This numbers station operated out of the defunct German Democratic Republic. It belonged to the People’s National Army of the German Democratic Republic. Its headquarters and, seemingly it transmitters as well, were close to the infamous Berlin Wall. Crazy enough, the Army was infiltrated by an informal network of Stasi agents to guarantee the fidelity of this corps. So, no doubt, Stasi and the NVA coordinated the operation of this “Gong Station” (ENIGMA denomination “G03”.)
When I checked some information on Wikipedia about the Stasi, I found out they even had a “Garbage Analysis division”, which spied on suspect people’s garbage to detect any acquisition of food or materials from the Western world. Would they also analyze human manure?
Now notice the voice reading the numbers. The people behind this managed a few German stereotypes. The language of Goethe in some parts of the world has been perceived as harsh, vertical, and authoritarian because of its cadence. The creators openly embraced this stereotype to woo potential unwanted listeners. But its robotic rhythm also reminds us of a society that the Western world perceived as bleak and unimaginative. It was not just a machine with a pre-programmed string of numbers to read, but also an aural representation of the minds that sought to intervene in every little aspect of a person’s life, and to guide them to the world of perfect socialism.

It is so scary that I made it into my daily alarm on my cell phone.