MercurySetting
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The Surrounding Geography
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 Gipstein Lighthouse.
The precise geography is not strictly relevant to the story. For episode-writing purposes it can be assumed that it is a coastal area that experiences all four standard seasons - cold, snow, and ice in winter, extreme heat in summer, moderation in spring and autumn.
Gipstein Lighthouse
Gipstein Lighthouse is approximately 1 mile off the coast and has its own set of residents, the Longs. More information about the Longs is contained in the Character section of this site. The Longs chose the lighthouse for the increased security, but they must still come ashore periodically to recover supplies. The lighthouse does continue to operate on automated systems and is powered by a tidal power plant [1], [2], although the characters do not know or understand how it works in the early episodes. For the time being (as of 2017-08-11) characters can ponder why the lighthouse is still lit, but they will find out the details at a later time.
The Building
The station is divided into two sections - the broadcast room and a lounge area. The broadcast room consists of a small sound-resistant recording booth, big enough for as many as four people if they're friendly, and a control area outside the booth. The booth does have a door that can shut, but for most broadcasts it will be left open as there is no need to close it. There isn't much room for anything else in the broadcast room. There is also a door that goes from the broadcast room to the lounge that can be shut, but, again, will be left open most of the time. The lounge area has a sofa and a few chairs, but not much other furniture. There is one small window, not big enough for a human to fit through, that illuminates the room during the day. At night the residents sometimes use candles, but mostly just go to sleep at sundown to conserve supplies.
The broadcast setup is in a small separate building with the tower antenna and is surrounded by a chain link fence topped with barbed wire. The original intent was to keep people from interfering with the broadcast equipment, but now it keeps zombies at bay. Daily, the characters will walk the inside perimeter and dispatch any zombies that have gathered nearby through the fence. Once the coast is clear, the residents will clean the bodies out and throw them into the nearby ocean to prevent them from piling up. If there are too many zombies to clear, the residents can retreat to a small outboard boat and either keep watch from a short distance off the coast or can retreat as far as the lighthouse temporarily.
The residents do have a laptop computer, but mostly leave it powered down to conserve electricity. There is no WiFi, but there is a hardline internet cable available. The off-site internet router, however, has no power and therefore the computer cannot connect. Each character has a cell phone, but there is no service.
The Marine Science Building is approximately 25 yards away from the broadcast antenna and requires an unprotected walk to access. The building is useless for shelter, as it has no outside barrier and the exterior of the building was made of a substantial number of glass panes, some of which are broken, leaving the building very insecure. The remainder of the University buildings are in a similar state of disrepair. The University is a commuter campus with no dorms and the nearest residential homes are a good distance away. Some of the buildings show signs of looting, but the marine science building appears to have been left largely untouched.
Electricity for the broadcast is supplied by a gas generator, which limits broadcasts to 5-7 minutes per day as they ration the gasoline. More gasoline must be collected from nearby abandoned service stations, by siphoning it from cars or boats, or from passers-by who are willing to make a donation of gas to keep the station broadcasting. For the purposes of this series we will assume that the gas will never actually run out, but will be a constant source of concern as they attempt to gather and conserve it. We will also assume that the gasoline doesn't break down and go bad (even though it does in real life). Perhaps if the series ever ends the final episode will focus on the degradation of the gasoline, but it shouldn't be a concern on a day-to-day basis.
Community of Forgiveness
"Forgiveness" is the working title of the community, but could change. Forgiveness is a small community of about 100 people situated about 10 miles northwest of the station. They are within broadcast range and tune in when they're able. Periodically Jamey Bristowe will drop by with news and information about what's happening in the community. Short stories about what happened recently to characters who don't typically make the journey.
Characters in Forgiveness
Starr's Mill High School
Starr's Mill High School is the education facility that has been set up by the residents in Forgiveness for the variously-aged children. The students are named as follows (after the students who contributed to the series in 2016-2017)
- Nicole (teacher)
- Ethan
- Hannah
- Allie
- Mary
- Kaylee
- Kayla
- Ashlyn
- Shelby
- Kirsten
- More later if we need them
Community Leadership
Community Leadership is made up of particularly engaged fans on Twitter
- Ely -
- Nate -
- Adam -
- Ruthi -
Community Residents
Community residents are made up of Patreon supporters. As new supporters come on, they can move into the community. If a Patron stops supporting the show, the resident will move out to a different community.
- Caran
- Matt
- Terilyn
- Billy
- Timothy
- Karim
- Gerald
- Jeanne
- Christina
- Scooter
- Robert
- Chris
- William
- Rachael
- Megan
Music on site
While WEHG is a college radio station, the primary format was talk, therefore there is not much music on site. The equipment necessary to interface with the broadcast tower was disassembled and parts were used to repair the broadcast equipment, so no music will be part of the broadcast. Furthermore, to conserve power the characters will not listen to much music off-air either. That said the characters do have access to a small handful of CDs that include the overplayed classics - Ravel's Bolero, Pachelbel's Canon in D, and a few other orchestral works.