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The Magnus Archives

RQ Network Feed Drop – Cold Tapes– 001 Operation Antelope

07 May 2026

Transcription

Chapter 1: What is the premise of 'Operation Antelope'?

0.031 - 14.248 Billy Hindle

Hi there, Billy Hindle here, the voice of Alice Dyer in The Magnus Protocol. As part of the Magnus Archives' 10th anniversary, Rusty Quill is hosting a special Magnus Live show at the upcoming Crossed Wires Podcast Festival in Sheffield.

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14.469 - 33.618 Billy Hindle

Join co-creators Jonathan Sims and Alexander J. Newell on the 5th of July for a new iteration of our live show, Statement Begins, where you can hear fan-favourite statements... such as Anglerfish, read live and gain exclusive insights into the creation and history of the show straight from the creators themselves.

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33.838 - 42.795 Billy Hindle

You can buy your tickets now, including limited numbers of meet and greet tickets from crossedwires.live or the link in the description of this episode.

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42.927 - 62.472 Shahan Hamza

Hi everyone, it's Shahan here. Today we're sharing an episode from a podcast on the RQ Network, Cold Tapes. Cold Tapes is an award-winning murder mystery audio drama inspired by true crime. In this first episode, called Operation Antelope, the brutal murder of Andrew Fairfield on a remote Antarctic base thrusts DCI Tessa McAllister...

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62.452 - 67.121 Shahan Hamza

into the claustrophobic lives of an isolated community of international scientists and crew.

Chapter 2: Who is Andrew Fairfield and what happened to him?

67.342 - 90.362 Shahan Hamza

Through police interviews, covert recordings and audio diaries, Tessa hears hidden agendas, concealed criminal histories, violent psychosis and dangerous conspiracy theories that help her uncover the truth behind the murder. With the murderer still on the base, it's a race against time to untangle the maze of deception, revealing chilling truths buried beneath the ice. 16 suspects, one murderer.

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90.482 - 103.36 Shahan Hamza

Can you solve it? To listen to more, you can click on the link in the description or search for Cold Tapes wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also find more information at rustyquill.com or coldtapes.com. Have fun and enjoy the episode.

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115.827 - 117.351 Tessa McCallister

DCI McAllister.

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117.371 - 118.554 Unknown

Tessa, John here.

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118.754 - 119.115 Tessa McCallister

Oh, sir.

Chapter 3: What challenges does DCI Tessa McAllister face in the investigation?

120.338 - 120.779 Unknown

How are things?

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121.16 - 122.122 Tessa McCallister

Oh, you know, can't complain.

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123.105 - 139.44 Unknown

How very noble of you. Everyone else does. All right, then. Won't complain. Something's come in and it's not exactly uncomplicated. Mm-hmm. I'm all ears. 33-year-old male named Andrew Fairfield, found dead a few days ago, 21st of June.

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Chapter 4: How is jurisdiction handled in international cases like this?

140.161 - 152.663 Unknown

His body was found at the bottom of a small ravine. Sorry, crevasse, apparently there is a distinction. Right. It's about a 30-minute walk away from the Antarctic base he'd been working at.

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152.683 - 153.705 Tessa McCallister

Antarctica?

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153.725 - 156.91 Unknown

Yeah, the base is called Bowers something, Bowers-Wilson.

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157.732 - 165.705 Tessa McCallister

Okay. So what's the Met got to do with it? Yeah, I'm just getting to that. Looks like orienteering was never my strongest point, but surely this one goes to the Aussie force, right?

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Chapter 5: What evidence suggests Andrew's death was not an accident?

165.825 - 167.991 Tessa McCallister

Or, wait a minute, is it the Kiwis?

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168.494 - 191.072 Unknown

No, it's a bloody jurisdictional minefield because of what's called the Antarctic Treaty. And also there's the overall politics. It was taught that the case nearly fell to the yanks because a US company operates the base. But for now, this investigation is falling under UK jurisdiction because Fairfield is a UK citizen. It seems like Antarctica itself is a kind of no man's land.

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191.092 - 192.976 Tessa McCallister

Where is Fairfield from exactly?

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193.577 - 193.877 Unknown

London.

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196.507 - 199.63 Tessa McCallister

Okay, better get my thermals out of storage then.

199.71 - 200.791 Unknown

So this is the issue.

Chapter 6: Who are the key players involved in the investigation?

200.811 - 207.838 Unknown

Nobody's getting to the base and nobody's leaving that base for months. It's completely inaccessible during the winter months.

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208.399 - 217.668 Tessa McCallister

Wait a minute, 21st of June, that's their midwinter, right? Correct. Not that I'm angling for a holiday here, but I'm sure they can get a plane to land or something, right?

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217.769 - 222.193 Unknown

No planes in or out. Their engines freeze, apparently, as does the fuel.

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222.848 - 223.629 Tessa McCallister

What is there?

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223.649 - 228.414 Unknown

Yeah, this is the hard bit. The base is totally cut off for at least another three or four months.

Chapter 7: What psychological factors are at play in the isolated community?

228.975 - 233.24 Unknown

So the investigation is going to have to be done remotely.

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233.26 - 234.561 Tessa McCallister

Look, I'm not saying that's impossible.

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234.581 - 236.944 Unknown

Tessa, it's the only possibility, I'm afraid.

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238.726 - 240.267 Tessa McCallister

Do they have a cause of death?

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240.307 - 242.47 Unknown

Yeah, it appears to be blunt force trauma to the head.

244.012 - 252.227 Tessa McCallister

How do we even carry out a post-mortem? Look, I'm not trying to kibosh a remote investigation, but I I just want to make sure we're covering our tracks here, John.

252.247 - 259.556 Unknown

I appreciate that. But listen, given that we can't transport the body, any official cause of death can't be 100% confirmed at this stage.

Chapter 8: How does the investigation proceed when the base is inaccessible?

260.317 - 264.762 Unknown

However, the base medic has carried out a makeshift post-mortem of sorts.

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265.703 - 270.349 Tessa McCallister

Wait a minute. The base medic? That's going to be tampering with any further evidence, surely?

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270.429 - 279.4 Unknown

Under supervision. I listened to the recording just now and everything suggests that we're looking at murder here. I'll get that audio across to you shortly.

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279.633 - 285.441 Tessa McCallister

So you said he was found at the bottom of the crevasse. I mean, so how do we know he didn't fall or jump?

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286.602 - 306.769 Unknown

Well, it seems highly unlikely. His injuries don't line up with a fall. Also, he wasn't wearing all the appropriate clothing for venturing outdoors in those conditions. He had some, but these people take their get-ups seriously. The officer in charge of the base thinks it's suspicious that he was missing these layers.

307.129 - 308.391 Tessa McCallister

OK, well, who found him?

309.316 - 325.939 Unknown

said officer in charge, a... ..Johan Garson, along with his deputy, Matteo Lombardi. They work for a company called Keone Industries, who run the whole base. Did you say Keone? Yeah, have you heard of them?

325.959 - 333.43 Tessa McCallister

Yeah. Yeah, yeah, from my military days. I mean, not for a long time now. God, I had no idea they'd moved into Antarctic exploration.

333.75 - 337.215 Unknown

Yeah, according to Google. Space bases, too, apparently.

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