¶ Dan's Mysterious Archival Assignment
Is this... Alright, we're recording. You sure? Yeah, yeah, I'm sure. Whenever you're ready. Oh, right. On March 7, 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. 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 just a quick reminder, we do require you to record everything.
Really important. Actually, about that, Mr. Davenport, when I was 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.
Industry standard. Oh, sure. Of course, obviously I have, but everything? Everything? Don't worry about it, Dan. Just leave it on and forget about it. It's just reliability. Legal stuff. Lawyers, right? I heard a joke about lawyers once. Really? Yep. And when I need to change batteries, I'll... It's electrical. Just charge it while you sleep. All right. Yeah. Okay. Sure. We're here. After you.
Oh, sure. 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. Really loving the isolation. Very zen. And the building's cool, too. Reminds me a bit of the library at my old college. All the concrete. You know, I really appreciate your enthusiasm.
Here it is. This is your Suze Casa, your den, your living space. Just put your stuff here. You can unpack later. Oh, yeah, sure. I'll just put it on the bed. Standard twin. You brought your own sheets, right? Oh, no. I didn't know I was supposed to. Doesn't matter. Just use a blanket or something. You're a trooper. Pantry's through here. Right by the stove and microwave. That's, uh...
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 crock pot, so... I'll ask you if you still feel that way about peaches in a couple of months. Am I right, buddy?
Shit, what was that? Language. And that's just the electrical system. Really finicky, but nothing to concern yourself with. Power should come back on in less than five minutes. 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.
¶ Understanding the Archive 81 Project
And this is the Tape Library, archives 73 through 92, though you'll just be focusing on 81. It's enormous. Really observant, Dan. 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 here. All this good stuff. Archive 81. Series of interviews in a high-rise apartment building, all from the mid-90s. HHC NYS 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 a lot of tapes. Well, once again, super observant, Dan. Oh, no, it's exciting. 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? The whole thing's immense. 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. Thanks. Main doors require it. For if you really want to leave. The woods seem, you know, full of nature. Probably take a couple hikes or something. Just remember to keep recording. Lawyers. All right. Moving on.
If we go to the auditory alcove you'll notice the reel-to-reel. It's old, but fully functional. Yeah, yeah. It's an Otari 5050T model, right? I've used similar things before, actually. My college library had a TEAC A4010. Me and my advisor used it to catalog the university's ethnomusological archives. So, yeah.
got this uh-huh ethnomusicology now that's a five dollar word anyway i'll shorten my required demonstration this turns on power to the system thread the tape here adjust volume play fast forward Stop here. It should auto rewind at the end of the reel.
Is there a tape repair kit around here? Because older tapes can... 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. 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 five minutes.
for when you fill out your time sheet. Yeah, legal thing. What are you going to do? I'm sure you can get situated tonight. Anyway, I'll leave you to it. Nice meeting you. I know you're going to knock it out of the ballpark. Thanks. All right. Bye, Dan. Wait, seriously? Five minutes? Really hoping no one actually listens to this. Whatever, it's just liability. All right, well, let's see what these tapes are all about. Okay, so... Yeah, it goes...
¶ Melody's Visser Building Survey
Here, stupid reels. All right, it's... Here we go. Check. Check. Testing. Okay, we're good. Melody Pendress, February 17th. 1994 1632 south exterior of the viscer building this is an introductory survey of the viscer 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. 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. Okay, that's good for here. This is Facilities Room B1. Gas and electrical metering. Meters are old, but not out of the ordinary. The whole facility's area seems well ventilated. Actually, surprisingly so. A lot less stuffy than my building's basement for sure. This is the first floor hallway. Conditions are fair. No windows. There are some stains on the wood, but nothing major.
Sixth floor. Plan seems to be the same on all levels. Guess it's time to say hello. Hello? Hello? Sorry to interrupt. I'm Melody Pendress from the Urban Preservation and Development Department. I just want to ask a few questions about the building. Sorry, I don't mean to bother. If I could just get a moment of your time. Wait, what the? Hello? Okay, what the hell? Hello? What are you doing? 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 got off on the wrong... Whatever they were doing, I'm sure they didn't like to be interrupted. There appears to be an echoing effect on the sixth floor. I'll ask the tenants about it when I begin my interviews. Shit, is my battery dying? Okay, that was weird.
¶ Cryptic Encounter with Jacob Lester
One down, three and a half billion to go. And here we are. Melody Poundress, April 3rd, 1440. Hello? Hey, do you mind if I record? I've been trying to talk to someone from the Historical Society for a while now. 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. No, no, keep recording. Samuel said it was important that you keep recording. Well, that's good, right? I'd love to ask you a couple of questions. I know what you're doing. All right. Then can we sit down somewhere? I can ask you about your time in Visser, the Historical Society. It'll be great. We'll stay here. We'll stay here. Sure. Whatever makes you more comfortable.
Could I get you to say your name for the recorder? My name is... My name is Jacob Lester. But that's not... That's not... I'm not good at this! Not good at what? Shut up! I'm not good at talking to... explaining things to people with limited perception. If you're going to act like this, I'm just going to leave. No, no, no. I'll be nice. I promise. Please, stay. Samuel... told me to give you a message. What did Samuel say? Samuel told me to tell you that 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. That's what he said. He couldn't have told me himself? Samuel doesn't want to meet you yet. And I speak with his voice. Fine. Tell Sam. It's Samuel!
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 just 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. You wouldn't understand why. Because you're not telling me anything. Try me. Shortcuts. Shortcuts?
This building has more shortcuts than you could possibly realize. Really? Where are they? It's not where, it's... You're... You're taking my story out of me. Samuel said you would do this. He warned me. No, no, no, no, I'm not. We're just having a conversation. It's the same thing. Get away from me. Jacob. Jacob, I'm just trying to understand. I'm just trying to understand. Where'd he go? Damn. Shit, that was... Oh. Is there...
¶ Melody's Desperate Final Recordings
On February 2, 1994, I, Melody Pendris, a temporary researcher for the Urban Preservation and Development Department of New York State, give verbal consent to be recorded. This is pursuant to Clause D of Section 3451. What? Melody Pendrous, June 11th, 0233. Audio of equipment. Melody Pendrous, April 1st, 0105. Audio of 14th floor hallway. Please, please, no. What the hell?
Alright, there's gotta be some way to fix this. They can't seriously mean don't repair the tapes at all. I'm heading to the boiler room. It's... It's growing hotter the further down I go. Samuel, he's going to be down there. He said he would, and he never lies. He's an evil, soulless psychopath. But he never lies. The architecture of this place, it's shifting. Something I noticed before, always out of the corner of my eye. 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. Samuel's gone too. Okay, we're almost down there. Damn it. Okay, okay. Did that reality of what you were doing even crash your mind? I'll reach you if you buy something for a long address. Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit. No. No. Okay. God damn it. God damn it. 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...
Oh, thank God. And the tape is... the tape is broken. Okay. Okay, I can still fix this. Just put it back here. Yeah, that'll be good. Okay. What the hell was that? What the hell was going- Oh, damn it, the recorder. Hey.
¶ Dan's Disappearance and Public Appeal
My name's Mark Sollinger. What you just heard was a small portion of the audio that my friend Dan Powell sent me. I guess the best way to describe it would be that he disappeared right after sending me this. No one else seems like they're going to be able to help, so I will be releasing all of his audio to everyone. To everyone. If you know anything about Archive 81 or what's happened to Dan Powell, please email me at archive81podcast at gmail.com. That's archive81podcast at gmail.com.
And if you don't, just tell all your friends about the podcast. Leave a review on iTunes. Visit our website, archive81.com. Just get the word out. I really need to know what's happened to Dan. Okay, thanks.