“Listen up. I don’t know what’s happened outside. I’m not sure what we encountered on the highway or on our way back.” Sophie shook her head and sucked in a deep breath, straightening her back. “All I know is we have to move forward. But before we devise a plan, Alexia has something she wants us to see.” Sophie turned to face the console in the middle of the room.

“One moment, Dr. Winston,” Alexia replied. Darkness washed over the team as the lights faded. A burst of light shot out of the console, forming a crisp video feed that illuminated the faces of the team members.

Sophie recognized the empty control room instantly. It was the command center at the NTC headquarters in Los Angeles. She’d been there just three months ago, signing the contract that she thought was her ticket to Mars. Dr. Hoffman walked into the control room and looked into the camera. His face was solemn, fatigued. The lines on his aged forehead were deeper and more pronounced, as if he hadn’t slept for days.

“Dr. Winston, Alexia, and team. If you are listening to this, then it’s too late. The Doomsday Clock has finally caught up to us,” he said, pausing to look down at a page of notes in his right hand. As he reviewed the words, his nostrils flared and his eyebrows compressed to form a deep wrinkle. He crumpled the paper and tossed it on the floor.

Sophie had never imagined him as the type of leader who would let his emotions take control of him so radically. This meant, more than likely, that whatever he was about to say was earth-shattering. She strained her battered ears, her gut clenched, preparing for the worst.

“You all remember the solar storms of 2055. The solar flares turned the sky red and played havoc with communication systems worldwide before emitting a coronal mass ejection that turned the Midwestern region of the United States into a radioactive dead zone. These are things no one will ever forget. However, what you don’t know about this catastrophic cosmic destruction is its true origin.”

Dr. Hoffman grabbed a glass of water from a nearby table and took a sip. “The sun was not the only culprit responsible for these events. Dr. Winston, your team discovered a magnetic disruption while working in Houston. Something that was feeding the storms. You encrypted the data and sent it to us. And I’m guessing you were told to forget about it, that the information was classified.”

Sophie glanced over her shoulder at Emanuel, who gave her a confused look. He had lost both of his parents in the storm, and she had lied to him about its true source. While it broke her heart, the future of her career depended on the lie. She realized she had some explaining to do.

“In any case, the magnetic disruption was caused by an organic force—a force no scientist in the world could possibly understand. Until now.” Dr. Hoffman halted and stepped back from the camera so that a 3D hologram had room to enlarge over a metal console.