Episode 211: About A Boy
ALEX: From Pacific Northwest Stories and Minnow Beats Whale, it's season two of The Black Tapes Podcast. I'm Alex Reagan.
This season, we're continuing our exploration of the Strand Institute's enigmatic president and founder, Dr. Richard Strand. We're telling the story of the black tapes in order, every two weeks. So if you haven't listened to the first few episodes, go back and start there. We'll be here when you get back.
Last time, we discovered connections between Thomas Warren's Daiva Corporation and what we've been referring to, for lack of a better term, as an “exorcism machine.” We also heard two new sounds from one old case, the case of the Sagamore hotel. And Nic believes we may have uncovered something known as the “Axis Mundi,” the location Percival Black, or somebody like him, might use to usher in the apocalypse by playing something called the Mysterium. It was located at Mt. Ararat, the highest summit in Turkey. But the development from our last episode that I know you're most interested in is Richard Strand's discovery of Bobby Maimes's body.
ALEX: That's Wayne Coates, older brother of Wesley Coates. And, apparently, younger Richard Strand's best friend. Wesley Coates had just told me that in 1976, he accompanied his older brother and his friends on an excursion in which they found the body of Bobby Mames near a tiny tributary of Red Bank Creek. The boy who led them to the body was Richard Strand.
ALEX: It was strange. Unsettling, to hear this person talk about the young Richard Strand in this way. It seemed he was describing a different person. But was he really all that different? The Dr. Strand I know is not afraid to be the center of attention, yet, at the same time, I know it's always for a purpose-- to further his often-stated mission to bring reason back into the cultural discourse. And though many may consider his manner arrogant, or brusque, in another light, it can be interpreted as courageous. But the part that was deeply unsettling, that did not fit my picture of Dr. Strand in any way, was this account of him as a possible psychic.
Nic and I met at our office to go over a game plan now that we had this information about Dr. Strand's past.
[Sound file plays, because broadcasting potentially-infectious apocalypse music over the airwaves to thousands of listeners-- what could go wrong?]
[ADVERTISEMENTS]
ALEX: I met Dr. Strand at his father's house. Or, I should probably say, his house. I'd asked him what he thought of our theory, that the summit of Mt. Ararat, in Turkey, could be the possible “Axis Mundi” for what ever symphony Percival Black was recording for the Order of the Cenophus.
Back at the studio, there was a message waiting.
ALEX: Amalia's message cuts off there. We haven't been able to get in touch with her, to ask her to clarify.
ALEX: The Glushka photo. I never noticed it before. His eyes-- they weren't his eyes. As Nic zoomed in on the photo, up by his hairline, there was something we hadn't noticed before. A seam. Somebody had sewn Keith Dabic's face onto their own.
We were finally able to get back in touch with Amalia.
ALEX: Nic had been doing a lot of digging into Tiamat, and had uncovered some new information that he wanted to share.
ALEX: And there it was. Above the entrance to an ancient tomb in Cairo, from an archaeological dig in 1955, the symbol from Coralee's ring, right next to the familiar symbol of Tiamat.
So, things were starting to come together, but in doing so were becoming more complicated. In somewhat related news, I received a call from somebody at Daiva Corporation. Finally. Thomas Warren wanted to set a meeting.
I knew that Strand's investigation into Coralee had stalled with Thomas Warren, and that the symbol on that machine, the same symbol that was carved into that Egyptian tomb, and the same symbol that had been engraved into Coralee's ring pointed directly to Daiva Corporation. So I extended an olive branch to Dr. Strand.
ALEX: I wanted to ask him about Bobby Mames again. To explore the possibility of a Strand who, at one time, may have been a believer. Who, at one time, led the police to a missing child. I can understand why Strand was sensitive around that subject. He was the prime suspect in Bobby Mames's murder for a long time. It must've been hard on him. I decided I'd let it go-- for now-- unless Strand brought it up again himself. Spoiler alert: he didn't.
ALEX: The Black Tapes Podcast is a Pacific Northwest Stories and Minnow Beats Whale production, recorded in Seattle and Vancouver. Produced, mixed, and engineered by by Nic Silver. Edited by Nic Silver and Alex Reagan. Executive producers Paul Bae and Terry Miles. If you enjoy The Black Tapes, you'll love our sister show, Tanis. You can listen to Tanis at Itunes.com/tanis or tanispodcast.com. Thank you so much for listening to The Black Tapes.
This season, we're continuing our exploration of the Strand Institute's enigmatic president and founder, Dr. Richard Strand. We're telling the story of the black tapes in order, every two weeks. So if you haven't listened to the first few episodes, go back and start there. We'll be here when you get back.
Last time, we discovered connections between Thomas Warren's Daiva Corporation and what we've been referring to, for lack of a better term, as an “exorcism machine.” We also heard two new sounds from one old case, the case of the Sagamore hotel. And Nic believes we may have uncovered something known as the “Axis Mundi,” the location Percival Black, or somebody like him, might use to usher in the apocalypse by playing something called the Mysterium. It was located at Mt. Ararat, the highest summit in Turkey. But the development from our last episode that I know you're most interested in is Richard Strand's discovery of Bobby Maimes's body.
- WAYNE: Jesus. I haven't heard that name in decades. Since we left school.
ALEX: That's Wayne Coates, older brother of Wesley Coates. And, apparently, younger Richard Strand's best friend. Wesley Coates had just told me that in 1976, he accompanied his older brother and his friends on an excursion in which they found the body of Bobby Mames near a tiny tributary of Red Bank Creek. The boy who led them to the body was Richard Strand.
- WAYNE: Yeah, we were a tight group. Richie, Mike, Dave, and me. They live in Brockway now, but I still see Mike and Dave around the holidays in Summerville.
- ALEX: You don't see Richie-- er, Richard, anymore? Did you have a falling out?
- WAYNE: Not really. The guys went away to college, and we talked a few times after that before drifting apart.
- ALEX: So, 1976. Bobby Mames. Richard led your group to the body?
- WAYNE: Yeah. Weirdest thing. We were hanging at Mike's place one day, and saw the kid on the news. We started talking about what coulda happened-- if he was dead, if there was a killer on the loose-- you know, that kinda talk. Richie got real quiet, like something was bothering him. Then he goes out the front door. I thought he went out for a breath of air, or something. He was out there for a while. I checked on him, and he was staring off into the distance out East. I think I mighta asked him what was bugging him-- I don't remember, really, but I remember what he said. “I know where he is.” Got real weird after that.
- ALEX: What went through your head when he said that?
- WAYNE: I didn't know what to think at first. Said he had a dream the night before about Bobby Mames. A real vivid one. Like he thought it was so real while he was dreaming that when he woke up, he felt like the real world was the dream-world, and he was still asleep. He said something about his dream-life being distorted, or something. It didn't make much sense, but he described what he saw. A tiny stream coming off a bigger one.
- ALEX: But what made him think that dream had anything to do with Bobby Mames?
- WAYNE: I asked him that exact thing. He said he saw Bobby standing there, in a green sweater, pointing at the ground.
- ALEX: I don't understand how that dream, as you described it, how that leads you to the body? I mean, that could have been anywhere. There must be several streams near Red Bank Creek.
- WAYNE: But he was real specific about it. A stream you could jump over, a hundred yards from the main stem, near a field. We'd grown up riding everywhere around the outside of town, so we knew the landscape like the back of our hands. He said he knew the place.
- ALEX: When he led you to the body, didn't it cross your mind that maybe Richard was involved in the boy's disappearance? There's know way he could have known unless he had prior knowledge.
- WAYNE: Had anyone else come up to me and told me that he dreamt he knew where Bobby Mames was, I'd be suspicious. But there was always something different about Richie. Real honest. Like it would physically hurt him to tell a lie, you know? Most honest kid I've ever known, and fiercely loyal.
- ALEX: How so?
- WAYNE: Back in fifth grade, I got a new bike. Nothin' fancy, but to me it was everything. We all went riding, we were having such a good time, but we went riding farther than we usually did. And we had a run in with some older boys at a park. We took off, but they were so much bigger than us, they caught up in no time. They rode up next to me, and one of them kicked me off my bike. I went sailing headfirst into some bushes. When I came to and climbed up out of the bushes, I saw Richie standing there, in front of the whole group of bigger boys, like, challenging them to a fight. He had his fists up, and he was walkin' the talk. Well, I guess the kids thought it was hilarious, 'cause one of them patted him on the head before riding off with my bike over his shoulder. Mike and Dave were already long gone, but Richie stuck around and got me out of the bushes and took me home. Like, he was never a fighter, but man, that kid had guts. (pause) Hello?
- ALEX: Yes. Sorry. I... I'm just trying to visualize a group of older teenage boys following your friends through the woods on the basis of a dream he had. I think I'm finding it difficult to process.
- WAYNE: I know. Sounds like bullshit, but... if you knew Richie at all, you'd understand. He was the most serious teenager you'd ever met. He knew how to have fun, but he was always serious. Never one to waste words. He was the quiet one in the group. Off to the side, but included in everything, you know? Always smilin' and laughing along with us. Hated calling attention to himself. Hated standing out more than anything. But whenever he talked, it was for a reason. And for him to suddenly tell us that he thought he knew where Bobby Mames was? It was the craziest thing ever. But there was no way to ignore it or brush it off, 'cause Richie was saying it.
ALEX: It was strange. Unsettling, to hear this person talk about the young Richard Strand in this way. It seemed he was describing a different person. But was he really all that different? The Dr. Strand I know is not afraid to be the center of attention, yet, at the same time, I know it's always for a purpose-- to further his often-stated mission to bring reason back into the cultural discourse. And though many may consider his manner arrogant, or brusque, in another light, it can be interpreted as courageous. But the part that was deeply unsettling, that did not fit my picture of Dr. Strand in any way, was this account of him as a possible psychic.
Nic and I met at our office to go over a game plan now that we had this information about Dr. Strand's past.
- NIC: We just received another file from that “Hastur” account.
- ALEX: Is it another sound file?
- NIC: Yeah. Listen.
- ALEX: Okay.
[Sound file plays, because broadcasting potentially-infectious apocalypse music over the airwaves to thousands of listeners-- what could go wrong?]
- NIC: And it came with this code...
- ALEX: Uh, E-D- [redacted bleep]. What's that supposed to mean?
- NIC: Well, I did a search, and it could be a lot of things, but one possibility stood out. Um, here.
- ALEX: Uh, map coordinates? Those--
- NIC: Yeah, looks like it. If you plot in the longitude and latitude...
- ALEX: Atlanta?
- NIC: Well, about two hours Northeast of Atlanta, in the Chattahoochee National Forest? Just south of Tennessee.
- ALEX: Oh great, another forest death cult.
- NIC: Maybe, but, uh, I doubt it. I did a news search of the area. Nothing cult-y came up.
- ALEX: Well, this makes no sense.
- NIC: Yeah. Why would Hastur be sending us map coordinates to a forest in Georgia?
- ALEX: Okay. So, who is sending these files if it's not Keith Dabic?
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- STRAND: There's no way anyone can play a symphony at the summit of Mt. Ararat.
ALEX: I met Dr. Strand at his father's house. Or, I should probably say, his house. I'd asked him what he thought of our theory, that the summit of Mt. Ararat, in Turkey, could be the possible “Axis Mundi” for what ever symphony Percival Black was recording for the Order of the Cenophus.
- STRAND: Are you familiar with the mountain?
- ALEX: I did a cursory search online.
- STRAND: Then you know of its geographic and religious significance. Mt. Ararat claims the highest peak in Turkey. According to the book of Genesis, it's where Noah's ark came to rest after the great deluge. Before that, it was symbolically significant in pre-Christian Armenian mythology.
- ALEX: Any chance that a bunch of musicians could climb to the top with their instruments to play a very intimate symphony?
- STRAND: At an elevation of nearly 17,000 feet? Unlikely. Unless their instruments can be carried with mountaineering gear and backpacks.
- ALEX: I see.
- STRAND: Is something on your mind?
- ALEX: (sighs) Why did you set up the Strand Institute?
- STRAND: I believe I answered that when we first met.
- ALEX: You did, but was there anything else?
- STRAND: There is no other reason, other than the goal of bringing reason into--
- ALEX: Yeah, yeah. I've heard you say that over and over. And your black tapes, your unsolved cases... and I'm starting to wonder exactly how many black tapes there are. Are they really unsolved because you don't have the technology yet, as you say, or is there another reason you collect these particular cases? Because here's what I believe: I believe they're all connected. And... the connection is you.
- STRAND: Why don't you say what's really on your mind?
- ALEX: I want to know how you explain your ability to lead your friends to the body of Bobby Mames. Because, of all your black tapes, that's the first one, isn't it? How did you solve that one?
- STRAND: How did you find out?
- ALEX: Wayne Coates.
- STRAND: Wayne. You talked to Wayne?
- ALEX: Yes.
- STRAND: So. You've been digging even deeper into my personal life. What happened to our agreement to help each other in our investigations?
- ALEX: We never had an agreement.
- STRAND: We had an understanding.
- ALEX: What understanding? That I'd help you solve your black tapes? Or find Coralee? And that you'd have to provide nothing in return? Is that your understanding? Is that the way you thought it would work? I feel like you're trying to manipulate me. Right now. You're trying to--
- STRAND: Alex. (pauses) I'd like you to leave.
- ALEX: I'll leave, but first I wanna ask--
- STRAND: Please. Just... leave me alone.
Back at the studio, there was a message waiting.
- AMALIA: Hello Alex, Nic. I got a call from my contact in Bulgaria. That body they found at the bottom of the Tower? At Glushka? It's not Keith Dabic. At least, not exactly. The damage from the fall-- they didn't notice it at first, because of the--
ALEX: Amalia's message cuts off there. We haven't been able to get in touch with her, to ask her to clarify.
- NIC: What does she mean, not exactly Keith Dabic?
- ALEX: Can you bring up the photo again? The one Keith Dabic took of himself at Glushka?
- NIC: Yeah, okay. (pause) Alright.
- ALEX: Okay... And, can you find a photo of his old band, Hastur Rising?
- NIC: His... yeah. Uh. (typing noises) This one is good. Okay.
- ALEX: Okay. So, what color are Keith's eyes?
- NIC: Uh, blue.
- ALEX: Now, look at the photo from Glushka.
- NIC: (pause, then, confusedly) What?
- ALEX: Yeah.
ALEX: The Glushka photo. I never noticed it before. His eyes-- they weren't his eyes. As Nic zoomed in on the photo, up by his hairline, there was something we hadn't noticed before. A seam. Somebody had sewn Keith Dabic's face onto their own.
We were finally able to get back in touch with Amalia.
- ALEX: So, who was it?
- AMALIA: The body belongs to a homeless man. A former monk. He began hanging around the monastery years earlier. The police knew him.
- ALEX: And they've sent the... face... to the United States for identification?
- AMALIA: They are testing the DNA in Russia, I think. I have somebody looking into it.
- ALEX: Thanks.
- AMALIA: You're welcome. (pause) Alexandra?
- ALEX: Yes?
- AMALIA: Please be careful.
- ALEX: I will.
- AMALIA: Okay. Goodbye.
- ALEX: Bye.
ALEX: Nic had been doing a lot of digging into Tiamat, and had uncovered some new information that he wanted to share.
- NIC: This stuff is crazy.
- ALEX: What stuff?
- NIC: Uhh, its something from one of the Gnostic gospels.
- ALEX: Okay, what did you find?
- NIC: Well, I'd like you to take it to Strand, if you're okay with that.
- ALEX: Well... he might not want to see me right now.
- NIC: I spoke with him. He's okay with us coming by.
- ALEX: Really?
- NIC: Maybe “okay” is an exaggeration, but he did agree to see us.
- ALEX: Okay.
- STRAND: The Gnostic Gospels are ancient texts written between the second and fourth centuries AD. Some of them are older than the Gospels of the New Testament, but due to content and provenance, they aren't seen as Biblical canon. They're referred to as New Testament apocrypha.
- ALEX: Well, that sounds ominous.
- STRAND: The word “gnostic” comes from the Greek “gnosis.”
- NIC: Knowledge?
- STRAND: Right. It's a popular term in Greek philosophy. The Christian gnostics believed that salvation lay not in Christ, but rather in psychic or pneumatic souls freeing themselves from the material world via the Book of Revelation.
- NIC: Tiamat is mentioned in the Book of Revelation... “the dragon.”
- STRAND: It's true. The dragon, and a lot of other imagery in Revelation, and frankly, a lot of the modern Bible was borrowed from Sumerian mythology. How did you know that?
- NIC: Uhh, Dungeons and Dragons.
- STRAND: (scoff-laughs)
- ALEX: Wait, so what do the Gnostic Gospels have to do with... anything?
- STRAND: Well, the section of the Gospel of Thomas that Nic forwarded to me was... interesting.
- ALEX: The Gospel of Thomas, that's one of the Gnostic Gospels?
- STRAND: Yes.
- ALEX: So, what was in it?
- STRAND: The introduction to that Gospel, it begins with, very roughly translated, “These are the words that the living Jesus spoke, and Didymos Judas Thomas wrote them down.” A large number of scholars believe that the author wasn't Thomas, but someone else. Someone unknown.
- ALEX: A mystery apostle.
- STRAND: Maybe. There's a lot of Greek philosophy in the Gospel of Thomas-- Plato in particular. But the Gospel of Thomas references something else.
- ALEX: What?
- STRAND: The Gospel of Truth.
- ALEX: Another one?
- STRAND: It's a parable involving math. It's long. I'll spare you.
- ALEX: Thanks.
- NIC: And what's in that one?
- STRAND: It describes Jesus being sent down to remove ignorance.
- ALEX: That sounds like somebody I know.
- STRAND: (laughs) It claims that Jesus was a teacher, and describes how it is knowledge, rather than faith, that grants salvation, which constitutes eternal rest, describing ignorance as a nightmare.
- ALEX: And how does that relate to the Black Tapes?
- STRAND: Well, it doesn't. At least not directly. But there is a section that contains a parable about a jar, and something else.
- NIC: What?
- STRAND: It's related to a disputed page of the Gospel of Truth, something dug up in Cairo in 1955.
- NIC: A disputed page?
- STRAND: Scholars place it, if it's genuine, in the Sahidic Fragments, My father did a lot of research on this Gospel, and he was convinced that the missing page contained information that was vital to the document.
- ALEX: What information?
- STRAND: Information about the opening of the five seals.
- ALEX: Okay. This is starting to sound kind of scary.
- STRAND: It was pretty far from the parable of the Good Shepherd.
- ALEX: Sorry, I don't know what that is.
- STRAND: Let's just say that the End of Days would be be an extremely gentle way of putting it, should the seals be opened.
- NIC: Is this the dig where they found that fragment from the Gospel of Truth?
- STRAND: Yes.
- NIC: Well, in that case, there's something else to consider.
- ALEX: What?
- NIC: This.
ALEX: And there it was. Above the entrance to an ancient tomb in Cairo, from an archaeological dig in 1955, the symbol from Coralee's ring, right next to the familiar symbol of Tiamat.
So, things were starting to come together, but in doing so were becoming more complicated. In somewhat related news, I received a call from somebody at Daiva Corporation. Finally. Thomas Warren wanted to set a meeting.
I knew that Strand's investigation into Coralee had stalled with Thomas Warren, and that the symbol on that machine, the same symbol that was carved into that Egyptian tomb, and the same symbol that had been engraved into Coralee's ring pointed directly to Daiva Corporation. So I extended an olive branch to Dr. Strand.
- NIC: So I called them, and they agreed that you could bring Strand.
- ALEX: Cool, thanks.
- NIC: But, sadly, they're not willing to allow recording devices into the building.
- ALEX: Uh. Well, that's okay. I'm wearing a wire.
- NIC: (groans)
- ALEX: Nic! I'm kidding!
- NIC: Okay. I mostly believe you.
- STRAND: (enters) Hello.
- NIC: Hey!
- ALEX: Hi!
- STRAND: Are we ready to go?
- ALEX: Ready.
- STRAND: Okay.
- [Later, recorded in what sounds to be a moving vehicle]
- ALEX: I'm sorry if I treated your personal life as, well... I know I set everything up as a sort of “aha moment” back there.
- STRAND: I understand. It's... (jadedly) 'entertainment.'
- ALEX: Yeah, but it's also your life. And I'm sorry.
- STRAND: Thank you.
ALEX: I wanted to ask him about Bobby Mames again. To explore the possibility of a Strand who, at one time, may have been a believer. Who, at one time, led the police to a missing child. I can understand why Strand was sensitive around that subject. He was the prime suspect in Bobby Mames's murder for a long time. It must've been hard on him. I decided I'd let it go-- for now-- unless Strand brought it up again himself. Spoiler alert: he didn't.
- ALEX: What do you think about Thomas Warren? Any idea what to expect?
- STRAND: No idea.
- [Later]
- ALEX: Are those...? Do you think that's a security team?
- STRAND: That's an awful lot of security.
- ALEX: They can't be for us, can they?
- STRAND: They are coming this way.
- ALEX: They have guns. Do you think they're police?
- STRAND: They're not police.
- [The sound of tires squealing as a car skids to a halt. A door slams.]
- WOMAN: Get into the van.
- ALEX: I don't think so.
- WOMAN: (emphatically) Get into the van if you wanna live.
- STRAND: Get into the van, Alex.
- [They get into the van and the door closes.]
- ALEX: What's going on?
- STRAND: Alex, I'd like you to meet Coralee.
- CORALEE: Hello, Alex.
ALEX: The Black Tapes Podcast is a Pacific Northwest Stories and Minnow Beats Whale production, recorded in Seattle and Vancouver. Produced, mixed, and engineered by by Nic Silver. Edited by Nic Silver and Alex Reagan. Executive producers Paul Bae and Terry Miles. If you enjoy The Black Tapes, you'll love our sister show, Tanis. You can listen to Tanis at Itunes.com/tanis or tanispodcast.com. Thank you so much for listening to The Black Tapes.