Mercury

Mercury: A Broadcast of Hope tells the story of a small group of resident and a growing number of recurring characters living in a small radio station during the zombie apocalypse. Their mission is to communicate with fellow survivors via a daily broadcast (distributed here via podcast, but the story will retain the conceit that it is an actual terrestrial broadcast) that brings them thoughts, musings, stories, practical survival tips, and other messages that are intended to keep up the general morale and enable listeners to survive whatever hardships they may be encountering. Including zombies.

Setting

The characters are living in a small college radio station adjacent to the marine science building at a coastal university. Within sight of the station is a lighthouse

Characters

Due to the small size of the station, there is a limit to the number of permanent resident characters. That limit is set at five, but to begin the series will have only three so as to allow for easy expansion. Once the limit of five is met no new resident characters may be introduced without finding a way to remove another resident character within the rules outlined below.

Resident Characters

Max O'Brien

Max O’Brien (portrayed by David Benedict) is the middle-aged program manager at WEHG 870AM. He’s been on the job at the station for the last 3 years following a career change from basic web design. He’d hoped to be able to someday write code for the big boys, but he just couldn’t keep up with the changes in technology as web design advanced. He simply didn’t have the passion for it to keep re-learning new techniques to accomplish the same old goals, so he’d convinced the station to take him on as an unpaid intern for a year so he could learn new skills.

Today, as program manager, he coordinates which shows get aired at what times. He works closely with the advertising manager to keep the bills paid and the lights on by relaying listener statistics that potential clients will want to see.

He is unmarried and has no kids.

He also has a curiosity and a wild imagination. When the zombie outbreak became serious enough that law enforcement and the military could no longer ignore it or sweep it under the rug, he became interested in the root cause of the disaster. Who was patient zero? Was the condition viral? If so, which virus did it mutate from? What other explanations might be available? He’s done quite a bit of research, some of it coming from some pretty crackpot sources, and, while he has no actual answers, he loves to speculate. Some days it’s all that keeps him going.

He has above-average knowledge of web design and can make his way through modern code, although he’s no expert. He has an eye towards efficiency and resource management. He gets frustrated easily.

Dr. Rosalind Clark

Dr. Rosalind Clark (portrayed by Diana Lancaster) is practical and a realist. Wants to find out the how and why of the infection. Divorced. Early 40s

Agnes Drew

Agnes Drew (portrayed by Nicole Isaac) is emotional and heavily dependent on the other characters. Whimsical and an eternal optimist.

Little brother couldn’t pronounce the “G” so he called me “Anus,” long running joke in our family. Brought in a cat. Why can’t keep it. Cat. Too much maintenance. Hiding it for weeks. ANIMALS. They can be bit but don’t manifest symptoms so there’s no way to know whether they’re infected. I hide the cat for a while until D. finds out. She doesn’t make me kill it. Says I can release it back out into wild. I know killing it would be more merciful. But I can’t. Sees this whole experience like an internship Comparative Literature major> Personality: Young, hopeful, naïve, head in the clouds. Still believes that someone will find a cure and mankind will build itself back again Foil to “rational science” of D. and “wild paranoia” of conspiracy theorist She has Walt Whitman’s “song of myself” under her pillow, picture of family as bookmark. She has a tape recorder with last message of her boyfriend, Sam. Keep a journal. Later episodes reads from pages to see how my attitude has changed Don’t call them “zombies” JUST call them THEY. THEM Millennial mentality: MISS my phone. Whine

Recurring Characters

In development. Ideas for recurring characters include:

• Survivalist. Lives off the land and has no interest in staying at the station permanently. Regards it as a vulnerable position. Brings practical supplies (fuel, food, water, medicine) and provides survival tips to listeners.
• Information gatherer. Has family living in the lighthouse, but can't bring them to shore because the boat is too small and there isn't enough room at the station for them all to live there. Brings some practical supplies, but mostly brings news of zombie movements through scouting missions and a high vantage on the lighthouse.