A VHS tape with "1002F" written on it. When played, it shows episode 76 from season 8 of Sesame Street (episode 1002 overall). The video is exactly the same as the episode as it aired, but features an Elmo segment not included in the release.
This is odd because Elmo's first appearance occurs in season 11, episode 90 (1405 overall).
The VHS only shows the aired episode when digitized. In order to see the missing segment, it must be watched on a VHS player.
The following is a transcript of the segment:
[A plain white background, with Elmo in the center of the screen]
ELMO
[Gasp!] Hi everybody! Elmo is so happy to see you. Elmo always love to see Elmo's friends. Elmo believes everything is better with friends!
[There's a bit of digital fuzz and audio distortion. Elmo appears to stretch horizontally before the distortion disappears]
ELMO
Elmo also loves sharing friends. New friends, old friends, Elmo loves when Elmo's friends meet each other.
In fact, Elmo has a very special friend Elmo wants you to meet! Come on! Let's go!
[Elmo walks off screen. The scene changes to a badly lit set of a street. It looks like one of the sesame street sets, but everything is faintly tinted blue. Elmo is sitting on a cardboard box]
ELMO
She should be here any second... there she is!
[A human walks onto the screen. She is wearing a very short skirt and high boots, and a large yellow hoodie with a pixilated smiley face on it. Her face is obscured by video static]
THE GIRL
Hi Elmo!
ELMO!
Hey Girl! Everyone, this is Elmo's friend, The Girl! Say hi to everyone!
[The Girl waves]
THE GIRL
Hi everyone! Thanks for having me on the show, Elmo.
ELMO
You're welcome!
THE GIRL
A little big bird told me that we're here to talk about friends?
ELMO
He did? He's such a snitch!
THE GIRL
He really is.
ELMO
Did you know that snitches get stitches?
THE GIRL
I did, Elmo. That's a very good thing to remember.
ELMO
Elmo would never snitch Elmo's friends. Like you!
THE GIRL
Thank you Elmo! I wouldn't snitch on you either! And you know why?
ELMO
Why?
THE GIRL
Because friends don't snitch.
[The sound of a lightbulb bursting and glass falls on the stage. Neither Elmo nor The Girl react]
ELMO
You're right! Friends don't snitch.
THE GIRL
And friends are what we're here to talk about, right?
ELMO
Right! Elmo has lots of friends. Girl, do you have other friends?
[There's digital static for a second, and the video distorts in a sort of swirl, only lasting a couple frames, after which the pixelated face on The Girl's hoodie is now a spider]
THE GIRL
In certain way, I guess you could say that I do. In another way, you could say that I used to have other friends.
ELMO
That's okay. Elmo knows making friends is hard.
THE GIRL
That's right. And keeping them can be even harder.
ELMO
What do you mean?
THE GIRL
Well, sometimes people change, Elmo. Sometimes they become so different, it's hard to be friends with them anymore.
ELMO
Elmo has a friend who changed once!
THE GIRL
Really?
ELMO
Yeah! She was living for a long time, then she changed. Elmo doesn't think she's ever going to change back.
THE GIRL
Sometimes change is permanent. Did the two of you stay friends?
ELMO
Oh yes! Elmo is still good friends with her.
THE GIRL
You two must be very close. That sounds like a very good friendship.
ELMO
Absolutely!
[Another lightbulb breaks. Neither react]
THE GIRL
You know, I used to have a very close friend. He changed a lot, too. We didn't stay friends after that.
ELMO
You didn't?
THE GIRL
Mm-mm.
ELMO
Why?
THE GIRL
Well you see, Elmo, he tried to—
[The audio distorts and three more lights burst]
THE GIRL
—so I had to—
[The audio distorts again, and The Girl's hoodie is suddenly soaked through and dripping a thin black liquid. The pixel spider is now a face again, this time laughing]
THE GIRL
—him.
ELMO
Ohh.
THE GIRL
Yeah. Sometimes I miss how it was before.
ELMO
You do?
THE GIRL
Yes, Elmo, I do.
ELMO
That sounds sad. Can Elmo give you a hug?
THE GIRL
Of course Elmo!
[The two hug. The Girl's hoodie rapid shifts through multiple colors—grey, yellow, cyan, green, magenta, red, blue, black, white—before returning to yellow]
THE GIRL
Thank you, Elmo.
ELMO
You're welcome, Girl! It's always nice to hug your friends.
THE GIRL
It sure is. But remember to ask first, since not everyone likes being hugged.
ELMO
And they might be made of knives!
THE GIRL
That's very true.
[Elmo turns to the camera. The Girl shifts her stance in a way that seems to imply she's also looking at the camera]
ELMO
It's okay if you don't have many friends. Making friends can be really hard, and it doesn't always work out.
THE GIRL
Sometimes they change.
ELMO
Or you change.
THE GIRL
Or you change. But that's okay. Because even if you feel alone, there's always people you've never met, and even if you feel alone, there's always people you've never met, and even if you feel alone, there's always people you've never met—
[Two more light bulbs burst. The girl keeps repeating the words "and even if you feel alone, there's always people you've never met." The blue tint becomes more intense. The screen is covered in distorted static. Suddenly both Elmo and The Girl are facing away from the camera, their backs to us, their heads angled upwards. The entire screen is now tinted magenta. The girl is still talking, but there's another voice, deeper and crackling like a record. Played backwards, the second voice is saying "two from gee and two from see, the cortex spasms rhythmically, from the heart and through the veins, and back into the heart again, alterations incomplete, with ghost intent in formless meat." The second voice repeats this again as more lightbulbs burst. Suddenly everything returns to normal: the screen is tinted slightly blue, The Girl and Elmo are facing each other, The Girl's hoodie is dry. The pixel face is now an eye]
ELMO
Elmo loves you, Girl!
THE GIRL
Aw, I love you, too, Elmo!
[Both turn to face the camera]
ELMO
And Elmo loves all of you, too!
THE GIRL
I will find you. I promise.
ELMO
Bye bye, friends!
THE GIRL
Bye bye, friends!
[Both wave. The screen turns to static snow. For a single frame, Elmo can be seen falling limp and The Girl stretches a hand out toward him. The hand is split between the middle and ring finger, all the way up to her mid forearm. Teeth line the flesh along the split and the inside of each finger, a mix of canines and molars. The set is covered in splattered black fluid. Then the screen goes dark]
[intern] found the VHS in a cardboard box with "erase" written on the side in blue paint. The box was left outside my boss's office yesterday morning. Video surveillance doesn't show how it got there. There was just a weird glitch and then there it was. This happens a lot, but usually there's at least a return address or a name.
Compare to the note I found about the Girl. Same person??]
