Chapter Text
TELEPHONE COVERSATION BETWEEN NATIONAL REPRESENTATIVES, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA & UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS
Description:
Typed transcript of telcon held on October 21, 1962, between representatives Alfred Jones (USA) and Ivan Braginsky (USSR). Sound recording was originally recorded on Dictation Belt 5B, having been transmitted through hidden radio transmitter Dictaphone chip in Jones’ telephone. The ensuing recording dated ten days later involves President John F. Kennedy and Secretary of State Dean Rusk discussing the details of this telcon (See: Item 5B.2).
Copyright Status:
Unknown
Physical Description:
Full length, 7 minutes 32 seconds. Item 1 of 2 on dictation belt.
Contributor(s):
Jones, Alfred F. (Alfred Franklin)
Braginsky, Ivan (Ivan Rusovich)
Subject(s):
Cold War
Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962
International Relations
Collection(s):
Documents of the United States Personification. Assorted Dossier. Chronological (1787-)
Archival Creator:
President (1961-1963: Kennedy). Office of the Personal Secretary, 1961-1963
Similar or Related Material:
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
Telephone Recordings: Dictation Belt 41
Transcript of recorded conversation, Alfred F. Jones to Ivan Braginsky at 11:05 PM, EDT
[Phone picks up.]
Jones: Ivan?
Braginsky: Hello?
Jones: Ivan?
Braginsky: What the hell are you calling me for?
Jones: I just want to talk to you. It’s important.
Braginsky: Oh, yes? I should hope so, when both of us have work to do. You must be considerate, you know, in things like that.
Jones: Work. [fragmented words, unintelligible]. It’s not even work, it’s just– I don’t know. Crazy. A bunch of suicidal bullshit.
Braginsky: You don’t know? Like you are not involved?
Jones: Suicidal. We’re going to get ourselves killed.
Braginsky: That does not matter so much.
Jones: But it’s different. We won’t come back. There won’t be nothing left, y’know, to come back to, after we’ve gone and blown up the planet.
Braginsky: Could it be? You almost sound worried.
Jones: I am worried.
Braginsky: Really?
Jones: Yes.
Braginsky: I am surprised to hear you admit such thing. Here, I thought you were unshakeable.
Jones: You out of anyone should know that’s not true.
Braginsky: People can change, so who am I to say.
Jones: You’d know all about that, too, huh?
Braginsky: Ah, what is the saying? Pot meet kettle. You are so anxious, but refuse to heed any advice your country is given when told to stop interfering with things far beyond you. So, I find that I am quite unsure of what exactly it is you want.
Jones: I want this all to stop.
Braginsky: You do? Since when? You appear to the world as though you relish your power.
Jones: I never wanted this. We’ve gone too far. We’ve gone too far, and someone's going to get hurt.
Braginsky: That is nature of war.
Jones: No, no. You don't get it. This isn’t like any other war. We don’t even– We don’t even have to be near eachother to hurt eachother. We can destroy eachother from the other side of the world. Don't you– Isn't that horrifying?
Braginsky: If I should recall, it was your country who made those destruction machines first. You set stage, so to speak.
Jones: And look where it’s brought us.
Braginsky: There is always the competing for the top. Ask any empires who had come before you, who all had to fall to make room for you.
Jones: Well I don’t want it, if this is it. I’d give it all up.
Braginsky: [laughing]¹ I am sure.
Jones: I would. I want to go back.
Braginsky: Back.
Jones: Before this. Before the wars, maybe. I was still happier then, because I had you, and we weren’t stuck in this dumb fucking back-and-forth. We could just be friends without it being the worst thing ever, and I could love you without it hurting so bad.
Braginsky: [sigh]
Jones: I do, still, I love you.
Braginsky: Don’t say that.
Jones: I love you. Please, Vanya.
Braginsky: I love you too. [?]². Why are you doing all of this? Where is this coming from?
Jones: I don’t want to die. I don’t want us all to die.
Braginsky: You w–
Jones: The world’s gonna end. There’s the– The shit in Cuba and in Turkey and Italy. The missiles. And they’re all saying Khrushchev’s going to declare nuclear war if anything happens to Cuba.
Braginsky: This is what you assume. You and your president.
Jones: I know it. That’s what he’ll do. You can’t say that isn’t– Don’t lie. Don’t fucking lie to me.
Braginsky: I am not–
Jones: Don’t lie to me, Ivan. I can’t.
Braginsky: I apologize.
Jones: I’m so scared. I don’t want the world to end. I don’t want us all to die for good. Nations and regular people. Innocent people who don’t have anything to do with this. And I don’t– I don’t want to die because of you. Not by you. I can’t stand the thought of it. It could be anyone else and maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, but not you.
[short pause, muted sniffling sounds]
Braginsky: No one else could do it. This, you have proved before.
Jones: It’s not fair.
Braginsky: No. It never has been.
Jones: Why?
Braginsky: You know it has always been this way. For us to be dogs, leashed by the master. To act only as we are told, or made to do.
Jones: I don’t want to. I don’t want to do it. Nobody listens to me.
Braginsky: I know. I am listening.
Jones: I don’t want to hurt you. I’m sorry.
Braginsky: I know.
Jones: You’re all I have.
Braginsky: That's not true.
Jones: It is. It used to be. When everyone else left me, because I’m– …I had you, still, when there was no one else. I don’t know why it changed. I don’t understand. And now, even if– we fight all the time, and we have to hate eachother, I don’t hate you. Even if you kill me, I can’t hate you.
Braginsky: I think you do know why, Alyosha.
Jones: I don’t. I love you. I can’t stand this. I feel it all, everything they test. On my land. All the bombs and nukes and everything. That's what's coming for us. It's coming to get us, to destroy us. I don't know how to stop it.
Braginsky: [unintelligible, several words]. We will figure it out.
Jones: Do you really believe that?
Braginsky: I will not kill you. You must calm yourself.
Jones: [laughing]³
Braginsky: Stop. We will figure something out. Another way.
Jones: –Calm myself...
Braginsky: We will.
Jones: You promise?
Braginsky: Yes.
Jones: I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I don't know what to do.
Braginsky: Stop apologizing. I do not know why you keep saying that.
Jones: I hate what we've become.
Braginsky: There is nothing to be done about that.
Jones: [unintelligible]
Braginsky: You fight losing battle. It is not for us like it is for normal people.
Jones: What are– You make it sound like we're some kind of– Like we're freaks.
Braginsky: Maybe we are. Many would say so, for more reason than one. Nothing to be done.
[short pause]
Jones: I want to see you. I want to see you again before it happens, before we dissolve. Somewhere where we don't have to be angry.
Braginsky: You are not going to dissolve. I say this already.
Jones: I don't want to be alone. I'm so alone here.
Braginsky: I do not know what you want for me to do.
Jones: We can run away.
Braginsky: Right.
Jones: Somewhere hidden. To Alaska, or something.
Braginsky: I think that will not work out as you believe.
Jones: Like, um... When we were in Sitka, forever ago, and I told you how I was gonna go escape the government–
Braginsky: Yes, I remember that.
Jones: –Like that. But this time you come too, and we can be together, right? Even if they still blow us up, we can be with eachother. We can die together. And we can– We can– [shuddering breath] I don't want to be alone.
Braginsky: It is nice sounding in theory, maybe–
Jones: It's good.
Braginsky: But you are getting ahead of yourself.
Jones: I don't care. I'm not– I don't care. None of this shit is fair. I just want it to be over. I want to go back. I want us to be okay. I love you.
Braginsky: I think you need to go. Go rest. It is late there, and you are upset.
Jones: I can't.
Braginsky: Why you can't?
Jones: I miss you.
Braginsky: That is not why. Give me real answer. I do not like to worry.
Jones: ...I feel– ...I feel terrible. I feel sick. Even if I tried, I think I'd just lay there for hours and feel horrible. [Laughing] I don't even know when– the last time I, like– I don't know. I'm, like, too high-strung or something. My skin is crawling like I'm being fucking watched all the time. Like there's eyes everywhere. And sometimes I can barely even breathe. I'm quite literally being put through the fucking wringer, and I'm so– I'm so scared. I'm so scared, Vanya. Even now… it’s like dread.
Braginsky: You are okay. You make it worse when you spiral like this. Is alright.
Jones: No, no, nothing’s right. There’s always something, always someone–
[The audio muffles, distorting, like the phone is being fiddled with. Jones mutters incomprehensibly.]⁴
Jones: [whispering] Shit. Shit–
[Jones cuts off suddenly.]
Braginsky: Fedya? What happened?
Jones: Motherfucker!
Braginsky: What are you doing? What is wrong?
[short pause]
Braginsky: Alfred, answer m–
[Connection drops. Machine noise.]
[End of call.]
━━━━━━━━━━━━
¹ Russian word, probable swear: (блять).
²⸴ ³ Cynical tone in audio recording.
⁴ Presumably Jones finding the bug.