O1: A Body In A New Place

Official Description: The enigmatic Mr. Davenport leads a tour of Archive 81. Melody fails to interview a member of a historical society. And Dan is unable to prevent the destruction of a tape.

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[BRIEF BURST OF MUSIC—TWANGY GUITAR, THEN TAPE DISTORTION.]

[TAPE HANDLING SOUNDS.]

[WHEELS ON A GRAVEL PATH.]

Is this.. Alright, we’re recording.

Are you sure?

Yeah. Yeah, I’m sure.

[PAUSE.]

Whenever you’re ready.

Oh—oh, right. On March 7th, 2015, I, Daniel Powell, a temporary archivist for the Housing Historical Committee of New York State, give full verbal consent to be recorded.

Hey, Dan, just a quick note. “Full” is kind of a wishy-washy word. Legal prefers the word “complete”. “Complete” verbal consent. It’s kind of what’s written on the paper.

Sorry, my fault.

[PAUSE.]

[THE BOSS CLEARS HIS THROAT.]

Do you want me to read it again?

If you would.

Sure, totally. I, Daniel Powell, a temporary archivist for the Housing Historical Committee of New York State, give complete verbal consent to be recorded.

Great job. Now it’s all legally binding. Good stuff. And, uh, just a quick reminder: we do require you to record everything. Really important.

Actually, about that, Mr. Davenport—when I was, uh, reading the agreement thoroughly, I was a bit unclear on what exactly that was all about.

Exactly what it says, Dan—record everything. I’m surprised you haven’t encountered similar language before; it’s industry standard.

Oh, sure, yeah… of course obviously I have, but everything? [PAUSE.] E-everything?

Don’t worry about it, Dan. Just leave it on and forget about it. It’s just for liability. Legal stuff. Lawyers, right? I heard a joke about lawyers once.

[PAUSE.]

[EXPECTANTLY.] Really?

Yep.

And.. when I need to change batteries, I’ll…?

It’s electrical. Just charge it while you sleep.

Alright, yeah, okay, sure.

[CAR COMES TO A STOP.]

We’re here. After you.

Oh. Sure. [BOTH GET OUT OF THE CAR. FOOTSTEPS ON CONCRETE.] There’s… there’s a lot of space here, isn’t there?

Yes, Dan, we’re a fair distance into the woods. For the isolation. Sensitive materials, and all that.

[AWKWARD PAUSE.]

Really loving the isolation. Very zen. And the building’s cool too; reminds me a bit of the library at my old college, uh, all the concrete, it’s super—

You know, I really appreciate your enthusiasm. [HE DOES NOT SEEM TO APPRECIATE HIS ENTHUSIASM. BEEP OF CARD BEING SCANNED. METAL DOORS OPEN. CONTINUED FOOTSTEPS.] Here it is. This is your su’s casa. Your den. Your... living space. Just put your stuff here. You can unpack later.

Oh. Yeah, sure, I’ll, uh, I’ll just put it on the bed. [HE DOES SO.]

Standard twin. You brought your own sheets, right?

Oh, no, I.. didn’t know I was supposed to.

Ah, doesn’t matter. Just use a blanket or something. You’re a trooper! .. Pantry’s through here. [FOOTSTEPS. METAL DOOR CREAKS OPEN.] Right by the stove and microwave.

...That’s a—a lot of—

Canned peaches. Yep. Really nutritious, really filling, and hey, the company was able to buy them in bulk! Plenty of other stuff to chow down on as well.

Oh, yeah, it’s fine. I love peaches, and my girlfriend gave me a crockpot, so.

[CONDESCENDINGLY AMUSED.] I’ll ask you if you still feel that way about peaches in a couple months, am I right, buddy? [CLATTERING.]

[FOOTSTEPS.]

[SUDDENLY, THERE IS A LOUD, LOW TONE. THE SOUND OF LIGHTS FLICKERING AND SHUTTING OFF.]

Shit! What was that?

Language! And that’s just the electrical system. Really finicky, but nothing to concern yourself with. The power should come back on in less than five minutes. [ANOTHER TONE. THE SOUND OF POWER COMING BACK.] Or even sooner, in this case. Really, don’t worry about it, Dan; nothing more than a temporary annoyance, nothing to concern a sport like you. Old buildings and all that.

How old is this place?

Pretty old, pretty old. [FOOTSTEPS CONTINUE.] This— [THE DOOR OPENS WITH A MECHANICAL WHIR. EVERYTHING IS ECHOEY HERE.] is the tape library. Archives 73-92, though you’ll just be focusing on 81.

It’s… enormous.

Really observant, Dan. [FOOTSTEPS.] You’ve been briefed?

Yeah, I mean, I understand what I’m supposed to do in a general sense. Log tapes, organize them, clean up the archive, digitize everything, and create a new metadata taxonomy. That’s actually one of my specialties.

Main thing to remember—and this is really important—play each tape in full with the recorder on.

Sure, yeah. It’ll be a good extra way to keep track of everything.

Now, what you’ll be focusing on are these tapes right… [SHELF SLIDING OUT.] ...here. All this good stuff. Archive 81. Series of interviews in a high-rise apartment building. All from the mid-90s. HHCNYS has deemed them historically significant. THey’re not in chronological order or, really, any order, kind of all jumbled together, so we’re counting on you to fix that.

That’s, uh. That’s a lot of tapes!

Once again, super observant, Dan.

Oh no, it’s exciting, I—yeah, the historical preservation aspect was really what got me interested in this project.

Wonderful.

And the other tapes?

Haven’t been logged yet. Most of them, anyway.

They haven’t been looked at at all?

We’ve been trying to get everything sorted out for a while now. Good enough for government work, as my dad says. On a completely unrelated point, here’s your badge. [HE HANDS THE BADGE OVER.]

Thanks.

Main doors require it. For if you really want to leave.

The woods seem, you know, full of nature. I’ll probably take a couple hikes or something.

Just remember to keep recording. Lawyers.

[SLIGHTLY INCREDULOUS HALF-LAUGH.] Alright.

[PAUSE.]

Moving on. If we go to the auditory alcove… [FOOTSTEPS, DOOR OPENING.] ...you’ll notice the reel-to-reel. It’s old but fully functional.

[WITH GENUINE INTEREST.] Yeah, yeah, it’s a Otari 5050 T model, right? Uhm, I’ve used similar things before, actually; my college library had a TEAC A-4010, me and my advisor used it to catalogue the university’s ethno-musicological archives. So, yeah, I’ve got this!

Uh-huh. Ethno-musicologal, now that’s a five-dollar word. Anyway, I’ll shorten my required demonstration. This turns on power to the system— [BUTTON BEING PRESSED.] Thread the tape here— [TAPE WHEELS RUNNING, BUTTONS BEING PRESSED.] Adjust volume. Play, fast-forward, stop here. It should auto-record at the end of the reel. [TAPE WHEELS STOP RUNNING.]

Is there a tape repair kit around here? Because older tapes can—

[FORCEFULLY] Nah, that really shouldn’t be a problem. Just go easy on the machine, it’s old.

Not even to make sure—

Dan, if we alter the tapes in any way, we’re kind of defeating the purpose of the whole archive process, now aren’t we? Just play the tapes and you won’t have any issues.

Understood; don’t alter the tapes.

Exactly, Dan. Make a log and description of anything of note. Digitize and all that good stuff. Put them in chronological order. And remember—record everything. Really important.

Sounds great, I’ve got it.

Good. So, yeah, I think this is the part where I’ve got to say goodbye, Dan. You’ve got a long day ahead of you.

Oh, am I on the clock now?

In about, uh, five minutes. For when you fill out your timesheet. Yeah, legal thing, what are you gonna do? I’m sure you can get situated tonight. Anyway, I’ll leave you to it. [VOICE BEGINS TO GROW FAINTER, FOOTSTEPS WALKING AWAY.] Nice meeting you, I know you’re gonna knock it out of the ballpark.

Thanks.

Alright, bye Dan!

[AFTER THE FOOTSTEPS HAVE FADED AWAY ENTIRELY.] Wait, seriously? Five minutes? Really hoping no one actually listens to this. [IMITATES BOSS] Whatever, it’s just liability. [SIGHING] Alright, well, let’s see what these tapes are all about.

[HE OPENS THE LIBRARY AND GRABS A TAPE.]

Okay, so… yeah, it goes… here. Stupid reels. [TAPE BEGINS TO PLAY.] Alright, it’s—here we go.

[SOUNDS OF SOMEONE HANDLING THE RECORDER. IN THE BACKGROUND IS THE AMBIENCE OF A CITY STREET. CARS PASSING, ET CETERA.]

Check, check, testing. Okay, we’re good. Melody Pendras, February 17th, 1994. 16:32. South exterior of the Visser building. This is an introductory survey of the Visser Towers Residential Block, as supervised by the Urban Preservation and Development Department of New York State. Exterior foyer is standard post-war construction. Appears well-maintained.

[FOOTSTEPS. SHE ENTERS THE MAIN DOOR, AND THE AMBIENT TRAFFIC FADES.]

The main lobby is… larger than you’d expect in a building of this size. No one’s in it at the moment, which isn’t strange, considering it’s work hours.

[FOOTSTEPS.]

Okay, that’s good for here.

[TAPE SPLICE.]

[BRIEF DISTORTION.] This is Facilities Room B1—gas and electrical metering. Meters are old, but not out of the ordinary.

[FOOTSTEPS.]

The whole facilities area seems well-ventilated. Actually, surprisingly so. A lot less stuffy than my building’s basement for sure.

[TAPE SPLICE.]

[SPEAKING SLIGHTLY MORE QUIETLY TO AVOID BOTHERING THE RESIDENTS.] This is the first floor hallway. Conditions are fair. No windows. There are some stains on the wood, but nothing major.

[TAPE SPLICE, MORE STATICKY THAN THE LAST.]

Sixth floor. Plan seems to be the same on all levels.

[DISTANT CROWD NOISES.] Guess it’s time to say hello.

[SHE GETS CLOSER TO THE VOICES, WHICH ARE COMING FROM BEHIND A DOOR. SHE KNOCKS ONCE. VOICES CONTINUE.] Hello? [KNOCKS AGAIN LOUDER.]

[VOICES DIE DOWN.] Hello, sorry to interrupt. I’m Melody Pendras from the Urban Preservation and Development Department, I just want to ask a few questions about the building.

[VOICES GO ABRUPTLY SILENT.]

[SHE KNOCKS AGAIN, LOUDER.] Sorry, I don’t mean to bother. If I could just get a moment of your time…?

[PAUSE, THEN THE VOICES START BACK UP, DISTANT AGAIN.]

Wait, what the—? Hello? [PAUSE. FOOTSTEPS, QUICKER, TOWARD THE VOICES, WHICH CONTINUE AND IGNORE HER.] Okay, what the hell. Hello?

[DOOR SLAMS OPEN.]

[COLDLY.] What are you doing?

[GASPS.] Oh, sorry, you surprised me.

That doesn’t matter to me. Well? What are you doing?

There were.. Some odd sounds. I wanted to see where they were coming from.

So you just decided to bother people in their apartments?

I apologize, it looks like we’ve got off on the wrong f—

Whatever they were doing, I’m sure they didn’t like to be interrupted.

[DOOR SLAMS SHUT. PAUSE.]

[TO RECORDER.] There appears to be an… echoing effect on the sixth floor. I’ll ask the tenants about it when I begin my interviews. [PAUSE.] Shit. Is my battery dying alrea—

[GLITCH. TAPE ENDS.]

Okay, that was weird. One down, three and a half billion to go. [TAPE CLICK.] And here we are.

[TAPE FUMBLING.]

[QUIETLY, ALMOST UNDER HER BREATH.] Melody Pendras, April 3rd, 14:40. Floor 16. [LOUDER.] Hello, hey. Do you mind if I record? I’ve been trying to talk to someone from the historical society and, well, we weren’t really able to talk the last time I saw you.

You’re—you’re Melody Pendras.

Jacob, right? You know about me?

You’re recording this, right?

Yes, but if that makes you uncomfortable I can stop— [TAPE FUMBLING.]

No, no, keep recording! Samuel said it was important that you keep recording.

[UNCERTAINLY, TRYING TO RELATE.] Well, that’s good, right? I’d love to ask you a couple questions.

I know what you’re doing.

[PAUSE.]

Alright, then can we sit down somewhere? I can ask you about your time in Visser, the historical society, it’ll be great.

W-we’ll stay here. [BREATHING HEAVILY AND NERVOUSLY.] We’ll—We’ll stay here.

Sure, whatever makes you more comfortable. Could I get you to say your name for the recorder?

[STRAINED.] My name is.. My name is Jacob Lester, but that’s not—that’s not— [EXHALES ANGRILY.] I’m not good at this!

Not good at what?

Shut up! I’m not good at talking to people. Explaining things to people with [CONTEMPTUOUSLY.] limited perception.

[PAUSE.]

If you’re going to act like this, I’m just going to leave.

No! No, no, I-I’ll be nice, I promise! Please—stay! Samuel told me to give you a message.

[COOLLY, NO LONGER TRYING TO RELATE.] What did Samuel say?

Samuel told me to tell you that [SLIPPING INTO SAMUEL’S CADENCE] it is not yet time for you to understand the work we are undertaking.It will be, eventually, but not yet. Cycles upon cycles, stories upon stories, Melody. Until then, refrain from troubling the members of my society. You are disturbing them. [BACK TO HIMSELF.] Th—uh, that’s what he said.

He couldn’t have told me himself?

Samuel doesn’t want to meet you yet. And [CLEARLY VERY PROUD] I speak with his voice.

Fine. Tell Sam—

It’s Samuel.

[UNCONCERNED.] Tell Sam that I don’t want to antagonize him or his followers, I’d just like to talk to them, to get everyone’s perspective. It’s not like I’m accosting you; you’re the first member of Sam’s—whatever his thing is—that I’ve gotten a chance to talk to! After you slammed the door in my face, I couldn’t find anyone else.

[DERISIVELY.] You wouldn’t understand why.

Because you’re not telling me anything! Try me.

[VERY SELF-IMPORTANT.] Shortcuts.

Shortcuts?

This building has more shortcuts than you could possibly realize.

Really? Where are they?

[EXASPERATED.] I-It’s not where, it’s… [REALIZES HE’S REVEALING TOO MUCH.] Y-you’re taking my story out of me! Samuel said you would do this! He—he warned me!

No no no, I’m not! We’re just having a conversa—

[SHOUTING.] It’s the same thing! Get away from me.

[FOOTSTEPS AS HE LEAVES. MELODY FOLLOWS.]

Jacob! Jacob, I’m just trying to understand! .... [FOOTSTEPS FADE. JACOB IS GONE ENTIRELY.] I’m just trying to understand. [PAUSE.] Where’d he go? [CONFUSED AND FRUSTRATED.] Damn!

[TAPE ENDS.]

Shit. That was—

[PAUSE, THEN TAPE STARTS BACK UP AGAIN WITH DISTORTED STATIC.]

Oh. Is there—

On February 2nd, 1994, I, Melody Pendras, a temporary researcher for the Urban Preservation and Development Department of New York State, give verbal consent to be recorded. This is pursuant to [STATIC STARTS UP AND HER VOICE BEGINS TO DISTORT AND ECHO UNTIL UNRECOGNIZABLE.] Clause D of Section 3451— [VOICE BECOMES INDISTINCT.]

[HARD CUT WITH MUCH WEIRD TAPE STUFF.]

What…

[TAPE BEGINS AGAIN WITH A SLIGHT ECHO TO THE RECORDING AT FIRST.]

Melody Pendras, June 11th, 02:33. Audio of equipment room. [ECHOEY DISTORTED TAPE WEIRDNESS AGAIN.]

Shit!

[PLAYING FASTER THAN NORMAL.] Melody Pendras, April 1st, 01:05. Audio of [VOICE WARPS] 14th floor hallway.

[SPED UP AUDIO OF HALLWAY THAT INCREASES IN SPEED.]

Please. Please, no.

What the hell?

[TAPE LOOPS. STRANGE AUDIO.]

Alright, there’s gotta be some way to fix this. They can’t seriously mean don’t repair the tapes at all.

[BEGINS TO SCRUB THE TAPE. STRANGE NOISES AND CRACKLES OF STATIC, THEN:]

I’m heading to the boiler room. It’s… it’s growing hotter the further down I go. [SLOW FOOTSTEPS.] Samuel… he’s going to be down here. He said he would, and he never lies. He’s an evil, soulless psychopath [TAPE DISTORTS; SHE CHUCKLES. THE TWO ARE PRESUMABLY UNRELATED.] but he never lies. The architecture of this place… it’s shifting. Something I noticed before, always out of the corner of my eyes. Something else to ask Samuel about. I hope—I hope this works. If not, there’s always my tapes; someone can—well, best not to think about it.

[TAPE BEGINS TO GET MESSY AGAIN, DISTORTED AND FLUCTUATING IN SPEED.] Samuel’s going to—okay, we’re almost—

Damnit. Okay, okay.

[TAPE SOUNDS GET EVEN WEIRDER AS HE CONTINUES TO SCRUB. THE TAPE STARTS TO REWIND, CATCHING SNATCHES OF NOISE, SOMETHING ALMOST LIKE A SONG, AND WARPED FRAGMENTS OF DIALOGUE LIKE:]

Did the reality of what you were doing even cross your mind?

What are you doing to her?

[VOICES BECOME TOO DISTORTED TO UNDERSTAND. STRANGE NOISES CONTINUES UNTIL THE TAPE IS DESTROYED, WHOLLY EATEN UP.]

Shit! Shit, shit, shit, shit. No. No. Okay… [TAPE IS YANKED OUT.] Goddamnit. Goddamnit. [RUMBLE. BREAKER SWITCH. LIGHTS FLICKERING OFF.] And now I can’t even see. Okay, shit, how do I turn this back on, do I just wait until it turns back on naturally or— [SIGHS. PAUSE. THEN, LIGHTS FLICKER BACK ON.]

[THIS TIME, A SIGH OF RELIEF.] Oh thank god. [THERE’S A LOW, HUMMING BACKGROUND TONE THROUGHOUT.] And the tape is… the tape is broken. Okay, okay, I can still fix this, just put it… [FOOTSTEPS. HE PUTS THE TAPE AWAY, IN THE BACK OF THE SHELF.] Back here, uh, yeah, that’ll be good.

Oookay, alright. [SIGHS, THEN SEEMS TO REMEMBER THE GENERAL FREAKINESS HE JUST HEARD.] Wh-What the hell was that? What the hell was going… oh, damnit, the recorder.

[FUMBLING, AND THEN THE RECORDER IS TURNED OFF.]

[A FEW SECONDS OF SILENCE.]

[DEEP BREATH.] Hey, my name’s Mark Sollinger. What you just heard was a small portion of the audio my friend Dan Powell sent me. He—I guess the best way to describe it would be— [SIGHS.] would be that he disappeared, right after sending me this. No one else seems like they’re gonna be able to help, so I will be releasing all of his audio to everyone, to—everyone. If you know anything about archive eighty-one, or what happened to Dan Powell, please email me at archive81podcast@gmail.com, that’s Archive Eight One Podcast At Gmail Dot Com, and if you don’t, just tell all your friends about the podcast, um, leave a review on iTunes, visit our website archive81.com, just—get the word out. I-I really need to know what happened to Dan. Okay. Thanks.

[END OF EPISODE ONE.]