Finding David

Alternate Reality Game investigating the disappearance of David Margolis

Finding David ARG
Finding David
TypeAlternate Reality Game
Launch DateApril 5, 2019
Duration5 weeks
Active Players75,000+
Geocaches23 locations
Phone Lines7 active numbers
Final StatusIncomplete (Hiatus)

Finding David was an Alternate Reality Game (ARG) launched midway through Season 1 as part of the Tales from Nowhere Transmedia Program. The game followed participants as they investigated the disappearance of David Margolis, brother of main character Benji Margolis, through a combination of digital puzzles, real-world geocaches, phone interactions, and community collaboration.

The ARG expanded the show's mythology significantly, revealing connections between David's Big Ear research, the Beaumont family's Mithraic cult, and the true nature of the dimensional rift underlying Nowhere. While the main campaign reached a dramatic climax during the season finale, several threads were left deliberately unresolved for planned Season 2 content that never materialized.

Incomplete Status: Due to the show's hiatus, the Finding David ARG was never officially concluded. The final set of coordinates has never been decoded, and the community continues to search for what many believe is hidden Season 2 transmedia content.
Contents

Overview

Finding David operated on the principle of "This Is Not A Game" (TINAG)—never acknowledging its fictional nature. All communications presented themselves as genuine, and participants were expected to engage as if truly investigating a disappearance.

Entry points to the ARG included:

Campaign Phases

Phase 1: David's Trail (April 5-11, 2019)

The ARG launched with the discovery of David's blog, preserved exactly as he left it before his disappearance. Initial entries documented his work at the Big Ear Observatory—routine astronomical observations that gradually revealed anomalies.

Key Elements

Phase 1 Revelations

Phase 2: The Mithraic Connection (April 12-18, 2019)

The USB drive from Phase 1 contained encrypted files requiring community collaboration to crack. The decrypted contents revealed David had discovered connections between the Big Ear's anomalous readings and historical records of the Beaumont family.

Key Elements

The First Phone Call

Calling the number revealed a recorded message from a distorted voice:

"You're looking for David. So are we. But there are those who don't want him found. The family has eyes everywhere. If you want to help him, prove you're not one of them. The proof is in the stars—the same stars he was watching when they took him."

Phase 3: The Truth About Nowhere (April 19-25, 2019)

Phase 3 revealed the true purpose of Nowhere's founding and the Beaumont family's multi-generational conspiracy. Participants pieced together evidence from multiple sources to understand what David had discovered.

Key Elements

The "Hello, David" Call

The second phone line featured what appeared to be David's voice, speaking in fragmented sentences:

"I'm... not where you think. They didn't kill me. Worse. I can see... everything now. The frequencies. The thin places. Don't come looking. Unless... unless you're ready to see what I see."

Voice analysis by the community confirmed a 94% match to known David Margolis recordings.

Phase 4: The Convergence (April 26 - May 3, 2019)

Coinciding with Episodes 9-10, Phase 4 reached its climax as the ARG narrative merged with the TV show's events. Participants received real-time updates during broadcasts, creating a synchronized experience.

Key Elements

David's Final Message

During the season finale credits, participants who had progressed through all phases received a final voicemail:

"It's David. The real David. What you heard before—that was part of me, but not all. I found a way to send this through. Listen carefully: the Beaumonts think they control the thin places, but they're just the newest jailers. The real architects are older. Much older. The coordinates I'm sending... that's where it all began. Where it can end. Find what's buried there, and you'll understand why I had to disappear. Why I can never fully come back. Benji—if you're listening—I'm sorry. But I'm not lost. I'm just... elsewhere. Keep looking. Not for me. For what I found."

Phase 5: Final Transmission (Incomplete)

David's final message included a set of coordinates that no one has successfully decoded. This phase was intended to launch with Season 2 but remains suspended due to the hiatus.

The Final Coordinates: The message contained what appears to be an encoded location: "39.47.22.N" followed by corrupted audio. Community analysis suggests this may reference a real location in West Virginia, but without the complete longitude, the search area spans hundreds of miles.

Major Puzzles

The Big Ear Cipher (Phase 1)

A series of audio files containing what appeared to be random noise actually encoded messages using a custom cipher based on the Big Ear's Wow! Signal parameters.

The Mithraic Wheel (Phase 2)

A complex visual puzzle based on Mithraic temple layouts combined with astronomical data.

The Family Tree (Phase 3)

Genealogical puzzle tracing Beaumont family lines and identifying which current Nowhere residents descended from the original Mithraic cult members.

The Convergence Map (Phase 4)

Real-time puzzle during Episode 9 requiring participants to plot cryptid sightings on a map to reveal a pattern.

Real-World Elements

Geocache Locations

23 physical locations across North America contained USB drives, documents, and artifacts:

Phase Locations Contents
1 Green Bank, WV David's research USB
2 5 major cities Beaumont historical documents
3 7 university towns Cornelius's journal pages
4 15 simultaneous Final puzzle pieces

Geocache hunters coordinated via Discord to ensure finds were documented and shared with the community. Several caches remain unfound—whether due to removal or location errors is unknown.

Phone Numbers

Seven phone numbers were active during the campaign:

Physical Mailers

500 participants who completed Phase 3 puzzles received physical mail packages:

Key Revelations

The Finding David ARG revealed crucial information about the show's mythology:

About David Margolis

About the Beaumont Family

About Nowhere

Community Collaboration

The Finding David community organized primarily through:

Discord Server

The unofficial "Finding David Investigation" Discord peaked at 15,000 members:

Subreddit (r/FindingDavid)

Community Wiki

A dedicated wiki catalogued every discovered element, puzzle solution, and revelation. This resource remains active and is the primary archive for the incomplete Phase 5.

Unsolved Mysteries

Due to the hiatus, several ARG elements remain unresolved:

The Final Coordinates

David's last message contained partial coordinates. Community efforts to decode the corrupted audio continue:

Unfound Geocaches

3 of 23 geocaches were never confirmed found:

The Seventh Phone Line

Line 7 only ever played static, but frequency analysis suggested embedded audio. No definitive decode has been achieved, and the line was disconnected after the hiatus.

David's Current State

The ARG confirmed David is alive in some form but left unclear:

Ongoing Effort: The Finding David community has not given up. Annual "Search Days" organize expeditions to likely coordinate locations. Some participants believe the final geocache contains pre-produced Season 2 transmedia content, planted before the hiatus was decided.

See Also

Categories: Transmedia Finding David ARG Unsolved