In "First Date," Carlos says, "A scientist is self-reliant. It's the first thing a scientist is." Which, okay, Chad's next book is tentatively titled How to Think Like a Scientist, so I can say with some authority that that is a massively peculiar thing for a working scientist to say.
Then in the latest episode, Carlos is all blase about the blinking-light + mountain + floodplain + invading army being a not-uncommon mirage. Here, I admit less knowledge, as I do not live in a desert, but I am pretty sure that that is weird.
I had assumed that Night Vale, and the places you can get to from Night Vale (Desert Bluffs, the European countries), were islands of weirdness in, or a side-step from, our world, which is where Carlos was from. Now I'm wondering if the entire universe in Night Vale is an alternate one—if wherever Carlos came from is, well, not as weird, since Night Vale is so scientifically interesting, but definitely not the America we live in.
Thoughts?