Media Obscura - "Episode One: The Impostors"
Project Overview
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MEDIA OBSCURA is an anthology audio drama exploring the unexplained, unusual, and unnerving audio recordings held within a mysterious, hidden facility known as the Matheson Archives.
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"Episode One - The Impostors" revolves around an unnamed Speaker, addressing a large crowd in an unknown location. The Speaker describes the tragic case of a man named Robert Halpern, who suffered from a severe case of the Capgras delusion: a rare neurological disorder in which the subject believes their friends and/or family members have been replaced with identical-looking impostors. But as Robert's struggles grew, so did his suspicions: maybe his delusion isn't a delusion after all.
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The Speaker describes the straight facts of the Halpern case... before the Speaker's true connection to the case is revealed, in the final moments.
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The Speaker commands the room, addressing the crowd with confidence, authority, and calm, precise language, like an esteemed psychiatrist addressing a medical conference. Or, like Jon Hamm or Sigourney Weaver delivering a TED talk: they're not acting like rock stars or politicians onstage, and they're not wasting words. They own the room, through the strength of their voice alone.
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The Speaker's voice needs projection and authority. This is your stern father/mother giving a lecture: they mean what they say, and when they get angry, you can feel yourself shrink into your seat.
By March 21st, 1991, Robert Halpern, an electronics engineer from Richmond, Virginia, was fully convinced that his wife was not his wife. Robert believed his wife Catherine was an impostor, identical in every way, but not the woman he married. He believed this Catherine had been sent to spy on him, gain his trust, and destroy him. And he could not be convinced otherwise. Next slide please.
But again, why him? Why was Robert Halpern special? The deeper he looked, the further he went, searching for a reason, the closer he came to a terrifying realization: that he **wasn’t** special. That there was no reason why the impostors had chosen him. They simply had. And, it may have been this revelation that finally pushed Robert over the edge. The idea that him being targeted for a **specific** reason, was not as frightening as being targeted for **no** reason. There was no logic to dispute. There was no justification to argue against. No way to reason with an attacker... who had no reason for attacking. Next slide please.
...and it was only with the Robert Halpern incident that the curtain was pulled back, for just a glimpse -- but a glimpse that we cannot **ever** allow again. (fiery) We cannot be so **sloppy**, we cannot be so **reckless** ever again. The Halpern incident was contained by the end, but the next may not be, and we cannot take that chance. Our operations depend on absolute secrecy. We need to cover every detail, no matter how small. And in the future, if a target ever displays similar awareness of the operation, we will eliminate them immediately. Before they start yelling in the streets. The Halpern incident is our worst-case scenario. And every one of you is here to make sure it doesn't happen again. You will be trained to infiltrate, to mimic, to perfectly assume a persona. To be undetectable. Because we have work to do. So, without further ado: welcome to the show.
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