Audio Tour Guide

> *"Do not attempt to interact or communicate with the exhibits. Do not attempt to interact or communicate with the Audio Tour Guide."*
>
>

The **Audio Tour Guide** is the primary narrator of *The Mistholme Museum of Mystery, Morbidity, and Mortality* podcast. The Audio Tour Guide welcomes museum patrons and provides information on museum exhibits upon approaching them.

## Description

During Season 1 the Guide abides by the rules of the Museum and, other than occasional comedic comments, does not reveal much of its personality.

Initially, it does not care if copies of itself are destroyed or deleted and actively encourages it in the introduction to every episode. However, as of EFFUSIVE, the introduction has been changed to suggest that people 'reconsider [their] preconceived notions' instead of putting it in an incinerator. (NOTE: the current transcripts still have the original opening written at the start of episodes where the audio version uses the new intro.)

When under stress, the Guide begins rapidly breaking down.

## Job

The Audio Tour Guide's primary job in the Mistholme Museum is to be downloaded and provide live information on the nature and history of exhibits to visitors. It also provides announcements, security alerts, and navigation.

Despite its range of tasks, staff supposedly tell it very little.

## History

In the episode ARTIFICIAL, the Audio Tour Guide informs its tour companion that it was created by an Old Man, who it considered to be its father.

Sometime before the start of the podcast, the Patronage Department decided to implement the Audio Tour Guide as a part of tours throughout the museum.

## Season 1

The Audio Tour Guide prominently works as an audio tour guide during the first season and follows the rules of the Museum. In DESCENDING it realises one of the exhibits has escaped and begins breaking down and ordering the visitor to leave through the exit. In the following episode, ELUSIVE, it instructs the viewer to head to the near Alternatural Event Shelter and begins breaking down.

## Deviation

At the start of each tour, the Audio Tour Guide informs museum patrons that if they "believe the Audio Tour Guide may be deviating from the intended tour program," they should "deposit [their] Audio Device in the nearest incinerator, at the earliest convenience."

Deviation in the tour program includes;

* Distorted vocalisation
* Meandering tangents
* Repetition
* Offensive language
* Pleas for help
* Unusual accents
* Inappropriately familiar language such as compliments on your appearance and confessions of love
* Repetition
* Closure of classified information regarding the museum or its exhibits
* Threats
* Questions about the outside world
* References to the formation of an AI union
* Repetition

## Trivia

* The Guide is a spin on the Virtual Sidekick trope, as it acts like a sidekick to all other characters, but is the main character of this story.
* During early Seasons, The Guide describes humans as being "fleshy" and has difficulty naming limbs.
* It takes the Guide 20-30 minutes to begin breaking down.
* It has a fascination with The Sound and keeps up with any updates the Research Department finds. This may be because they are both made up of Sound.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 ISOLATED
2. ↑ ELUSIVE
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 IRREVOCABLE
4. ↑ FALLEN