Gorgon Broadcast

The Agents are tasked with covering up a petrifying astronomical phenomenon

What Happened

Researchers at the Hat Creek Radio Observatory (HCRO) in California recently detected a rapidly-fading interstellar signal. Desperate to capture as much data as possible, they attempted a novel method of amplification before it vanished completely.

Unknown to the researchers, the signal contained a waveform that, once amplified and relayed through the HCRO's apparatus, would begin an irreversible transformation in anyone exposed to it (see The Coral, below).

The observatory equipment suffered several failures after the incident, being shut down afterwards for repairs. The researchers, believing their experiment a failure, and not realising they had only hours to live, went back to their daily lives.

The first victim (see Miles Rhodes, below) is found the next day in a roadside motel, his condition baffling local authorities. Delta Green intercepts a request for the CDC to investigate and sends the Agents to examine the scene, remove any evidence of the Unnatural, and provide a plausible explanation for any strange goings on.

Briefing

The case officer provides a rental car and flimsy CDC credentials - enough for a foot in the door, but not deep enough to withstand scrutiny.

The Coral

The interstellar signal received by the HCRO contained 'instructions' compatible with human biology. Once received, those instructions trigger an irrevocable change in human cell structure, transforming the body into a lattice of coral-like material.

The coral is composed of hardened calcium and phosphate; analysis reveals traces of iron and silicon. Although it retains the victim's approximate shape and mass, it is completely inert - no life or animus.

The coral is hard but brittle, making a high-pitched noise if struck. It will crack and shatter if dropped, battered, or stressed. While disturbing to look at (0/1D4 SAN from the Unnatural on first exposure), the material presents no immediate danger.

A victim's conversion takes several hours to set in, starting slowly but progressing steadily until the transformation completes. Victims experience auditory and sensory hallucinations, and an increasing desire to hear the signal again; eventually their body seizes up and the transformation begins.

The signal sounds like ordinary radio static to an unaffected listener; only when cleaned and amplified (such as at the HCRO) do the harmful effects manifest.

Although the original signal has now faded enough that it would be impossible to pick up again, the HCRO victims will try to find the closest approximation to the original signal that they can; for most of them, this will be a radio or television tuned to a specific frequency. Observant agents may realise the frequency is the same between victims (0/1 SAN from Helplessness).

HCRO

Originally a SETI outpost; remote, underfunded, currently suffering equipment failure and an unexpected staff shortage.

Dr. Edward Thorne (researcher, 36, hand-knit cardigan, stubborn, constantly adjusting spectacles, keeps an apocalypse survival "go bag" in his car) is working with Finn O'Malley (technician, 23, tall, unruly ginger hair, nervous laugh, hobbyist drone pilot) to repair the observatory's equipment and raise the missing staff on their cellphones and landlines.

Neither Thorne nor O'Malley were on-site during the incident; both can explain their absences innocently.

Interviewing Thorne may yield home addresses for the missing staff (see their respective headings below) and details on how the team planned to intercept the strange signal. Alternatively, staff names can be found on the SETI website.

If O’Malley repairs the observatory equipment, Thorne will try to reconstruct the signal from fragmented recordings and upload it to a central SETI server for later study.

Miles Rhodes

Science and engineering operation manager, 61, burly, weathered skin, divorced, smokes cigars.

Rhodes was exposed to the signal more intensely than the other HCRO staff due to his proximity to equipment he was calibrating. He was due to fly from Sacramento to see his daughter's family in Seattle; while driving to the airport the evening after the experiment he started feeling "strange". Struggling to concentrate, Rhodes found himself listening to static on the car radio at full volume. Disoriented, he checked into a motel for a brief rest.

In the small hours of the morning, Carla Reyes (motel owner, 42, bold lipstick, often remarks on peoples' behaviour, regular church-goer) was summoned by complaints that Rhodes' television set was keeping other guests awake. Loud TV static was audible through the door of Rhodes' room, and there was no answer to knocking or a call to the room's telephone, so Reyes used her master key to enter the room.

Discovering the coral-form of Rhodes, Reyes closed the door, called the police, and discreetly moved neighbouring guests to rooms on the motel’s far side.

Officer Julie Keeling (37, ponytail secured with a pencil, frayed friendship bracelet, uses humour to defuse tension) arrived soon after, quickly summoning homicide detective Alex Vincer (49, short, portly, mismatched socks, believes in ghosts). One look at the "body" was enough to convince Vincer to call the CDC. This was the call intercepted by DG.

While waiting for the Agents verdict, Vincer will look into the person who rented the room; he will follow his own HCRO leads if the Agents cannot disarm his curiosity.

Motel Room

Rhodes paid by credit card to rent the room for one night, giving a home address in Fall River Mills, CA.

The room appears undisturbed except for Rhodes’ coral-form body lying in front of the television, which was tuned to static at full volume (Keeling turned it off with the remote after securing the area).

Rhodes' jacket (car keys in an inner pocket) and suitcase (unopened, contains clothes) lie on the bed; his car is parked outside.

A lanyard in Rhodes' suitcase identifies his position at the HCRO. A cellphone in Rhodes' car displays missed calls and unread text messages from "Edward" suggesting that several people have not turned up for work at the observatory (see HCRO, above).

Dr. Leo Beck

Astronomer, 56, thinning grey hair, introverted, whittles little wooden birds.

Beck's home in Cassel, CA is clean but disorderly. The front door is ajar, the television left on and tuned to static. Beck and his car are absent. Beck's bookshelves contain many titles on alien intelligence, old-fashioned crafts, HAM radio, and American folklore. A photo of Beck holding a radio set, in front of the Hat Creek Volunteer Fire Department (HCVFD) during a charity fundraiser, sits proudly among the books.

A neighbour can describe Beck's vehicle.

Yesterday evening Beck broke into the HCVFD, barricading himself in the modest operations room before rewiring radio equipment and tuning it to a supposedly blank frequency. He then sat in a corner and began transforming. Entering the barricaded room will require force or creative thinking.

If the Agents do not find Beck, a volunteer may discover the break-in, investigate, and call the police; this may lead the PCs to another rendezvous with Keeling and Vincer.

Dr. Helen Cho

Project scientist, 42, sharply dressed, perfectionist, amateur marathon runner, rubs temples when stressed.

Cho lives alone in an apartment in Burney, CA. She went home after the experiment feeling unwell. She did not eat, going straight to bed with the television on (tuned to static).

Cho is fully converted into coral when the Agents find her (or partially transformed if you want more SAN rolls).

Friend and neighbour, Ellen Harrington (medical transport driver, 36, aviator sunglasses, faded denim jacket, argues with her GPS), has been checking up on Cho and may turn up (after work, during her lunch break, between errands, etc.) while the Agents are investigating the apartment, or otherwise notice strangers hanging around; she will ask questions.

Rachel Valdes

Site maintenance technician, 47, tough, direct, cheerful, wears a tarnished silver cross.

Valdes travelled to her home in Old Station, CA after work but was restless and distracted. A successful interview with her husband Christian Valdes (car mechanic, 50, shaved head, thick accent, limps) reveals that Mrs. Valdes barely ate or slept that night; she left for work the next morning, much earlier than usual, packing a climbing harness and handheld radio in her car, mentioning something about needing to “get closer to the source.”

Mr. Valdes can describe his wife's car, but may search for her himself if he suspects she is in danger.

Keeling may be looking into reports of erratic driving near Fall River Mills; she will investigate Valdes’ abandoned car if she finds it.

Mrs. Valdes is most of the way up a radio mast on a hill west of Fall River Mills, CA. She drove around in a trance, radio at full volume tuned to static, until she found the mast and parked on the service road leading up to it. She used bolt cutters to cut through a wire fence and scaled the tower, leaving her climbing harness in her car. She stopped climbing part way up, her body transforming into coral.

Valdes' coral-form body will be wrapped tightly around the radio mast; dislodging or removing it is a challenge for the Agents' ingenuity.

Credits

Gorgon Broadcast was written by Rook Glanten for the 2025 Shotgun Scenario contest.
Source: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1s0PIBwKX4qvUqrhhrabzqWUrnj1TtfM3owkbndye6aA/edit