Here’s the latest from the Rock.
MISSING ASTRONAUTS
Last night, a new window opened for the astronauts’ satellite phone. Remember, we’re in Oregon, and the best-guess estimate as of yesterday evening put the astronauts a few hundred miles southeast of us. Solar flare activity has reduced the number of satellites available to the phone system – it can take days for the right number of operational satellites to be in the right positions in their orbits for the phone to connect to Falcon Rock.
The Friday window was scheduled to open at 22:37 local time and last eight minutes. Every workstation in Central Ops was staffed, and Falcon Rock started placing calls at 22:15. At 22:16, we also began listening for calls.
At 22:43, with two minutes left in the window, Sergeant Vadeboncouer called out that she had a contact on her board. That contact lasted three seconds. To anyone who’s not a U.S. Air Force satellite communications specialist, it sounds like a single squawk of static. But the specialists here took it apart ten different ways and this is what they’ve concluded:
The signal is definitely coming from the astronauts’ satellite phone.
The three-second burst is a “ping” code. Basically, the phone is telling the satellite network where it is so calls can be routed toward it. On the one hand, this could be considered bad news because sending this code doesn’t require anyone to operate the phone. We’d been wondering how the astronauts were able to calculate the communications windows as precisely as the Rock’s specialists and their computers. However, turns out this signal is something the phone sends out automatically, 24/7. No calculation required.
The bottom line on this is that the phone could just be in a ditch someplace, no survivors.
BUT, the techs went back to the recording of the first contact they had with the phone. I won’t pretend to understand how they compared and matched the signals. Turns out that they can say with confidence that from the signals they’ve received and the timing of their appearance in the best-guess window, they can locate the phone within ten miles of its transmission point.
Most importantly, between the first contact and last night’s contact, the phone has moved!
From the vector of that movement, the techs conclude that the astronauts – or, to be precise, as Captain Gil would say – the astronauts’ phone is moving northeasterly, probably toward Twin Falls, Idaho. The rate of movement is slow enough to indicate the astronauts – or whoever’s carrying that phone – is traveling by foot.
So, anyone in the area of Twin Falls, Idaho, keep an eye out. As Captain Gil reported earlier:
The three ISS crewmembers are fully apprised of current conditions and will be armed with the shotgun from their capsule. Therefore, upon sighting them, remain at a distance while establishing voice communication. For safety, the recovery password is ALBERTA. The response is BLUEJAY. Do not expose yourself until the proper sign and countersign have been given. It is absolutely essential to remember that any nearby infected will be drawn to these vocalizations and so, after contact is made, depart the area immediately.
The next window opens the middle of next week and we’ll be able to tell how far the phone has gone. Stand by for more.
ALPHA TEAM
The second mission to search for Colonel Manwary and Alpha Team has turned up important intel.
Fourteen miles from RF Repeater Number 6 is the little town of Barry, Oregon. Actually, it might not even be a town. The imagery we’ve got shows it’s an intersection with about twenty buildings in the middle of farmland.
Sergeant DiMarco, now commanding Bravo and Charlie teams, guessed Barry would be a likely destination for the Colonel – if he had picked up a distress call. (Radio reception in the vicinity of the repeater is sporadic. Sunspots are causing a lot of interference these days and the terrain is hilly.)
DiMarco and his teams took the road toward Barry. Sure enough, less than a mile from the repeater was a billboard with a spray-painted message: Barry OR, Knight’s Groceries, 12 survivors. The message was dated two months ago.
Nobody doubts what the Colonel would have done if he saw that billboard. No question he and Alpha Team went directly to Barry.
But, five miles farther along the road, there’s a bridge missing. Since the Colonel’s Humvees aren’t there to tell us he and his team might have gone ahead on foot, and because the next direct driving route to Barry is close to sixty miles, DiMarco believes that Colonel Manwary and Alpha Team must have driven across the bridge before it collapsed.
Right now, Bravo and Charlie teams are waiting for daylight to make the drive along the alternate route. They should be in Barry early Sunday morning. More news about what they find when I get it.
Other than the above, the other major story at the Rock is the countdown to the two cats coming out of quarantine. Dr. Cole set up their cage by a big window in the containment facility so the kids can go down to at least watch them. Both seem to be in perfect health, so in another week or so, our population could hit 209.
That’s it for the Rock for now. Here’re some important updates from the G.R.I.D.
NASHVILLE
Hollie in Perry County managed to upload the first image sent to her from a survivor group in Nashville.
It’s downtown Nashville, and it’s not good news.
Don’t know which is worse – seeing the Pastor’s influence spreading like this, or the smoke. Right after it happened, there were fires in almost every city. By now, almost ten months later, it’s hard to know what’s left to burn.
So, stay clear of Nashville. And, as always, stay clear of the Pastor.
Hollie, whenever you get G.R.I.D. access back, send more images.
RELAY STATION ALPHA
This could be the most important update from the field we’ve received since going online. Is this the breakthrough we need to solve the mystery of the unexplained aircraft?
Hello, Falcon Rock.
James Thomas Lorenzo of Relay Station Alpha here.
I'm with a group called the Independent Faction and we've set up shop in the Mid-Hudson region of New York. There're actually four of us here at the station - Cryss Storm Rider, Kragoth Sarkozy, Lilith Orillion, and yours truly.
We here at Alpha are pretty close to one of the old NYC water-supply reservoirs, so we're not lacking for food or drink (although there's only so much you can do with fish, so every so often we head out on forage runs and see what we can dig up in some of the abandoned houses, gas stations, and shops around here).
We've only just brought our uplink on line again - we got hit by a major thunderstorm a few weeks back, and we've been having power-supply trouble ever since. We have most of the bugs ironed out now, so we figure it's safe to get back on the GRID.
Anyway, we've been picking up some odd radio chatter out here - I'm appending a transcript to this message. Maybe you can tell us what it's all about, because frankly, nobody in the IF does.
And one other odd thing - I saw a flight of what looked like Chinook transport helos headed southwards a couple days back. There were three of 'em, and they looked to be headed for what used to be Kingston. Any idea what *that* is all about?
Well, I'd best be switching off for now. Hope you can figure out what those transmission transcripts are all about.
Best of luck,
James T. Lorenzo
IFCR Station Alpha
(att: Anomalous Transmissions)
INDEPENDENT FACTION RECORD
RECORD LOCATION: COMMUNICATIONS RELAY ALPHA
RECORD TYPE: LOG OF MULTIPLE ANOMALOUS TRANSMISSIONS
FIRST ANOMALOUS TRANSMISSION - MARK 5-9 / DB
TIME/DATE STAMP: 6/14/2010, 18:00:00.000-18:07:30.051
[18:02] Mark Five Dash Nine, Delta Bravo. Opcode X-ray, Charlie. Milenko Outpost reports Kilo-level contact at Site Zeta.
[18:03] Delta Bravo, Mark Five Dash Nine. Opcode confirmed. Proceeding to Site Zeta. Request permission for Ripley Protocol.
[18:05] Mark Five Dash Nine, Delta Bravo. Ripley is authorized. Authcode Gold-Auger-Nine.
[18:07] Delta Bravo, Mark Five Dash Nine. Gold-Auger-Nine confirmed. Proceeding to Site Zeta.
END TRANSMISSION
SECOND ANOMALOUS TRANSMISSION - 2X2L / SFF1
TIME/DATE STAMP: 6/15/2010, 09:12:05.091-09:25:00.032
[09:12] 2X2L calling CQ. 2X2L calling CQ. Come back CQ.
[09:15] 2X2L calling CQ. 2X2L calling CQ. Come ba-
[09:15] SFF1 calling 2X2L. SFF1 calling 2X2L. About bloody time I heard from you again. Over.
[09:16] Yeah, I know. Things have been crazy over here, SFF1. How's the situation out on Sea Base One? Over.
[09:17] Same as ever, 2X2L. Rain and wind and weather, hell-bent for leather, you know? How about you, 2X2L? Over.
[09:20] Finally made up to R-Type. The place is a mess, SFF1. I don't think SFF2 is around here anymore - at least not the way she was. Over.
[09:23] SFF1, you there?
[09:24] Yeah . . . yeah, I'm here, 2X2L. Listen, if you can get the supplies . . . SKTFM R-Type. Do what he would have done to the Blair Witch. Over.
[09:25] Will do, SFF1. You stay frosty, aye? And if I can get my hands on transport, we'll come out your way. 2X2L out.
END TRANSMISSION
THIRD ANOMALOUS TRANSMISSION - 05 / BLACK 1
TIME/DATE STAMP: 6/18/2010, 12:19:02.001-12:32:10.010
[12:19] Zero Five, this is Black One Actual. Proceed south to Spike Station. Continuous report. Over.
[12:20] Black One Actual, this is Zero Five. Proceeding as ordered. Over.
[12:22] Black One Actual, Zero Five. Have reached Kilo, but all access is blocked by rubble and abandoned vehicles. Am proceeding on detour around Kilo to Poppa Echo.
[12:23] *NVBL - SMALL ENGINE*
[12:25] *BKGND - NVBL - SMALL ENGINE/WIND* Zero Five to Black One Actual. Have reached Poppa Echo. All quiet so far.
[12:27] *BKGND - NVBL - SMALL ENGINE* Black One Actual, Zero Five. Have sighted multiple Zack. Destination appears to be Spike Station. Request instructions, over.
[12:30] *BKGND - NVBL - SMALL ENGINE* Black One Actual, do you copy? Over.
[12:32] *NVBL - SMALL ENGINE/HANDGUN FIRING* Black One Actual, Zero Five. Zack has taken notice. Aborting mission. Repeat, aborting mission!
END TRANSMISSION
Cody here. Before we get into the many questions and possibilities raised by these transmissions, here’s a U.S. military image of the aircraft in question: a Boeing Chinook helicopter.
First question, especially for Dave in Florida and everyone else who’s reported aircraft: Could this be what you saw?
The specialists here at the Rock have gone over the transcripts and believe them to be authentic. The transmissions seem to indicate organized military action is being taken against the infected – “Zack” – at a location presumably within radio range of Relay Station Alpha.
However, there’s some doubt that the “Ripley Protocol” authorized in the first transmission was actually carried out. I’m told that’s military slang for the use of a tactical nuclear weapon. The satellite specialists at the Rock are confident that there are enough GPS platforms functioning to allow the Integrated Operational Nuclear Detection System to function. If a nuclear detonation had occurred anywhere on the planet on the date in question, a great many screens in the Rock would have lit up to announce a PINNACLE event, either BROKEN ARROW or NUCFLASH. Unfortunately, I’m not able to provide more background on how these systems work because the details are in a set of ARG manuals that Colonel Manwary has kept off-limits to civilians, even under current conditions. Captain Gil calls it the “Macavity Protocol,” but won’t explain what that means. It seems the military still has some secrets.
So, James – as always, we need more information. Do you associate the transmissions with the Chinooks you saw? Do you have any indication of the signal strength of the transmissions that might indicate how far the transmitters were from your station? Most importantly, on the night of June 14, did you feel or hear anything that might have come from a large explosion? (One specialist here suggested that because the command authorization for detonating nuclear weapons might no longer function, the “Ripley Protocol” slang might refer to a very large but conventional explosive, like a BLU-82B “daisy cutter.”) Possible?
The most important possibility these transcripts hold out is the idea that the military personnel at the Rock are not alone. For all the different survivor groups we’ve heard from, holed up in farmhouses and office buildings around the world, we have yet to make contact with one other Continuity of Government facility. But now, this mention of “Sea Base One” holds out new hope. There’s nothing in the COG manuals I’m allowed to read that mention a sea-based facility. But if it’s there, we’re ready to talk.
We’ve all been fighting for ten long months in an endless round of skirmishes. We all know that’s got to change, and soon. It’s time to band together and launch a massive counterattack to reclaim our world.
So James, Dave, Hollie, and all the thousands of others who have accessed the G.R.I.D. since this began, stand by.
The real fight is about to begin. The Rock is getting ready.
We’ll talk again.
CJ
