A Strange Phenomenon has Overtaken the Airwaves in Calder Thorson’s Tiny Town
Charismatic feature reporter Gideon Gale is a recent addition at KZMT Local. So why does everyone in Russet Lakes remember watching him as long as they’ve been alive? Well—maybe not everyone. For a select few, Gale’s reports appear only as static snow on the television. But something is interviewing these people, and Thorson intends to find out what it wants, before the whole town—and possibly the world beyond—falls under Gideon Gale’s spell.
Part investigative journal, and part collection of evidence, this somewhat experimental story aims to unravel the mystery that could be lurking on every local news station.
Part 1 — There’s No Such Thing as Gideon Gale
Calder Thorson sits down with the man in charge of the TV station where Gideon Gale is allegedly employed, only to find the alleged local celebrity may not even exist. In fact, Tailor can’t seem to see him at all.
Part 2 — Mallory Sees the Static Snow
Mallory White writes to GM Tailor, informing him of a problem with her signal. KZMT Local is her favorite news station. But lately, it’s been broadcasting exactly three minutes of static every night, in the middle of the news program. Somehow, Mallory is the only person to notice this. Stranger still: all of her neighbors suddenly swear they’ve been watching Gideon Gale—a name that seemed to crop up overnight—as long as they’ve been alive. And they’re displeased Mallory isn’t watching too.
Tailor agrees to help Thorson review the taped recordings of some of Gideon Gale’s award-winning feature reports. In doing so, the pair manages to uncover how the mysterious entity exerts its influence over the people of Russet Lakes.
Thorson and Tailor experiment with the Gideon Gale tapes, narrowing down their theory about how the man—or entity—spreads its influence.
Part 5 — A Gaunt Man at the Gull
While waiting for Gale’s next feature to air, Thorson and Tailor decide to try tacking down one of the enigmatic reporter’s interview subjects: a magician named Mysterious Richard. What they find instead is a shell of a man, robbed of his talent and drinking himself blind.
Part 6 — Remediation [Coming Soon]
Thorsen and Tailor encounter another man who sees through Gale’s spell. This stranger comes offering odd theories about the enigmatic feature reporter’s influence over the town, and how to stop it from spreading further.
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