The Cypher is a four-page zine set in a possibly-fictional version of the Hereford Zone, Baltimore County, MD. Set in 1996-97, its contents follow the fandom interests of its characters, peppered with local culture and original short fiction. As the Cypher continues, the locale develops an ongoing environmental disaster involving a suspicious invasive plant species, meteorites that converge in one place, videotape erasures, and a cryptid. Issues usually contain fandom writings, short story chapter, ciphertext lesson, Notes & Queries (including character-submitted codes), ads, recent film information, and county-mandated warnings. Ciphers may be fandom-content related, but some elaborate on the plot.