84 july 2019
the wreck. Then he remembered—he
had a second phone, the one with his
American SIM card that allowed him
to contact the United States. He felt
around in his jacket pocket, and there
it was! Carefully he pulled it out, pow-
ered it on, and turned on international
data roaming, balancing the phone on
his chest with his good hand. Battery
charge: 42 per cent.
He thought about googling the
number for the local police and hop-
ing that whoever answered spoke
English. But even if the person did,
what would he say? “I’ve been in an
accident, and I’m ... somewhere?”
He noticed a few of the apps he’d
left open on the phone, including
Facebook. An idea struck. Takinggreat care not to let the blood-slicked
phone tumble down the dark ravine,
he opened a bright red backdrop on
his status page and typed away. Less
than two minutes later, Aimee Spevak
saw the post.A
t first, Spevak had no idea
what to do. What could she do?
Where in Bali was he? Then
she remembered that Facebook has a
function that allows you to call your
friends. She gave it a try. To her im-
mense surprise and relief, Lythcott
picked up. Sometimes the incessant
connectivity of the online world isn’t
such a bad thing.
“Aimee,” he said, “I’m in the woods.
I don’t know where I am. I don’t knowLythcott and Eno, seen here on their way to Bali, were globetrotters who met in Thailand and
became fast friends.courtesy stacey eno