Western Union Man

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"Western Union" man, not western "union man". The telegraph operator in The Western, generally wears a white shirt, suspenders and a green eyeshade. The telegraph office is in the railroad station; while owned by two separate companies, they have a symbiotic relationship. May or may not employ one or more young boys to deliver incoming messages to in-town businesses and homes - if not, everyone else in town has to go to the office to pick up incoming telegrams. Since messages could arrive at any time the Western Union man himself is seldom seen outside the office. Unlike his Pony Express predecessor, tends to be a Meek Townsman. Sometimes gets to Take a Level In Badass if the train station gets robbed.

The Western Union corporation provided most of the telegraph service in the United States from the 1850s to 2006. The long period of obsolescence - unlike the Pony Express - masks just how bleeding-edge the technology was when introduced. It was a major development for human communication, the first time ever information could travel faster than it could be physically carried. The Western Union Man is the forerunner of all geekdom.