First, news from the Rock.


MISSING ASTRONAUTS

There’s definitely something up with the astronauts’ satellite phone. The good news: The techs are convinced there was an attempt to connect to us last time the functioning Iridium satellites lined up (so the geometry was right for a connection between the Soyuz’s estimated landing site and Falcon Rock). Bad news: The connection attempt lasted about three seconds and didn’t carry any useable information.

If it was the astronauts trying to contact us, it’s a good bet they landed safely in the area Major Leonova predicted. That still puts them a few hundred miles away from the Rock, though. And the phone’s batteries won’t last much longer.

The question no one can answer right now is how are the astronauts figuring out the exact eight-minute window that opens every five days when the satellites line up? At the Rock, we’ve got specialists and computers and all the orbits can be tracked and confirmed. The astronauts don’t have that data.

The next window opens in two days. I’ll let you know what happens.


ALPHA TEAM

Colonel Manwary’s Alpha Team is still out of contact: Bravo and Charlie Teams conducted an extensive search, starting at the sixth RF repeater the colonel’s team was tasked to fix.

At least we know Alpha completed their primary objective – Sergeant DiMarco radioed in that repeater six showed signs of recent repair, and it is online. However, because of recent rain in the area, it was impossible to tell where the team’s vehicles went next.

Worst possible case scenario: Both Humvees broke down or were otherwise disabled. Remember that bizarre roadblock incident back in March? (Just in case you don’t, here’s the G.R.I.D. link: http://www.falconrockcommand.com/Blog2.html)

But if something like that did happen again, it wasn’t on any of the roads between the Rock and the repeater. DiMarco’s working on the theory that the Colonel had some reason for driving on to a nearby town – maybe he picked up a radio distress call or decided to search for supplies and survivors. Anyway, Bravo and Charlie teams both came back for resupply, then headed out yesterday to take the town apart. They’re in constant radio communication with us, so the moment they learn anything about the Colonel and his team, I’ll pass it on.

Not much else to report for now. Our population stands at 207. Our two newest arrivals are Mark Askwith and his twelve-year-old daughter, Mary. They were holed up in a mountain cabin, but heard Bravo Team working on repeater 3 and caught a ride back to the Rock. They brought two cats with them, but they’re in quarantine till Dr. Cole finishes their tests. Since we know that dogs don’t carry the infection, Cole’s confident the cats will be clear, too. The kids here are pretty excited about the idea of new pets.

That’s it for the Rock this time. Here’s the latest from the G.R.I.D.


ENGLAND

James is on the move from London. Has a great goal in mind. According to some of the documents in the Rock, the British government has several Continuity of Government facilities, too, and the experts here say that James is on the right track.

Hi Cody,

Well, we started our trip up to Scotland the day after we last mailed you. We were getting worried about you, what with no contact. We knew the Rock would never be overrun, so welcome back! Good luck with finding the astronauts and your captain!

It would seem we were incredibly lucky with transport. The police made a blockade through London, to make sure no infected would escape (we know how well THAT worked). Luckily the government only destroyed the half that was being marshaled by the police, so the half behind the blockade (where we entered London) was passable. We managed to find a working bus (shame the same couldn't be said before the outbreak), and worked our way out of London, and started making our way up the M1 (a highway to you guys).

We would have reached our destination already, but we decided to take it slow and search for survivors wherever we can. The road is littered with deserted cars so we have to take it slow. At the moment we are headed for Leeds, so Martin, if you want to join up, now’s your chance! If you feel safer in your castle (and frankly, who wouldn't), we understand.

Our plan is, when we reach Scotland, to see if any of the Royal Family survived. Then, with any luck, we will be able to use a plane from their airstrip and fly over to the Rock! So, with any luck, see you in a few months!

James R
Survivors – 27

Cody here. Martin, you hear that? Let us know if you’re going to join up. James, make sure you keep the bus full of fuel and drive very slow at night and around blind corners. Avoid underground tunnels, too. Check back at what I wrote about roadblocks. We just can’t keep assuming these things are mindless.


PHILADELPHIA

Here’s a new report from back east. Seems the Pastor’s getting around, or at least his message is.

I am the one who contacted you about updates from Philadelphia. I see you are looking for events around January 2008, what do you need to know? I am barricaded up in a news building in Philadelphia and it appears they have LOTS of records for 2008. What area should I be looking in - Science news, health news, major news, etc. Any help I can give that can help us understand this more will be well worth the hours spent looking- just tell me where I should start. Anything new from the east coast that I should know? It seems too quiet out here and yesterday, I saw the first mark of the pastor appear on a building near the old liberty bell site - interesting - Liberty associated with the Pastor?

These things are a lot less active around here in the past month so I checked out the airport for anything to do with those planes everyone keeps mentioning. The runways are all clear but the odd thing is when I showed up, there was one plane that was parked at the end of the runway and appeared ready for take off- all of the other planes were trashed. I didn’t go on board but when I came back the next day, there was a small group of the dead hanging around the runway.

Any others contacting you from this area? I was with a group but they got a little weird when they saw the Pastor’s message on the video from you guys. They started talking about finding him and joining him. I left that night and have been alone here in this news building ever since.

Anyway, I am going to start a slow trek out of here as soon as I look through the archives for whatever news you need. I will start heading west toward the Rock - I figure I will stop by the Hummer dealer and "test drive" a new Hummer with some special metal window covers I designed myself. Thanks for the update - keep them coming - I know I am not alone as long as the news keeps coming.

Rick
Philadelphia

Cody back again. Rick, I’m sorry about those people you were with wanting to join the Pastor. As we all found out in my last report, we now know what “joining” the Pastor really means – he’s actually obtaining new victims for the infected, or maybe even for those fungal mounds. Stay away from him!

As for what we’re looking for in old news archives, there’s nothing specific. If there is a connection between what’s happened and the current solar cycle, then January ’08 is the starting point. What all of us here are trying to remember is what other things were going on at that time that might have been out of the ordinary.

We’re heard from some people, in messages Colonel Manwary asked me not to post, that they think this might be the result of a military experiment that went bad. A lot of people point to the unusual events at the military hospital in the Philippines. Have to agree that the military seemed well prepared for what happened, at least in that location.

So, ignoring the usual politics and wars and other background noise of a typical year, keep an eye out for something that had never – or rarely - happened before: An army base suddenly shut down without warning? Politicians or reporters or military brass suddenly missing? Vague alerts from the Centers for Disease Control? Odd reports from overseas? Anything like that is what we’re after. Anyone else out there remember incidents like that back then, let us know. Even if it seemed insignificant at the time, it could be important now. As Dr. Cole says, once we find out how this thing started, we’ll be better able to end it.


PERRY COUNTY, TENNESSEE

When I started these reports last March, we had confirmed contact with eight survivor groups in North America. With this new report, we’ve now heard from 87 groups worldwide, quickly closing in on ten thousand survivors overall who’ve joined the fight.

Hello Falcon Rock,

My name is Hollie and I am proud to say I am writing to you from South Central Tennessee. There are a small group of us that are held up on my property in Perry County close to the Tennessee River. We have had luck with us so far and are very glad to know there are other survivors alive through out the country.

I guess you could call our current situation guarded. This is not the most populated area but I have had to take out a few neighbors that came across my lines. It is frightening but I will do anything to protect my family and friends that have gathered with me. My boyfriend came across several miles to bring his two daughters here because that was always our attack plan. Get to where the resources are plentiful and our chances of survival are more in our favor. He mentioned seeing a train derailed on the tracks close to Columbia, TN with the Pastor's symbol emblazoned on it. Thankfully he made it to us without much resistance. We believe the city of Nashville is in a shambles. Before a few friends went silent in Nashville they sent some pictures and we will send them the next time the G.R.I.D. is up.

I read a few other reports that mentioned animals that may be infected. I can report that the wild life here is not showing any signs of the infection but we have not been brave enough to trek the 5 miles to the Tennessee River. There are a large number of TVA power lines over there and we do not want to take the chance that one of the infected may see us. I have several spring fed creeks on the back of the property so water will not be an issue for us but I do want you to ask the doctor if there is anyway the infection can be spread along the waterways. If the locals along the river put up a fight, and from the gunshots I heard they did just that, then there is a very real possibility that the big river is contaminated. I know that neural material will transmit the disease and if it is floating down the river then that would be just another reason to avoid that area. Also ask her if the fish in the river eat the neural remains and even if they are not infected could they pass along the disease?

We will keep up the good fight and will send those pictures of Nashville soon.

Hollie
Tennessee Survivor

Cody here. Great to hear from you, Hollie. I passed your questions about the spread of the infection to Dr. Cole. Here’re her answers.

1. So far, I’ve seen no evidence of the infection being spread by contact with animals. It seems to be an exclusively human disease. That makes contact with animals safe, but also makes it difficult to study – I can’t give it to my lab rats.

Note, though, that if an animal has had contact with an infected, especially if a dog has bitten one, then biologically active material might be resident in the animal’s mouth or on its fur or skin, so it’s probably wise to take precautions until the animal’s been cleaned up. Before I got to the Rock, I was on my own with my mutt, and he definitely took a chunk or two out of some of the infected we encountered. Both my dog and myself remained clear. However, we have established a three-week quarantine period for any animals coming into the Rock, just to play it safe. So far, we’ve brought in nine dogs, a parrot, two horses, and, in a few more days, two cats. All remain healthy.

2. You’re right about the potential for water contamination if it’s been exposed to infected tissue or fluids. However, I haven’t heard of any cases like this. To be safe, boil any water from a surface source for at least twenty minutes. At this point, I wouldn’t trust chemical purifying systems until we know what the disease vector is. Spring water should be safe, but it never hurts to boil it anyway, to avoid other ordinary disease organisms.

Cody back. Thanks again for making contact, Hollie. Keep the reports coming!

Finally, some quick notes for some other survivors on the G.R.I.D.

Dave in Florida – The experts here point out that just about any helicopter looks black against a bright sky. But you’re right, all the other reports we’ve had mention planes, not helos. If you spot them again, try to estimate their speed, direction, and altitude. We’re marking all aircraft sightings on a map to see if we can work back to a central air base. Still no radio signals from any air traffic though.

Ramiro – Welcome aboard! The more of us join the fight, the sooner we’ll beat them!

Hoj – Best way to beat the infection is to avoid contact with the infected. Check the podcasts we made when we still had video uplinks in place. (Captain Gil is working as hard as she can at restoring them – stay tuned for more news about that.)

Brobrocop – Don’t know where you are, but stay put. It’s still too dangerous for anyone to make the open land trek to the Rock. Every search party that goes out reports lines of infected at all the major intersections. And yes, we know the old news story you mentioned. But check the date. That’s probably why they didn’t tell us.

That’s the news for now. If anyone out there has anything to add, get it to the Rock and I’ll share it with all the survivors – more and more of us every day.

Stand by for the latest about the missing astronauts, Colonel Manwary, and new Pastor Webb sightings.

And if anyone has any theories about those fungal mounds, send them ASAP. Are they just something of the Pastor’s doing, or could they be something more?

Stay safe.

We’ll talk again.

CJ