Sam Reynolds

Sam Reynolds is the brother of Tara Reynolds, a researcher who went missing in Tanis while working for Teslanova. After Tara's disappearance Sam began working to find what happened to her. During this process he posted to an internet bulletin board in Kiev, to which someone replied "Tanis" before the board was deleted. This board post was found by Meerkatnip's bot program and is what brings him to the attention of Meerkatnip and Nic.

Sam and Nic ultimately find her in the Cabin in Episode 112. Sam is one of the four principal characters who journeys to Tanis at the end of Season One. He is identified in Nic’s journal as “the Zealot.” At the time, he had been hypnotized by the Cult of Tanis and was in a mental state where he simply repeated the Cult’s sayings and nothing more. As Veronika Pillman informed the group, the only way to get Sam out of this state was for him to pass through Tanis, which they ultimately were able to do. (Along the way they also found Tara Reynolds.) Therefore, presumably Sam is no longer under the spell of the Cult of Tanis, although it’s unclear what his mental state or wellbeing is otherwise by the end of Season One.

Sam is Canadian but lived for a time in Kiev, Russia. He posted messages and recordings of Tara Reynolds on an internet bulletin board before the bulletin board itself got deleted. Sam eventually tracked down Morgan Miller while she was working as a server in a restaurant in Pittsburgh and convinced her to help him find his sister. Eventually, Morgan and Sam meet and confront Nic. Initially they warn Nic to stop his search for Tanis, but eventually they decide to work.

Sometime prior to Episode 108, Sam is abducted and kidnaped by his girlfriend Arcadia and members of the Cult of Tanis. In Episode 109, Nic and Morgan Miller confront the Cult of Tanis and try unsuccessfully to rescue Sam. Morgan believed the Cult had given Sam low doses of LSD and MDMA, and deprived him of sleep. In episode 110, Morgan goes back to the Cult of Tanis hideout in Everett, WA and convinces Sam Reynolds to leave the Cult. She does this by lying to him and telling him that Nic had discovered Tanis. Shortly thereafter, the Cult is able to hypnotize Sam by telling him something over the phone. When Veronika Pilman and Nic see Sam in his state, Veronika leads the journey into Tanis to try to help Sam.

(From http://www.podcastenthusiast.com/tanis/)