Aristan

I grew up with a party line in rural Oregon and I can attest that the phone line itself has power. Really low power (not sure of the voltage or current) but it would give you a mild shock if you were saying trying to splice in an additional phone jack. Though I can make up a hypothesis for why the phone works. The phone doesn't need very much power to operate. The event fried anything that has a integrated circuit (an EMP does this) which means most things would stop working (I have a 1970 motorcycle that only has points and a condenser with a flywheel but that ignition system went away in the mid '70s in favor of a CDI). Anyway, old electronics would continue to work after an EMP but would still need a power source though that does not have to be a battery. I find it feasible that a large wiring network could have a large amount of capacitance that could be charged by the aurora. It means the phone usage might not be infinite but under that scenario it could work for a period of time. And operating a small microphone and speaker would not draw very much power.

I have been replaying CH1 and 2 as both 'paragon' and 'renegade' and hoping to see if there is a difference in the latter chapters. For renegade I killed Hobbs and helped no one but myself (the old woman can put the pearls on the grave herself if she cares so much and those flaky environmental types can fetch their own gear...). The paragon means I help and spare everyone. Though really, I am an advocate of killing Hobb's. If for no other reason than if Astrid felt he was dangerous enough to kill, I am going to finish the job for her...