What I do not yet understand is why we lost contact with Dr. Winston and her team at 2200 hours. Their last known video and audio feed came from latitude 38.748375°, longitude -104.812430°, right before they hit Highway 115 heading into Colorado Springs.

In addition to small traces of radiation, there seem to be some sort of electromagnetic waves interfering with long-range and short-range communication. My initial hypothesis includes two possible scenarios: one, there has been another solar event, or two, there has been an EMP attack from a foreign or domestic enemy.

Logic leads me to the latter of the two. The radiation levels are low enough to indicate an EMP attack. If there had been a solar event even close to the density of 2055, then radiation levels would be significantly higher.

A security sensor goes off, and I switch my attention to Camera 1 outside the blast doors. There are several figures standing outside, pounding on the twenty-five-ton metal barrier. They appear agitated. I zoom in and see four people, three dressed in military fatigues with large automatic weapons. Behind them is Dr. Winston. I do not, however, see Mr. Yool or Dr. Rodriguez. Which leads me to conclude this could be a test or even a trap.

I switch the audio port on. “Dr. Winston, do you read? Over.”

“This is Marine Sergeant Overton with First Recon Battalion. Dr. Winston is incapacitated at the moment. We ran into some sort of hostiles in the valley. Requesting permission to enter facility. Over.”

“Come on! Open up!” another voice shouts into the mic.

“Finley, back up,” Overton snaps.

Protocol tells me to refuse entry to the Marines, but the video feed shows Dr. Winston slumped against the side of the truck’s bumper, gripping her ears. She appears to need medical attention. My first objective is to protect Dr. Winston and her team; even though the Biosphere mission has failed, I am still forced to follow this objective. I must employ what humans call trust.

“Stand by, Sergeant,” I say, opening the blast doors.

I home in on the hangar with Camera 2 and watch the vehicle speed into the bay. Sergeant Overton and the two other men help Dr. Winston out of the vehicle and place her inside the train. They go back for Mr. Yool and Dr. Rodriguez. Both men appear to be unconscious, and the Marines carry them one by one to the train.

They arrive in the tunnel outside the Biosphere facility moments later. Cameras 14 and 15 record their movements. Sergeant Overton is clearly the leader, barking orders at the other two Marines. Dr. Winston is standing unaided now, and strolls over to the audio port outside the outer Biosphere offices and command center.

“Alexia, there has been a situation. I can’t explain right now, but I need you to open the Biosphere and let us in immediately. Saafi and Emanuel are in critical condition, suffering from unknown injuries while in the field. You need to amplify the speakers; otherwise I won’t be able to hear a word you’re saying.”