Episode 204

"The Alameter Line" aired on June 1, 2016.

Q&A with MK
Nic asks MK to ask him questions about Tanis to take stock of his progress in his investigation. She asks why Nic is still working with Cameron Ellis, and he says Ellis may be the closest to solving the Tanis mystery. Nic talks about Tara Reynolds and how she wasn't diagnosed as going "crazy" when he saw her in the cabin, but that she dehydrated and exhausted, and hadn't actually cut off her entire arm but she was pulling at her skin to the point of bleeding when Nic found her. Nic still doesn't know what Tanis is, though he posits that it's not as easy to define as a strange cabin in the woods.

Ellis Recruits Nic
Cameron Ellis asks Nic to come work for him in his investigation into the breach. Ellis explains that his grandfather, a marine biologist, was studying cuttlefish and their changes in physiognomy when exposed to the breach, and proposed a theory on what he called the "Alameter Line", or the point at which he noted changes in the cuttlefish. Nic notes that cuttlefish aren't indigenous to North America and aren't supposed to be able to survive here.

Update on Veronika Pilman
MK finds a recording of Veronika while she was conducting research in the Pacific Northwest in 2009, wherein Ellis tells Veronika that the breach seems to be relocating and expanding.

Meeting with Cult of Tanis Members
A woman identifying herself as Polly calls Nic and asks him to meet her, but intercepts Nic before he can reach their agreed-upon meeting place. He can tell by her appearance she's a member of what he calls the Cult of Tanis, and she leads him to a restaurant where they meet with Arcadia. Neither woman offers much information regarding Nic's questions--who Nathaniel Carter is, if they know what a "runner" is, if they've heard of Eld Fen, etc.--and once he decides to leave, Nic senses there may be trouble with two young men near the door. He's able to make his exit, however, and upon returning home he sees his apartment has been burgled and his car window had been smashed, though Nic can't understand what they would have been after, most of his information relevant to TANIS being in digital format and/or stored in a safe at the PNWS studio.

Results of Rock Analysis
Nic had sent for analysis the unidentified rock that was tied to the boat key he found floating in the toilet tank of Lyle Stevik's hotel room, and the geologist, Mike, calls with his results. He says there's a trace amount of radiation linked with the presence of unusually high measurements of thulium and promethium, but nothing to be concerned about. Mike asks Nic if he can obtain the rock again for further analysis, and Nic agrees.

Boat Key X-Ray & Room Key
Geoff had sent the boat key Nic found to his dental hygienist friend to obtain an x-ray, and it revealed a smaller, functional key within the larger, wooden keychain. Stamped onto the smaller metal key were the number 23 and the name of a motel in Olympia, WA.

Nic travels to the motel but notices he's being followed along the way. He loses his tail, locates the motel and checks into the room that's unlocked with the newly-discovered key. In the toilet tank he discovers yet another key, but after seeing in the parking lot the motorhome that was following him previously, he leaves the motel and drives back to PNWS, where he discovers an old iPhone rigged under the rear wheel of his car.

Nic takes the new key to the post office box whose location and number were stamped on the key.

Eld Fen Auction
MK finds evidence of an auction two weeks prior in Paris, where an unidentified American shell company purchased a collection of Lovecraftian items and some poetry that contained the phrase Eld Fen.

More Eld Fen Notes
Nic reads more from the document possibly written by an unnamed narrator, describing John Corroman's notes. The writer describes his search for an assistant, and the application thereafter received by a woman named Marjorie Jensen. Nic also reads from the Eld Fen document (possibly written by Corroman) describing the disturbing discovery of an unnamed woman who had committed suicide.

Recurring Characters
Nic Silver, host and producer

Meerkatnip, information specialist

Cameron Ellis, CEO of TeslaNova

Geoff van Sant

Veronika Pilman, researcher

Guest Characters
Polly, Cult of Tanis member

Arcadia, Cult of Tanis member

Mike Gershon, geologist