Episode Transcript
Records of the Unknown, Operation Latency, contains horror elements that may be disturbing to some listeners.
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[Music]
November 19th, 7 PM.
The Corporal and the Doctors are now feeling like they are close to arriving at the town through the mist of the rain, all in front of you, you can see reflecting on all of this rain, the lighthouse swirling, circling, as you know, to head to it to get to town.
And as you are stepping forward, you can start seeing the shapes of buildings, and you see more light as the torches in town and the lanterns are lit.
And you can see the truck still missing from Abe Rodgers' house.
Looks like he's gonna miss his fishing trip.
Well yeah, I guess he has more important things to take care of now.
I wonder if Ronald Stein has anything new to say or questions?
I don't know. First things first, I need to go back to Alan's place.
It looks like the houses in town, their lights are all on, people are still awake, but you don't see anyone outside with you.
I don't think a bar is gonna be a very lively place tonight.
I don't really care.
Yo, after what I just saw, I think I could get a drink too.
Yeah, yeah, I'll get a drink too.
Come on, Johan.
Well, we'll head to Alan's place.
As you are walking through Alan's place, and you are about to turn to head to the door.
You can see the lighthouse swirls by.
At the end of the dock, there's just a solitary figure standing out there, looking out into the ocean.
And Johan goes inside the bar.
I'm gonna go ahead and go on inside the bar as well.
I'm going to quickly grab a bottle of something, whiskey probably.
As you guys step in, there's no lights on, there's no one in here.
I figured as much, Alan's gone, so nobody to attend the bar.
Which is why I'm going to grab a bottle of whiskey, and then step outside and maybe look at the dock again.
Is the figure still there?
Yes.
I'll be back.
I'm going to head off to The Butchers.
Alright.
I'll stay here.
That's a good plan, Johan. We'll meet back here when we're all done.
If we see Abe's truck return, let's head off towards Dan Haley's, to the mine.
Okay.
And I walk off towards The Butchers.
[music]
Corporal Adams, you are heading up to the dock.
You notice that the ship, the boat, the vessel.
You notice that the fishing vessel is not there, nowhere to be seen.
The waves are coming in strong against the dock, overtaking it at times, but this figure still stands there.
And as you're approaching it, you're starting to make out what the figure looks like.
And you see the figure of?
Aurora?
Yep, Aurora Lewis, staring out into the sea.
When I have confirmation of who it is, I'm going to take a big swig of that whiskey, the first drink that Corporal Adams has had in years, probably.
He's going to swallow it and let it feel the burn, travel down his throat into his stomach, and then he's going to approach her.
Miss Lewis?
Oh, hello there.
Hello.
It's nice to see you again.
That's nice of you to say.
I'm happy to see you again, though I knew it would be the case.
When we spoke last, you told me things that nobody else should know.
And you said if I needed answers, that I should talk to you again.
Well, um, I need answers.
Well, what questions do you have?
I will hold out my hand to her, the one that has the markings on it.
You bear the mark fully produced upon your person.
What does that mean? I think this saved my life earlier.
Of course it did, it's a mark of protection.
Where did it come from?
From me, of course.
Well, um...
He gave me many gifts to give to others.
You... you mentioned a "he" before. Who do you mean?
He is without a name. He is not one of us.
He resides in the seas, in the mountains, ever-seeking, never-finding.
I, uh... I think I've seen him.
Well, of course you have. You have the mark.
I come out here on nights like this to commune.
It makes me feel more at peace than I could alone.
Do you, uh... has he told you what's really going on in this town?
The Grey Men?
Those things, they don't matter. They're not important. I do not know of them.
The... fungus, the growths? Do those not matter either?
They don't concern me.
What does concern you?
Only what is given to me.
Have you been given to me?
I... I don't know.
Hmm... well...
If you really put this marking on my hand, I owe you a great debt.
Not me. Not me.
Right. Him. I owe him a great debt.
Yes. He's a good... he's good with his debts and his gifts.
The knowledge he can grant.
Could that knowledge help me save this town?
If that is what you desire and he's willing to give.
It is my desire.
You wish to commune with him?
Can you show me?
Oh, yes. It will require a great sacrifice.
Corporal Adams thinks about what might be required of him in sacrifice.
All the things that he holds very dear to his heart.
And it leads him to think about his daughter, Sarah.
And he remembers what seems like very long ago, that the Delta Green agents told him that she thought of him.
Which was that "My daddy stops monsters."
And he thinks this could be his only chance to save this town.
So, he nods. I'm prepared.
Good.
Dr. Steele.
Yes.
You see the lights are on in Valerie's home?
It doesn't look like she's currently open for business.
I'd like to... if there's a difference in the door, I can tell, like, a residence or not.
I'd like to approach it and knock on the door.
Do I see any broken windows or anything from the side I'm on?
I look at anything out of place from the outside.
Everything looks fine.
You don't hear any movement or see anything.
I'll knock again and wait.
There's nothing.
And then, you quickly feel a hand on your shoulder.
I will spin around.
You spin around and Valerie is there, all bundled up with a raincoat.
You frighten me. Sorry.
This is okay. I'm used to those reactions.
What are you doing here?
I wanted to have a chance to speak with you.
Ask you more about what you know around town.
And maybe enlighten you of some things I know as well.
Yes, come on inside.
She opens the door.
I follow her in.
When we spoke at the, uh, during the funeral service...
Sorry, so much has happened since then.
You seemed to be able to tell I was government, but not CIA.
No.
Do you have experience, um, with this as well?
What do you mean, this?
And she's, like, taking off her coats.
And as she's doing that, you kinda look and you can see she's not wearing any shoes.
Were you former KGB?
I guess I'm not certain how long you've lived here for 15 years.
And yet, I was never a part of any government group.
I just have an understanding of things.
My husband knew a lot about America.
We were meant to go there, but we ended up here.
Much safer.
So one would think...
Have you heard any strange rumors around town?
Group meetings?
Any business that Abe Rodgers was up to when he wasn't out fishing?
Hmm. She sort of walks into the kitchen, which is nearby, and pulls out an axe.
There's an animal there, and she sort of starts working on it.
Abe Rodgers, he was, uh...
He always seemed a little off to me, but he was generally very nice.
Took care of his people.
Yes, I'm sure he served Majestic 12 quite well.
I look at Gage's reaction.
She doesn't really react in any way, just in a way of like, I don't know what that is, so I'm not going to, why would I react?
She takes the axe and just chops off the feet of this rabbit.
Did you happen to see him come back through town for the expedition fishing trip?
Not yet. I've been with Peter for several hours.
Oh, yes.
I hope I have time to go speak with him. How's he been doing?
He's shaken up. He's not doing great, but I try to help him as I can. He's a good guy.
That's much appreciated, yes.
How much do you know about Johan and their group that have been in the area recently?
I think he knew someone by the name of Thomas as well.
Johan. Is that the foreigners in the area?
Yes, the Germans.
I know very little of him. Not sure if I've even seen him.
Have you seen any strange things, any strange beings, people out and about?
Have you seen, well let's start with this, I'm sure you've seen, I know me and my fellow agents have seen it already quite a few times.
In any clearings of trees have you found odd depressions in the snow?
In a big ball shape?
No, I don't think I've seen anything like that. She sort of rubs her head or face for a minute and there's a little blood on her hand and she grabs a tissue as her nose is bleeding a bit.
Sorry, I'm not feeling the best.
Why I went to speak to Peter. Why I hung around with Peter after I helped bring the boy.
Before I step out I'll go see how Peter's doing. Check in on him.
Have you seen any large grey figures standing about eight feet tall roaming in the woods?
I don't think now is the time to bring up silly little stories, Doctor.
You're right, it's just a bit of nerves. I'm not used to so little sunlight.
Yes, it's been quite odd. I hope the three of you made it back here fine.
It's appreciated. I mean you go meet with them again but it's good to see you're doing okay at least well enough, Valerie.
Of course, I will go speak with my team members.
Wait, for a second she kind of cocks her head and says, "Where is the woman who was with you? What happened to her?"
She took a bit of a beating. She's resting right now. Her group rating.
Ah, you see, I didn't see her with you so...
Perhaps why we're a bit on nerves. Simple investigations seem to turn a bit hostile.
Man, people are not always happy with things being looked into, Doctor.
As you said before, to kind of swap things under the rug.
Right. Yes. Right. Can you roll human intelligence?
Thirty three hundred fifty.
She looks like she's remembered that and then she remembered she's supposed to be angry. And that's when you realize she's been really peaceful, kind of calm.
But last time you met her she was really angry. Yeah.
They still haven't figured out what happened to Nikolai or Sasha.
Have you figured anything out there, Doctor?
I certainly think they're related to some of the things we've seen. Were you able to... I can't remember if you mentioned this before, apologies.
Were you able to see the bodies before or was the investigation rushed and buried?
The child? Which bodies? Your cousins and your husbands?
No, she was my cousin. No, I never saw the bodies.
I tried to ask the sheriff about it, but he brushed me aside before he rushed off to the mines. Have you seen him recently?
He went to the mines. That's where I saw him go this morning.
No, I haven't seen him. I'm sure he's doing what he knows is best. He's good at his job.
Sorry, the weather must be not feeling great right now.
Are you feeling a bit warm?
No, my head just hurts. Maybe lay down, kick your feet up a moment, you should rest.
I'll have Peter check on you as well.
I'll just finish making dinner. She goes and starts with her axe, chopping up the rabbit into pieces. As you're leaving she goes, "Oh, Doctor."
Yes, Valerie. I really hope I can count on your help.
I certainly hope so as well. Be safe. Thank you.
Heading back out, do I see Abe's car returned? No. I'll just head towards the bar.
[Music]
Corporal, you're still standing on the end of the dock. The waves crashing. It's hard to keep your balance, but you're trained, so you can do it, but it gets a little taxing.
We will have to wait until tomorrow. You must rest, and I will have everything prepared for you.
But you must remember, the great sacrifice is yours to bring, and yours to choose.
Okay. I will be here when you're ready. Thank you.
Don't thank me. Just nod and back away, and head back to the bar.
As Corporal Adams walks away, Aurora looks back to the water. It is almost time. The next one has come. The knowledge shall be granted. I look forward to seeing you again.
[Music]
Dr. Steel, you re-enter to find the dark, and very empty bar.
Have you gotten lights back in here? Johan, I look for a light switch, something to brighten the environment. There is not electricity, but you can light some matches and light up the lanterns. I will, yeah, I'm checking out a lighter. I will light up the lanterns.
As you're finishing lighting the lanterns, the door opens up. Corporal Adams steps in.
We have a problem. What's that? Valerie Novikov has... a gray man. That's the best term we can even consider. Things we know about him, but...
He's invested. It could be anyone. It could be in anyone. I'll grab, if there's any scotch here, I'll grab that and drink some. Yeah, I'll take another swig out from my whiskey. Johan? Where's Johan?
Wow, we left him here last I saw. He wasn't here when you got in? No, I just finished brightening up the place.
I'm going to go looking for Johan, or any sign of him.
He's everywhere, and when you get to your room, you see on your bed there is a note. I would like to read that note. That note says, "I wish to see you again." And it has an address in Arizona and an address in Brazil.
I'm a bit curious about how he's getting out of this hellhole. Me too. But his whole team is dead. I can't really blame him. No, certainly can't.
Anyway, I'm bone tired, and exhausted. I don't know how much use I'm going to be until I can get some sleep.
Now, it's been a long day. I'm a bit curious if Alan has anything in his place, in his residence.
I can do a quick search before we go to bed. I'm also definitely concerned about Peter. I didn't check on him. After our leaving Valherys, I stuck to the plan to meet back.
Do you want to go check on him? I can take a look here. Okay. Yes.
I'll check on him and I will come right back here. Okay. I won't leave.
I'm concerned about what state he'd be left in, but if you hear gunshots ring out, I think you'll know.
You've seen my reaction to trouble. If I hear gunshots, I'm coming running.
I will head over to the doctor's house. I will search Alan's place for anything of importance.
Dr. Steele, you are able to walk right into Peter's home. It's unlocked. It seems like he's still working in the morgue.
Dr. Kent. Another sleepless night.
What? Are you here?
Yes, it's Dr. Steele.
Oh, hello there, Doctor. I wanted to check on you.
Oh, why don't you come downstairs?
Hi. This is very fascinating.
I timidly go down the stairs. The lights are on. They're fine. It's not like I'm walking into a dark basement.
As you're walking down, on one of the tables, the slabs, you see the organs that have been collected from before.
The brain, liver, the leg, the heart. And now there's like an esophagus, a nasal cavity, and a lung.
Another lung. So there's a whole set of lungs.
It's so interesting. Everyone who dies is almost an entirely different body parts. At the rate we're going, it won't be long left.
A whole body's worth of things. That's so fascinating because the rest of the include, even the boy, the body's burned out except for these parts.
As if there's something that's not compatible. And it's breaking apart.
Dr. Kent, can you step away for a moment?
What do you mean?
I just… back away from the operating table.
Are you okay, Dr. Steel?
I just want to make sure you're doing well yourself.
Doing quite well.
And I have some more questions for you.
Okay, sure. What's going on?
For the young boy, what organ came from him?
His esophagus, his nasal cavity, and his left lung.
Quite a bit.
Yes.
Do they look small enough?
They look like the appropriate size for his age. Have you seen John? I haven't seen him in hours.
Not since he headed off towards the mine.
You went to the mine to speak to Dan?
That's where we last saw him.
I hope everything's going fine. I tried to look for him earlier, and he wasn't at the office, so…
That's where we last saw him earlier today, was he headed off towards the mine.
He was quite angry, so I don't…
I certainly wouldn't hope trouble.
The way he was acting this morning, he was making a lot of trouble for himself.
He was a man on a mission.
Yes. He often is too focused on his missions.
Dr. Kent. Along with these organs, have you seen any other strange oily substances or bile?
Not particularly. The only time bile has been involved in any of these deaths was Dr. Benson.
Mrs. Benson in the Sheriff's Office.
You didn't find any in Timmy here?
No, I don't think so. What is this about? Have you found something out?
Oh, we've learned a good bit more today.
Is Belle with you? Is she here?
No. No, she's not. She's resting.
She could probably use it after this morning.
Have you… The question I had asked the Sheriff before he ran out towards the mine about Nikolai's death.
Oh yes, that one.
Does this report as a heart attack cause a bit more curious of other things that might have been seen that night?
Oh, a lot of things were weird that night.
Give me a second here.
He starts walking around, he takes to where the organs are and just kind of pushes them into where he would store a dead body called…
Alright, yes. Would you like some tea or something?
No. No, thank you.
Well, John was trying to keep me from talking about this before but I don't really care anymore. Lots of things are happening and I don't quite feel like myself anymore.
I don't feel great actually. I feel like I'm losing my mind at times. It's quite crazy.
Um, no. I found Sasha out in the blizzard completely fine. She's fine. Her and the child. They were completely fine. More or less.
Though it wasn't long after I found her that she killed the child and she was not doing well but she was very warm. Much like Agent Bellamy.
Um, you know. And Sasha, she is a fighter, you know. She is just fine actually.
She is up at the sanitarium right now. Last I heard.
And Nikolai, we found him. Quite the state.
I don't know what happened to him but, um, not a heart attack.
That's for certain. I think she had maybe killed him. As best we could see, some of his flesh was under her fingernails.
Um, you know. Um, and who wouldn't know it? Me, my father, and the sheriff. We were the three who found all of this and it was John's grand idea to try and, you know, keep it quiet.
So the town wouldn't freak out. Valerie would not have been very happy. And Tommy is...
We don't know what would have happened if Tommy knew that she had done all of these. He was very protective of her and Tommy doesn't always handle everything in the same way.
We wouldn't handle it, if that makes sense. He's not always in the right mind about things. Or, he wasn't, sorry.
Yeah, see he's, uh, he's certainly had a mess of things back on the farm.
Right, yes. Well I think things were fine at the farm as far as I know. They seemed very happy there, together.
So Sasha was not dead. She's only, she was whisked off to the sanitarium, you say?
Right, yes. Um, I wish I had the nerves at some point to tell Tommy about it, but she is, was exhibiting a lot of odd things.
So we thought, get her out of town and checked up on. I've never gone to check in.
That's why I wanted to just ask, because I've never gone back to check on her since.
I couldn't do that. I...
You didn't even inform her husband.
Tommy, we were like brothers, the two of us. John was very convincing. It made sense to do it, keeping anyone else from coming to town and messing up things.
In the way of, you know, murders in a town, they especially unexplained things. They draw a lot of attention that's not always helpful, perhaps.
We wouldn't want to cause any more harm if we could be saved.
Right. Well, now things... going crazier.
Dr. Kentz.
Yes?
When Uriah died, were you there to witness that too?
Witt- no. Um... no, I don't think anyone witnessed it. I think, um, I think Bunsen just stumbled upon it, like she said. The only thing we've kept from you is what happened to Sasha. Everything else has been quite truthful as far as I'm aware. Ever since Tommy died, feels like things just keep getting crazier, you know?
Yes, they certainly are.
Are you... I think you've been working too hard here, Peter. Would you like to join me for a drink?
I suppose so. There's not much else for me to do. There's not much else for me here at all anymore. Everyone I know keeps dying, and now John's been missing hours at the mine, and I'm concerned.
Come with me. I might be able to help enlighten some things. At least possibly put you at ease.
Right, sure. You're not going to, like, do any weird government things to me, are you?
No. I'm just going to share a drink.
This just seemed a little ominous.
That sounds fine, let's go. I'll lock up.
If he's following me, well, I'll take him back over to the bar.
[Music]
You all meet back up at the bar. The corporal didn't really find anything of note. The three of you sit down to have a drink.
Back in the morgue, one of the slabs begins to start opening up, and coming out of it is a long, grey hand reaching into the slab with the organs. And then we fade to black.
[Music]
Thank you for listening to the Records of the Unknown Operation Latency.
Records of the Unknown is an Atomic Broadcasting production. Delta Green is copyright of Arc Dreams Publishing.
Operation Latency is not published or endorsed by Arc Dreams Publishing and is an original module created and run by Samuel Sarver.
Our players are Nolan as Dr. Sylvester Steele and Harold as Corporal Alexander Adams. Music in the show is from Monument Studios as well as various artists.
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[Music]
That's the end, boys.
[Laughter]
- No.
[BLANK_AUDIO]
