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| “ | As the boy laid there dormant, all of his humanity drained into a murky puddle. Milky eyes cut through the thick blackness of the bedroom, a spectator. He was no longer the hero of the story, just a cog in the machine. | „ |
| ~ "The Fate of the Jester" Chapter 1, a clear allegory to Adam's situation. |
| “ | Adam: Most of it was a blur. I talked to someone. Someone talked to me. Thatcher: Who are these people? Can you describe them to me? |
„ |
| ~ Adam Murray explaining his transformation to Thatcher Davis. |
"Adam Murray", also known as The Jester is the deuteragonist of the 2021 analog horror web series The Mandela Catalogue. He serves as the deuteragonist of Act 1 and one of the two main protagonists (alongside Thatcher Davis) of Act 2.
Adam was among the 3,426 children kidnapped by The Intruder in 1992, resulting in the suicide of his mother after she became distraught at the sight of him missing. These incidents resulted in Adam gaining an interest for hunting down the paranormal, specifically the Alternates, in search for his mother and for the thrill that getting the footage provides. After being moved to Werksha County, his interest for the paranormal eventually led to him joining the Paranormal Club at Bythorne High and turning it into an inter-county paranormal investigation society, the Bythorne Paranormal Society (BPS), alongside Sarah Heathcliff.
Despite not apparently knowing it himself until later on, much like his biblical namesake, the Adam Murray that we follow throughout the series isn't the one that was kidnapped in 1992, but an Alternate that took on his role. He is also heavily implied to be the modern "incarnation" of the biblical figure of Adam, the first human.
He is portrayed by Ty Osborne.
Personality[]
Initially, Adam is shown to be a very cold-headed and reasonable young man who is particularly interested in the paranormal to the point that he founded an entire "paranormal society" alongside Sarah Heathcliff just to investigate paranormal activity in Bythorne and the surrounding counties. Though it's implied there's a larger scope to this fascination of the paranormal: that Adam is interested in it in order to find any leads on the whereabouts of his dead mother, Lynn Murray.[1]
When arguing with Jonah about whether the Alternates truly exist, he wonders why they'd be getting so many calls about the Alternates if they weren't an actual thing, showcasing that despite his fascination with the paranormal, even he is dubious about the Alternate invasion.[1] Despite this, he seems to be very aware that Mandela County as a place is full of paranormal events.[2]
Though he seems to put his line of work over anything else, as shown as how he was willing to abandoning his then-best-friend just to investigate the Torres residence. This may be related to the fact that he's simply doing it to find leads on his mother's wheareabouts. He also doesn't seem to be as afraid as the regular human, instead finding otherwise terrifying findings "interesting", and as such he has developed an above-average immunity to Metaphysical Awareness Disorder.[1]
A darker side of Adam's personality is seen in the latter half of Act 1, where he's characterized as more of an antagonistic individual. He's described as Evelin as someone who used to be the "sweetest guy" up until he started doing investigations with Jonah, implying that his M.A.D resistance took a toll on his mental health and made him more aggressive, as well as showcasing a lack of care on other people's feelings. In the same ARG, he's seen denying any fault for Evelin's breakdown, instead calling himself the "only sane person in the relationship".[3] Adam also showcases this trait in the aftermath of his investigation with Sarah, whom she calls a coward for yelling at the presence of an Alternate.[4]
His journal entries even go as far to imply that he was unable to feel certain emotions such as remorse or similar, reminiscent of someone within the Antisocial Personality spectrum, which could be attributed to his nature as a "sleeper" Alternate or perhaps even that he had the condition himself prior to fully turning.[4]
After Jonah's death, he claims that he doesn't care, as Jonah wasn't HIS best friend; he was Jonah's best friend, meaning that he didn't reciprocate the friendship at all. The entire BPS plot of Volume 4 surrounds the fact that Adam didn't want to do a memorial video for the man who he considered his best friend and work partner for 2 whole years.[2] During his interrogation with Thatcher, he even claims that he hated him from the very beginning of their partnership,[5] however, his journal in the MandelaTECH website heavily implies that hearing a playback of Jonah's cries for help helped him feel remorse for the very first time in his life.[4]
When he starts his "metamorphosis" into an Alternate, he seems to have developed suicidal tendencies as implied by the bottle of bleach thrown nearby on his room. Despite this, as an Alternate he wasn't able to die, leaving him in excruciating pain and begging Thatcher Davis, who had followed Adam's screams after Gabriel - whom he believed to be his "intuition" - ordered him to kill him.[6]
Biography[]
Note: For the sake of convenience, the Original Adam's biography and the Alternate Adam's biography are merged.
Background[]
Adam was born to Jude and Lynn Murray in January 18th, 1988, two years before his parents marriage in June 8th, 1990. It's heavily implied that Jude and Lynn's marriage wasn't strong, as they divorced barely two years later in August 29th, 1992. Despite this, the couple remained in contact for Adam's sake, going as far as staying over at each other's houses.[7]
In September 14th, 1992, the same day in which Mark Heathcliff died, Jude and Lynn put Adam in a toddler stress assessment, in which he didn't react to any of the stimuli he was given during the assessment, neither visual or audio. The doctor who was reviewing Adam attributed this to two possible answers, either Adam had a lack of basic intellectual capabilities, or this was a result of the ongoing Alternate phenomena. This, of course, foreshadowing Adam's status as a possible Alternate.[2]
Kidnapped by The Intruder[]
Afterwards, Adam is implied to have been crying for multiple nights, at the same hour every time. In the night before the kidnappings, Lynn contacts Jude to stay over. Jude suggests that the cause of Adam's cryings is the TV, to which Lynn responds that it had been unplugged for weeks. Jude reluctantly agrees to staying over the next night.
It's heavily implied that the TV still worked, despite it being unplugged through the Intruder. From there, it's implied that Adam had watched the Might of the Subconscious broadcast prior to being kidnapped by the Intruder moments after, not before having manifested a Tulpa of his very own, which would go on to haunt Jude and later Thatcher Davis, who was called to investigate the house. Lynn, distraught at the sight of Adam missing, would succumb to M.A.D and hang herself on the infant's room.
It's heavily implied that the Original Adam was either killed or sent somewhere else by the Intruder, while an Alternate Adam was left in his place.
Co-founding the Bythorne Paranormal Society[]
For reasons unknown, the replacement Adam remained undisturbed by the Intruder and grew up in Mandela before moving to Werksha County sometime before 2007. [2]It's likely that, due to still having the last name "Murray", Jude had raised him during his time in Mandela County.
Adam began studying in Werksha Highschool, where he would gain interest in its Paranormal Club after its founder, Sarah Heathcliff, announced that she was looking for a new partner to do private investigations with in the Bythorne High Daily News in June 11th, 2006. Adam would contact Sarah through her e-mail, telling her about his past growing up in Mandela County and how it may help in the investigation.
Just a month after, in July 10th, Sarah and Adam would announce to their online followers the foundation of the Bythorne Paranormal Society, explaining that they would now be conducting investigations not only on Bythorne, but also the surrounding areas.
In July 14th, the pair would conduct their first investigation at an unknown location in the middle of the night. They would break and enter into a house that was currently under investigation for Alternate-related activity in order to take footage for their channel. Adam records a specific hallway, before turning on an "audio lure" for Alternates, which is just screams of people in agony. This lures what appears to be a multi-armed Alternate, prompting Sarah to run away from the scene after a panic attack.
Sarah, traumatized after the experience, would tell Adam that she refuses to go into another investigation, instead opting to manage the online accounts of the Society. Adam would later get a new partner for his investigations, Jonah Marshall, whom Adam immediately hated for reasons unknown.
Evelin's Case[]
At some point between 2007 and 2009, Adam was in a relationship with Evelin Miller, a skeptic woman who, unlike Adam, didn't believe in the paranormal and, presumably, on the Alternates.
Evelin described him as "the nicest guy" until he started doing paranormal investigations with Jonah, which are implied to have enabled some kind of thrill-seeking feeling on Adam to go after the Alternates no matter the cost. Evelin noticed this, and eventually the pair got into a fight over it. Adam tells Evelin of everything that had been going on, which Evelin believes was so awful she wishes he never told her to begin with. It's likely that after these events, Evelin reported the BPS to the MCPD as a witness of them.[3]
It's heavily implied that Evelin was afflicted with M.A.D during her argument with Adam, and that Adam himself was the direct responsible for it. Not only does the description of what Adam said given by Evelin fit with the "information not desired to be known" part of M.A.D, but she's also seen distraught during and after the event.
Out of Body Experience[]
In Adam's diary, which is hidden in the MandelaTECH website, he describes having suffered what appears to be an Out of Body Experience (OBE). He describes that he couldn't move, talk, and almost couldn't see.
He claims that he could see himself through his room's wall, laying down in bed, as a figure he recognizes as "The Man in the Corner" slowly approached him and, as he did, he could feel his "presence and energy" communicating with his. He describes the feeling as something akin to the feeling one would get when they're about to receive a static shock from an analog television, but without the shock.[4]
2009 Winter Break[]
At some point during (or before) Winter Break, Adam and Jonah robbed multiple pieces of technology that were banned by the government in order to avoid any appearances of the Intruder as part of the Televisions and Mirror Destruction Order. It's also stated that the duo were involved in car-jacking, mentioning it as a usual thing later on.
Because of these criminal activities and their connection to the BPS, the duo were wanted by the FBI for a reward of $100,000 each.
"Ghost Cat" Case[]
Adam, alongside his friend Jonah, are called by an unknown Woman, heavily implied to be an Alternate, into investigating the Torres Residence in Mandela County for 3 nights under the excuse of "hearing the meows of her cat days later he passed". The pair are reluctant at first, but ultimately agree upon hearing the woman offering a reward of $500 per night, making a total of $1500.
Adam and Jonah drive to the place, chatting while on their way, arguing about the possible existence of Alternates and how they could very well be a hoax to scare people off (take note that, despite being paranormal investigators, they have seemingly attributed recent events to ghosts.), and how their client may be just an insane lady, and how there might be nothing in the house after all. This seems to upset the Intruder, who appears to corrupt the video parts where they question his existence.
Eventually, they reach the residence which turns out to be the old residence of the Torres Family, where a three night investigation takes place. Throughout the investigation, Jonah is seen showcasing a cowardly demeanor towards the situation arguing that he's "allergic to cats", whereas Adam faces the situation with more bravery, or most likely, recklessness. At one point, the pair is about to leave, that is until they hear a screaming coming from the house, realizing that they're facing not a "ghost cat", but something else.
Jonah insists in leaving the house, but Adam insists in staying. At one point, it's made clear that the Intruder is attempting to exploit their differences in priorities and Jonah's fear, mimicking their voices to make it seem like they were playing jokes on each other to make them mad and untrusting of each other.
Eventually, Adam falls asleep on the house instead of in the car with Jonah, leading him into receiving a message from an entity, claiming that he had "followed the shepherd", that he was a fool and that he had to follow them to find true happiness, they finalize by asking Adam to wake up or else they'd "wake the others". Moments later, The Preacher, an Alternate that once posed as a monster under Adam's bed, inflicts him with M.A.D., before opening the door to the home's basement.
Jonah, afraid, communicates to Adam through their camera, begging him to go back to the car, leave the investigation altogether for both of their sakes and get pizza together. Adam responds by showing Jonah the door to the basement open, saying that they should investigate instead. This leads to both of them arguing through their radios, climaxing in Jonah exploding on Adam by telling him that "they were never going to find [his mother] because she's dead and gone" and that they were going to be next if he keeps walking on the warpath towards the Alternates. Adam yells out to Jonah back, telling him to "fucking leave then".
In the basement, Adam encounters the Intruder, who after realizing he doesn't recognize from his childhood, proceeds to show him the series of events that transpired in Mandela County, including his mother's death, in a matter of seconds. Meanwhile Jonah is being haunted by a being in the car's GPS device, eventually leading into his death.[1]
Aftermath[]
Adam after being tormented by Alternates in the basement, leaves the house and walks in the cold along the road they assumingly came from before finding Jonah's deceased body and the BPS van. Adam presumably nonchalantly takes the van and leaves a voicemail to Sarah while driving back to his home. After arriving home, he messages Sarah and informs her about Jonah's death to Sarah's horror and Adam's more so annoyance at her anger over Jonah's death and lack of care for the Cesar House Investigation footage and convinces Adam to make a memorial video for Jonah which Adam does with spite. The memorial footage has Adam lying about Jonah's death to BPS channel viewers before the video is edited by Alternates and includes Evelin's MCPD statement and footage of Adam finding the BPS van arguing with Alternates and possibly The Intruder using his own voice.
Sarah messages Adam about the disturbing video but gets no answer as a Spam Account messages Adam. The Spam texter asks if its Adam that its trying to reach before hacking Adam's computer and revealing that it's the Intruder talking to him actually. The Intruder tells Adam about how he stalked and kidnapped Adam when he was younger and how Adam wasn't 'the real him' before Sarah leaves a voicemail question who Adam is talking to and demanding he called her back before she starts worrying about him.[2]
Contacted by 'God'[]
Adam's portrait of "God"
On his diary, Adam reveals that he woke up one night to what sounded like the yelps of a wounded animal coming from outside his bedroom window. He believes that the sound was coming from the BPS van, and quickly infers that the yelps were not those of a wounded animal, but his former partner's last cries for help playing over and over again from the van's speakers. The realization made Adam feel remorse for the very first time. Later that day, Adam says that the Man had talked to him again, likely referring to the Intruder's video call, this time ha had revealed the truth about his origins to him. This was likely also the point where his metamorphosis started, as he writes over and over again about how "it hurts so much." He also talks about how "God" spoke to him.[4]
The Fate of the Jester[]
Adam sitting down against a bedstand, notice the nearby mirror, which may indicate outside "help."
Evelin and Sarah briefly talk about Adam acting weird as we see when Adam showed Evelin an Alternate (The Preacher) that he found in the Torres House before him and the alternate leave the unknown house owner's home. Next time we see Adam, he is seen in a trashed bedroom on the ground screaming, calling for help, and for someone to kill him due to (according to Adam's actor, Ty) his bones breaking as Thatcher Davis walks inside the room, recording Adam then dropping the camera and leaving the house. A chapter of "The Fate of the Jester" audiobook from a radio is played reading, "As the boy lay there dormant, all of his humanity drained into a murky puddle, milky eyes cut through the thick blackness of the bedroom, a spectator. He was no longer the hero of the story, just a cog in the machine." which is likely refering to Adam. Adam is heard screaming in pain as a pixelated smiley face from Vol.1's Restored Episode's Toddler Stress Aassessment Video Accompaniment scene which Baby Adam and thousands of children would have watched back then.[6]
Interrogated[]
Later that night, Thatcher returned for Adam and transported him to the MCPD building for questioning. The contorting, semi-transformed Adam believes that Thatcher wants a confession from him to then arrest him. Thatcher reassures that "he doesn't care about the [FBI's] warrant." Adam gives Thatcher a quick summary of the BPS's story, the events leading up to Jonah's death and how he's "paying the price" for it. He also mentions that he talked to someone, only reiterate that someone talked to him shortly after. When he was asked for a description, Adam simply says that he "can't [describe them]." Adam claims that he knew that all of this was going to happen, that someone had told him this would happen. Thatcher asked who did, just for Adam to reply that "God" did. Unbeknownst to the two, this was observed by Sarah Heathcliff, who was "hacking" into cameras with Evelin Miller in an attempt to find Dave Lee's whereabouts.[5]
Quotes[]
| “ | You had reached the Bythorne Paranormal Society how can I help you? | „ |
| ~ Adam's first line in the series. |
| “ | She tries to make me sound like I'm crazy, and I feel like I know myself enough to know that's f***ing bullshit. Like, I'm "sorry" for being the mentally stable one in our relationship! She's got some screws loose up there, man. | „ |
| ~ Adam Murray's comments on Evelin Miller's breakdown, showing him overestimating how much he really knows about himself. |
| “ | No, he wasn't my best friend, I was HIS best friend, I don't have friends. | „ |
| ~ Adam not considering Jonah as his best friend. |
| “ | Thatcher: I wish there was something, more I could do for you. I know you're in a lot of pain right now. Adam: I... know... what... you want and I know what you're trying to do... I'm not... afraid of you. |
„ |
| ~ Transcript of Adam's interrogation with Thatcher. |