January 21, 1997: Open Lines

Art Bell continues open lines with callers still processing the Courtney Brown Hale-Bopp controversy while branching into a wide range of topics. A caller from Mission Viejo announces plans to purchase Steven Gibbs' time machine and test it on video near a Sedona grid point. Another caller phones in claiming to be from 1998, reporting that the time machine works and that Art's ratings go up. The time travel segment from the previous week clearly captured the audience's imagination, and Art declares he will pursue anyone else building a time machine.

The conversation shifts as callers share earthquake reports from Northern California, Colorado, and the Pahrump Valley. A woman from Illinois describes recurring visions of a catastrophic New Madrid fault event, pinpointing July 10th and October 7th of 1997 as dates of major tremors. Art also discusses Gulf War syndrome survey results showing alarmingly high rates of symptom transmission to veterans' spouses and children, suggesting the illness may be contagious rather than stress-related.

Throughout the night, Art reflects on the quickening, his term for the accelerating convergence of social decay, earth changes, political dysfunction, and ecological disruption heading toward some unknown resolution. A Canadian caller confirms that people across the political spectrum sense something is coming.