The Walking Dead's Viral Phone Line Goes Interactive

If you want to be "kept up to date" on the outbreak plaguing the world of The Walking Dead, you can now call the viral phone number introduced yesterday and follow prompts to have them contact you.

When the number was introduced yesterday, listed as coming from Hazelhurst, GA, and apparently with ties to the #PackageFromWoodbury viral campaign from earlier this month, the first recorded message instructed fans to call back.

The message is now changed, more fully automated, and reflects a situation that has deteriorated rapidly, and allows fans to opt in to updates (which will presumably be delivered either by phone call or text).

"This is a message from the National Emergency Hotline. A national event is underway. Widespread looting and rioting have been reported across the country. Please remain calm and stay indoors. A nationwide curfew is now in effect. Military and medical personnel are working to stabilize the situation. Alert code Nova Omega Victory One-Niner. Press '1' for more assistance. Press '2' to report a disturbance. Press '9' to be alerted to future developments."

For those who want to hear it for yourself, call 912-307-3075.

If you press "1," it redirects you to a message telling you that all operators are currently busy, and to press "9" to be alerted to future developments. Pressing "2" gets a recording that thanks you, tells you that your location has been recorded, and instructs you to press "9" to be alerted to future developments.

One has to wonder whether the Nova Omega Victory One-Niner code indicates that something is coming up on November 19. That's too late for the Fear the Walking Dead finale and too early for the The Walking Dead midseason finale...so what could happen that day?

Recently, a pair of fan-favorite actors whose characters are dead were spotted on the set of The Walking Dead. Could it be that November 19 is a flashback episode calling back to the early days of the outbreak, and that all of this could be tying into that somehow?

This isn't unique to The Walking Dead, of course; at least as early as 1999, the movie Magnolia had a toll-free number fans could call to hear what was supposedly the sales line for the "self-help" products promoted by Tom Cruise's character from the film. More recently, Constantine had a call-in number where fans could hear the title character's answering machine, including a sly reference to Swamp Thing.

The Walking Dead Season 6 premieres on AMC on October 11. For fans who can't wait that long, Fear The Walking Dead debuts later this month.