TAPE 4: CARLOS SPEAKING

RECORDING . . .

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Hello? Hello? I...I hope this is working. I'm a scientist, not tech support. That was kind of why I had Cecil do this job.

So...sorry about earlier. Cecil fell asleep around 4 o'clock. It is now nearly 7 and the sun has just begun to peak over the horizon. I spent the entire night recording energy levels and doing the occasional ritual chant. When I saw that Cecil had fallen asleep, I turned off the recording and carried him to my sofa where he currently sleeps under a few extra blankets I had lying around in my closet.

He appears peaceful. I'm glad. I probably should have told him to quit recording once the action died down, but I was too preoccupied with my own thoughts. It seems that that happens often with me… I get so distracted by all the science that I forget to care about the people around me. I find myself wanting to care more about the experiments I take part in than the people who support me. And that's not fair.

I want to believe that it is, in fact, Night Vale that isn't fair. I want to blame this town for all of the strange twists and turns that my life has taken since coming here. But although I stick by my prior statement that Night Vale is both scientifically fascinating and psychologically terrifying, I think that we can only blame ourselves for the sad and twisted forms that our lives inevitably take. I can only blame myself for my own obsessions.

Anyway. On my couch, he sleeps. I hope he sleeps well. Soon, I think I'm going to go make us both some breakfast. I'll leave his for him on the coffee table, labeled, and then go to bed and try to get some sleep. If possible, tonight I'd like to conduct another rigorous experiment.

Don't allow the exhaustion in my voice to disguise the fact that a miraculous breakthrough has been made. Today is a great day to be a philosopher and a scientist. I am very excited. But, I also really, really need a cup of coffee.

[ -rustling, and the sound of a fridge opening- ]

However, Night Vale, before I go, I need to tell you something while Cecil is asleep. This is for the scientific record, but I think for now, it would be best if Cecil didn't know about this part of last night's experiment…

I…

Yes. For now, I'll keep this tape to myself. It simply isn't safe for him yet. I don't want to reveal anything prematurely and end up endangering him physically or mentally because of it. I...couldn't live with myself if I was the cause of his being hurt. I realize that denying to tell him about this might also cause him pain, but I'm willing to take that risk. I'd rather he be mad at me than be caused permanent trauma because of the larger forces at work in this world. I have no control over such forces and they loom above us even as we speak.

There was once a time when I thought that I could believe that the powers at work in this desert weren't all that sinister after all. And to an extent, this is true. So what if time doesn't work normally in this little town? So what if our clocks aren't real? Who cares!

But what this desert has done to Cecil is not okay. Cecil is a good person, damn it.

That is, if I choose to believe that Cecil is who he says he is.

Yes...yes, I really am putting a lot at risk aren't I?

.

Moving along. Again, this is for the scientific record:

Last night's experiment was a test to see whether or not one of my suspicions held any merit.

You see, I am a scientist. But science doesn't always hold up here in Night Vale. So, after months and months of feverish hypothesizing and subsequent disappointment, I was forced to turn to...other methods.

I acquired several grimoires from a generous neighbor. The grimoires weren't well organized, and I spent quite some time hunting down the specific spells that I required, and still more time memorizing them and learning to properly cast them. I am convinced that this is the only way that I could have made the progress I have made.

The spells that I was hunting for were complex conjuring and location spells. I have suspected for a long while that there is one single energy source for all of Night Vale's unnatural happenings. All I needed was an artifact to help me locate said energy source. An ancient gemstone from a tribe of ancient people, a scroll containing forbidden secrets… or perhaps simply a vial of blood...

Night Vale, I will put it bluntly. Cecil Palmer fascinates me, and there's a very simple reason why.

For a long time now, I have hypothesized that Cecil Palmer is, in fact, the source of energy that makes Night Vale...well, Night Vale.

Don't ask me how this is possible. Don't ask me why I believe what I believe. I fear for our safety enough at it is, and I know that there are many powers that work to stop me from continuing this research. The hooded figures, the faceless old women who live in all of our houses, and the glow cloud, just to name a few.

I will be honest with you. I am beginning to grow paranoid.

Perhaps I will tell you what led me to these beliefs another time. For now, I'll simply say that I…

[ -awkward silence- ]

...acquired a vial of Cecil's blood without his knowledge.

Even so, I wanted to make sure he was present when the experiment took place. And besides, if I was right about my hypothesis, I wanted him by my side as much as possible. I may not be ready to tell him the findings of last night's experiment yet, but that doesn't mean that he's not a key part of it. I'm the one who got him into this mess. If the glow cloud gets us, I want him to know that it was my fault and I want him to, at the very least, have a chance to get away before it is too late.

.

Night Vale, it appears my hypothesis was correct. Cecil Gershwin Palmer-his body, his soul, his mind or simply the space he occupies-is, in actuality, the source of an immensely large volume of energy of unknown proportions and unknown properties. Such energy could not be detected or measured before last night's locator spell. I'm sure that the energy radiating from his sleeping form has once again faded into obscurity. However, I know the truth.

He. Is. A. Human. Generator.

I doubt that magic will serve my scientific purposes again, but I am glad that I used it, if only this once.

I have found my energy source. Cecil. My eccentric, charming Cecil.

And the most startling revelation of all?

He is not the only one.

END RECORDING. . .

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