 35 years old, they thought I'd gone awry.

You mention in your write-up that the American Civil Liberties Union stepped in. They bailed you out, got you some counsel, and a temporary place to stay. They even found you some work.

Yes, thank God for them. I'm a 35-year-old nuclear scientist, but I'm 70 years out of date. All they could get for me was a janitor's job.

I must tell you, Freddy, this story of yours is compelling. The changes you have encountered on your awakening must have been staggering. What did you experience here in 2021 that affected you the most?

Oh my God, that's easy. Everyone is carrying these little handheld phones. They can talk to anyone, anywhere, and instantly access more information than what's available in the Library of Congress—all in a matter of seconds. But do they use it for that? I don't think so. I saw a group of young people sitting together, but they were engrossed in these devices; they were like pacifiers to them. They even walk down the street, yacking with these things stuck in their ears.

Yes, that's the downside, and that technology is only 30 years old, Freddy.

That's what's so hard to believe. I stopped to admire one of your big-screen TVs in a store window. It showed a wheeled vehicle driving around on Mars, filming it in color! I thought I was watching a science fiction movie.

How about society itself, Freddy? Attitudes, morals, what surprised you the most?

Oh, where can I start? Everyone goes to their offices casually dressed. Men don't wear a suit and tie or even a hat. Women shamelessly bare their legs in tight skirts, no stockings. But, the most unexpected is what people consider unobjectionable. I ventured into a movie theater and sat there in total shock—up on the screen appeared totally open, explicit sexual activity. I was ashamed to sit there. Yet I noticed people watching approvingly. In 1952, this theater would've been shut down, and the owners arrested.

I guess the rated-X warning didn't register with you, Freddy?

Rated X? What does that mean? This movie had an R rating symbol.

Um, it is best not to go into that. What's your biggest culture shock despite those movies?

Oh, the horrifying way they treated me when I first entered a restaurant. I had just finished eating—lit up a cigarette, and you would've thought I was a terrorist. Everybody there cursed me with filthy insults that would embarrass a dock worker. The waiter forced me out! Treating me like a dangerous offender.

Yeah, I can easily imagine that scenario now, Freddy. How about the city itself? What are your thoughts there?

Malcolm, that's the most disappointing thing.

How so?

Well, depictions of future cities in 1952 promised exciting, futuristic lifestyles. I thought I'd see cars soaring in the air, landing on city rooftops. And the buildings—they would be ultra-modern, stylishly designed. People would stroll along space-age walkways, attached between structures—high above the streets—pedestrians in the sky! That's how a 1949 issue of Popular Mechanics envisioned it. But today's cities are just tall glass boxes, all the same, no style, bland, unimaginative. From a distance, the city appears as a stack of shiny dominos.

I know what you mean, Freddy. Yes, I've seen those future drawings you describe. Look how beautiful old Philadelphia used to be. But it all comes down to the cheapest, most accessible construction methods now. Get 'em up fast, and get 'em sold.

Not only that, Malcolm, but cars also have no style; they're just metal lumps—all the same colors, shades of grey, and occasionally red or blue. You can't tell one from the other. Yes, they have unbelievable gadgets. But worse, why so many cars? Where's the mass transit that was promised? And the streets haven't adapted to fit them. Autos clog up roads like a choked river of logs floating to a sawmill. What kind of driving is that?

One last question for you—what's your impression of society now? How is it different from 1952?

Well, of course, we have the Covid scare now, but there's been a distinction in people's attitudes towards each other. People seem less friendly now—nobody stops to smell the roses, they're protective of their personal space—they look straight ahead, no smile, hurriedly moving along.

Freddy, our time is almost up. It's been enlightening, for sure. So, what would you want to tell our listeners about this future you see now?

I watch your TV news and see disturbing scenes from across the world. In my time, we had just defeated fascism and tyranny, bringing worldwide peace. Now, we are abandoning all we accomplished—ignoring our allies—turning inward to nationalism. But worse, it's the deep divide in our political beliefs. We've chosen two sides like bitter enemies—hatred and mistrust towards each other. It's as if we are two different countries, forced to live together in one. It has to end. A house divided will soon fall.

Good luck to you, Freddy. It's been wondrous talking with you. I hope you find a place in this new world.

Thank You, Malcolm. I'm sure I will. A— Ah-Choo! (Cough.)

Oh, oh, Freddy, better get that tested.

Malcomb, I've had the vaccinations, but I've missed out on 70 years of flu shots—I think it's just a cold.

Well, good luck then, Godspeed, Freddy.

(Music theme comes up)

Our next guest, folks, is a shocker from Doctor Fauci! He now claims a new COVID variant has been identified, and it cannot be cured. Therefore, we must start dividing the USA into two separate countries: Vacs and Non-Vacs!

Back in 90 seconds.

(Music leads to commercial)

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The Man Who Was Frozen in Time

by Brad Bennett

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