Possibly the most amazing thing is that speak(1) is actually functioning in 1982 !! And remember, it's not just the software, you need some sort of DAC connected as well. Granted, Max Matthews had done the first digital synthesis of sound nearly 30 years earlier, but there's no sign that Cherry is working in an digital audio lab. She's on a terminal, probably connected to what was then called a "minicomputer" ... with a DAC!