24 November 1888
Night
Journalist Office
💭 If the killer needed a name, the press would have given him one. Ink travels faster than knives. If fear was printed, multiplied, dramatized… Then the murders may have grown in shadow, not just in flesh. If the legend came first… what followed?
📞 Kim (to you)
Hi. I’m outside the newspaper office. Like you told me to do. I hear press machinery humming inside. It smells like ink, oil and damp paper. And honestly? This is the most pleasant smell I’ve had in weeks.
Stacks of fresh print are tied with twine near the entrance. Headlines scream in oversized font. “WHITECHAPEL MONSTER.” They made him large.
📞 You
Do you think you can enter?
📞 Kim (to you)
Haha watch me. Of course. I am at the side door. It’s not locked properly.
I’m in. The press floor first. Men are working here. They are rolling ink over plates. Their sleeves are rolled up. I love it when men roll up their sleeves. Anyways. No one is looking at faces. Only deadlines. Great. They won’t notice me at all. I look like one of them. Hopefully, they won’t pay attention. Crossdressing was… frowned upon to say the least.
📞 You
You dressed like a man?
📞 Kim
Yes. I am very sick of being a woman in this century. I didn’t want to make it any more difficult for myself.
📞 Printer 1
Third letter has arrived.
📞 Printer 2
They all claim to be him.
📞 Printer 1
Public eats it.
📞 Kim to you
They’re talking about letters. The Letters. They have three so far. One signed “Jack the Ripper.” Another promising “double event.” And a third mocking police incompetence.
📞 You
Ask where they keep them.
📞 Kim
Excuse me. Where are the original letters kept?
📞 Printer 2
Upstairs. It’s editorial.
📞 Kim
I need access.
📞 Printer 2
No entry without clearance.
📞 Kim
Shoot. I hoped my dominance would be convincing. I should’ve dressed as an editor. My mistake. He won’t let me upstairs. What should I say?
You should tell him you’re here on direct orders from the editor and he requested it right away.
You should tell him if the letters are fake and they print them anyway, they’re complicit in fueling hysteria.
You should tell him you’re here on direct orders from the editor and he requested it right away.
You should tell him if the letters are fake and they print them anyway, they’re complicit in fueling hysteria.
📞 Kim
Excuse me? Do you know who I am!? I am here on the orders of the editor and he asked me to gather the letters immediately to report it to him. Do you think I have time for this nonsense at this hour of the day? I highly advise you to give me access.
📞 Printer 2
My apologies. Come quickly.
📞 Kim
I’m in. I gave him a forged note from my ‘boss’. I don’t understand how that worked. BDE works every time. I love it. In my next life I will be a massive man. Mark my words.
This editorial room smells different. I miss 2026. The letters are on a desk. Jeez.. I am shaking. I know the chance is small but what if he actually wrote these?
I will quickly read them and then we shall analyze. In Secrets Hall I have copies of the original ones. I am sure you can find them. Ask Mr. Sterces.
📲 Text to Mr. Sterces
Sir, may I request the three official letters of Jack the Ripper?
1:12 a.m.
📲 Text from Mr. Sterces
How DARE you wake me up? Do you know what time it is?
1:12 a.m.
Oh. Wait. It’s for Kim, isn’t it. Yes. I will.
1:12 a.m.
Letter One — bold handwriting. Red ink. Mentions “proper job.” Signed “Jack the Ripper.”
Letter Two — postcard. References to the “double event” before it was public knowledge.
Letter Three — crude spelling. Threatening tone.
1:12 a.m.
1:12 a.m.
1:12 a.m.
1:12 a.m.
1:12 a.m.
📞 You
Do they look consistent?
📞 Kim
Not entirely. Ink differs. Handwriting slants differently. Tone shifts.
The first one mentions doing a “proper job”. The second one refers to the double event. It mentions the two victims before full public confirmation. That’s interesting! But letter three is almost like a parody. The spelling is crude and the tone aggressive.
📞 Editor
What’s going on here?
📞 Printer 2
He’s gathering the letters.
📞 Editor
Gathering what? No he is not!
📞 Kim
Watch your words! Did you authenticate these?
💭 She truly acts as if she belongs. Fake confidence still looks like confidence for the outside world.
📞 Editor
We received dozens. Hundreds. We printed the most compelling.
📞 Kim
Excuse me? You chose the letters based on drama? Are you mad?
📞 Printer 2
They wanted a name.
📞 Editor
And we gave them one.
📞 Kim to you
Shit! They may have created the brand ‘Jack the Ripper’.
📞 Kim
I will take my leave.
📞 Editor
What? Leave the letters.
📞 Kim
I have already carefully…
📞 Editor
Get out!
📞 Kim
I will come back
📞 Kim
If the letters are fake and you print them anyway, you’re the reason for fueling panic.
📞 Clerk
Everyone prints them.
📞 Editor
Who are you to accuse us? Go away!
📞 Kim
They’re blocking me from the originals. But I can hear them arguing inside. Maybe that’s even better. In Secrets Hall you can find the copies of the original letters.
📲 Text to Mr. Sterces
Sir, may I request the three official letters of Jack the Ripper?
1:12 a.m.
📲 Text from Mr. Sterces
How DARE you wake me up? Do you know what time it is?
1:12 a.m.
Oh. Wait. It’s for Kim, isn’t it. Yes. I will.
1:12 a.m.
Letter One — bold handwriting. Red ink. Mentions “proper job.” Signed “Jack the Ripper.”
Letter Two — postcard. References to the “double event” before it was public knowledge.
Letter Three — crude spelling. Threatening tone.
1:12 a.m.
1:12 a.m.
1:12 a.m.
1:12 a.m.
1:12 a.m.
📞 Editor
We can’t verify handwriting.
📞 Printer 2
Half of them are cranks.
📞 Editor
The public believes.
📞 Printer 2
So we created Jack the Ripper?
📞 Editor
We report him.
📞 Kim to you
Even without seeing the letters, it’s clear. Volume is overwhelming. Hundreds claiming to be the killer.
📞 You
Could the press have escalated this?
📞 Kim to you
Maybe. If the first murder was brutal but singular… Then the press names a phantom. Anyone seeking notoriety now has a script. His name becomes a template. If multiple unstable men exist in Whitechapel… The legend offers identity.
📞 Journalist 1
After the ‘Jack’ letter, circulation doubled.
📞 Journalist 2
A pure coincidence, I am sure.
📞 Journalist 1
Ach Man! You believe that?
📞 Kim to you
Important details: Letters may not be from the killer. Newspapers selected which to publish. The “double event” reference could be coincidence or insider knowledge. The name “Jack the Ripper” originates from the press, not police. After publication, copycat letters multiplied exponentially. Eleven victims later attributed under one brand. But police files originally separated cases. Brand consolidation came later.
📞 You
Do you think there were multiple men?
📞 Kim to you
I think that one monster is easier to print than five unstable men. But, the mutilations show progression. Or imitation. Or amplification. I don’t know which. And that uncertainty is louder than the presses downstairs.
Ink makes memory permanent. If the press shaped the killer… Then the killer may have shaped himself around ink. That possibility disturbs me more than nobility whispers. Because it means. The monster might be partially manufactured.
Shit! I need to go
📞 You
So what now?
📞 Kim
Give me some time. I must first dig into the fourth murder. See if my research of 2026 contains the same insights as what I can find here in 1888. It takes time, my dear assistant. I am blending in as much as I can. I listen. I converse. I try to understand where I am.. Why I am here. What I am supposed to do here.
I will be back. Wait for me. I need to dig into the fourth murder at Mitre Square. Catherine Eddowes. If Stride was interruption… Eddowes might be the escalation. I need to know whether escalation is psychological or theatrical. And check the 2026 copies of those letters carefully. Compare ink. Compare tone. See what the police actually believed, not what the headlines screamed. I’ll call again.
Wait for me.
📞 Call Disconnects