Author L. Frank Baum supported his son Robert’s fascination with electricity with interest and pride. An emerging technology in 1901, the 14-year-old was eager to explore its power through his home experiments, and dreamed of the impact it might have on society. Within the household, evidence of the young teen’s hobby took two directions: Rob built electrical machines, and his father wrote a book.
The Master Key: An Electrical Fairy Tale, Founded Upon the Mysteries of Electricity and the Optimism of Its Devotees was dedicated to Rob, and features a boy named Rob, likely modeled after the author’s son. The novel has protagonist Rob accidentally touch electricity’s master key. 
The genie-like Daemon of Electricity appears, promising to bring him a series of electrical devices over a period of three weeks. One instantly creates food. Another is a wristwatch transportation machine that sends him flying!
Young Rob travels the globe with his electrical magic encountering in mankind both good and evil.
As much science fiction as fantasy, Baum incorporates historic figures into The Master Key. As in many of his fantasies, some of Baum’s fantastic pieces have come about in the 125 years since this novel was published. For example, an “Illimitable Communicator” enables a person, wherever they are, to converse with people in any part of the world. In 1901 Ham radio was growing popular, but modern cell phones? They only lived in the vivid imaginations of those like Frank and Rob Baum.
Presented by Carrie Hedges
Carrie Hedges entered Oz through the MGM film as a young child. Once she learned to read—and found Oz books at her local library—she was hooked. Her local librarian signed her up for membership in The International Wizard of Oz Club. Sixty-two years later, she’s led conventions, spoken and performed at events, and served seven years as Oz Club President.
Carrie’s presentation for TeslaCon began when she co-chaired a 2001, “2001: A Space Ozdyssy” convention exploring the influence Oz has had on science fiction. From her presentation at the convention, she developed an article, “The Master Key: Its Electrical Origins,” which was published in the Winter 2001 Baum Bugle, Vol. 45, No. 3.
Professionally, Carrie began her career as an assistant editor on the American Bar Association Journal. She was graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology/Chicago-Kent College of Law in 1983, and was a law clerk in 1984-85 for the Honorable Alfred T. Goodwin of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Pasadena, California. She then returned to Chicago, the birthplace of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and worked as a guardian ad litem, representing abused and neglected children, at the Juvenile Court of Cook County. Carrie recently retired from a 20-year stint as a Staff Attorney with the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Carrie also served 23 years on the Board of the Chicago Children’s Choir, an organization that reaches almost 3,000 children in the Chicago area. She’s currently persuing a second career as a cabaret singer. After all, when you live in the Land of Oz, nothing is impossible.