"The Night Wire" , um conto de H. F. Arnold , texto disponível aqui , áudio aqui . A cidade é Xebico.
Como eu o encontrei: eu trapaceei. Eu enviei um email para James D. MacDonald e ele teve a gentileza de me responder. Ele diz que você tem uma memória. A história está disponível em muitos lugares na web; Liguei para a cópia no site do MacDonald.
Um trecho da história:
The first wire was running out the usual sort of stuff and I just looked over it hurriedly. Then I turned to the second pile of copy. I remembered it particularly because the story was from a town I had never heard of: "Xebico." Here is the dispatch. I saved a duplicate of it from our files:
"Xebico, Sept 16 CP BULLETIN
"The heaviest mist in the history of the city settled over the town at 4 o'clock yesterday afternoon. All traffic has stopped and the mist hangs like a pall over everything. Lights of ordinary intensity fail to pierce the fog, which is constantly growing heavier.
"Scientists here are unable to agree as to the cause, and the local weather bureau states that the like has never occurred before in the history of the city.
"At 7 P.M. last night the municipal authorities...
(more)"
That was all there was. Nothing out of the ordinary at a bureau headquarters, but, as I say, I noticed the story because of the name of the town.