Michael Tate

Michael Tate is a copy editor at ThirdSight Media. He is voiced by James Oliva.

## History

### College & Adult Life

Michael met Leon Stamatis while they were in college. They lived in the dorms together for a time. Michael was an alcoholic at the time, and Leon was instrumental in his recovery, at one point literally dragging him out of a bar.

Michael worked with Leon at Moebius Highway for a number of years. He was laid off, and Leon let Michael stay with him. Michael was still staying with Leon until Leon's death at Wonderland.

### After Leon's death

When Leon died, Michael picked Nica up from Wonderland and took her home. He realized quickly that since he was living in Leon's apartment, he needed to get a job so that he could pay rent. Michael suffered an alcoholic relapse due to the stress and grief. He woke up the next morning to find that Gemma Linzer-Coolidge had contacted Leon for a job interview. He told Gemma that Leon had died, but offered to do the cursory interview in his place and take the job. He later rushed to Leon's funeral and got lost in the watch factory. He found a museum where robots were assembling watches, and realized that they put the numbers on the watches in alphabetical order. The numbers, "eight eleven five four nine one seven six ten three twelve two," became a mantra for Michael.

### Starting at ThirdSight

Michael began to work as the managing editor of *Political Prognostication* at ThirdSight Media. Shortly after he was hired, Gemma was fired, and Extinction Event took over as his boss. Michael struggled at ThirdSight because of the freely available alcohol and frequent Margarita-thons, and began using Leon and the numbers as a touchstone to keep him steady.

Needing a method of divination, Michael began using the Chinese I-Ching. He used this method to accurately predict the passing of the Red Line referendum. He also interpreted the I-Ching as Leon returning, so he began rescheduling all of Leon's calendar events.

Michael continued living in Leon's apartment, following his schedule and setting up a wall calendar. Extinction Event suggested holding a seance at work to make Michael feel more comfortable. Michael invited Nica, but was too nervous to be in the actual seance and left early.

Three months after Leon's death, Michael was evicted from his apartment. He also had trouble staying sober with all the alcohol available at ThirdSight, and decided to go to a bar. He met The Mayor of the Red Line shortly after the referendum passed. The Mayor told him that Michael would inevitably relapse, but Michael refused to believe him. He left the bar with a new resolve to stop drinking.

At some point, a mysterious woman began following Michael and taking pictures of him. Michael noticed that she showed up at his scheduled appointments and posed for her photos. He eventually realized the woman was Louisa Alvarez, who was trying to figure out why her shared calendar with Leon kept updating. The two of them struck up a friendship.

### Dear Leon

Michael moved into the Porter Square station at Red Line. He later took over Gemma's advice column. He renamed it "Dear Leon" and answered reader letters. He admitted to Louisa that he had trouble staying sober, and relied heavily on ThirdSight's squeezy stress balls to help him. He gave Tyrell Fredericks a bottle of bourbon as a sign of goodwill. In return, Tyrell kept sneaking Michael squeezy stress balls.

He continued writing articles about Red Line, most of which were eerily prophetic. When asked, he said that Leon told him what to write. Michael also contributed occasionally to Louisa and Gemma's investigations into Red Line. When they found a coupon for an Olive Garden food truck at a crime scene, he remembered that Extinction Event frequently has takeout from Olive Garden and offered to check out the truck soon.

By chance, Michael heard Extinction Event mention that Nica was working at the Olive Garden food truck. He brought her a letter from Extinction Event, but to his confusion, she warned him to stay away and avoid getting involved. She asked him to promise to leave her alone, and Michael agreed but warned her that it was only a temporary agreement.

Not long afterwards, Michael's workload began increasing to include menial tasks and answering more letters. He frequently worried about the level of superstition that he was writing out and felt guilty for lying to his readers. Nevertheless, he kept up with his workload. He responded to Nica's letter asking for advice. He struggled without the squeezy stress balls, but they all mysteriously appeared in his hammock apartment not long after the heist. Michael suspected that they were from Tyrell, and appreciated the gesture.

### Hostage

Michael began staying later and later at the office. Gemma asked him to search the office for ties to Emily Bespin's mayoral campaign. While he was searching, Michael ran into Oliver West and Phil West having a clandestine meeting. He figured out that Oliver was the mysterious publisher. Oliver invited him upstairs to his secret apartment and then trapped him there, holding him hostage.

Oliver bound and gagged Michael and left him in the apartment. After days of captivity, Michael was able to escape long enough to find his phone. He used his nose to add a note to his and Louisa's shared calendar, telling her not to trust Phil. Oliver locked Michael in again and then used a massive pneumatic tube to launch himself out of the office.

## Appearance

Louisa describes Michael as "tall, lean, handsome, slightly balding." She also mentions that he obsessively plans out his calendar on his phone, a trait which he picked up from Leon.

## Trivia

* Michael is a Gemini.
* Michael owns a trench coat.
* Michael enjoys Comic Con and talks about cosplaying.
* Michael is a big fan of the Netflix series The Bright Sessions and ars PARADOXICA.

## Appearances

### Season One

* Professional Prognostication
* Leon at the Watch Factory
* Geography Lessons
* Divinations
* Message in a Bottle
* Vox Populi
* The Red Line Referendum

### Season Two

* The Watcher Over ThirdSight
* Extinction Event at the Olive Garden
* The Red Line Tea Party
* Breaking Kayfabe
* Criminals
* Liars and Legerdemain
* Quitters

### Season 2.5

* You've Gotta be Sittin' Me!
* Spirits of Greater Boston