Telegraph

The telegraph is a device that allows people to communicate almost instantaneously via electrical impulses send in a specific pattern along a wire. In its current state, a sender can tap out a pattern which corresponds to letters and can be heard and interpreted by someone on the receiving end. It allows for long distance communication, and telegraph lines cross all of Tamaris.
While electricity was a known phenomenon in Tamaris for six hundred years, it was difficult to produce. It wasn't until Petrekian inventor Baro Hilkin invented the battery that electricity could be used without waiting for storms. However, it still had limited usage. Most electrical devices were made for show. Improvements to the battery throughout the 4900s opened up new avenues for electricity, and in 5005, steam turbines were invented to create electricity. In 5011, Retland inventor Mikkel Kaugessen created the first telegraph machine which moved a needle using electricity and a magnet. Holding down the lever for longer moved the needle further around a dial to point at various letters. In 5009, he created a second telegraph which assigned short and long marks to letters. Initially, the telegraph machine was connected to a pen that would write out the marks. However, within a few years, operators proved that they could learn and listen to the marks even when delivered in rapid succession. The pen was phased out for an earpiece that allowed the operator to hear the different clicks. In 5017, the first transcontinental telegraph line was laid from Serisport to Wesshaven in Astoria. By 5038, all the major cities in Tamaris were connected via telegraph lines, and most towns had a telegraph station.
Modern telegraphs are manned by an operator from sunrise until sunset, and the operator is expected to send a short message to all other connected machines. Once this is done, the operator must be ready at all times to send and receive messages. Skill is determined by how quickly and accurately an operator can send and interpret messages. Many machines returned to using the pen to write out messages as a way to ensure no message goes unreceived.