The Signal

by Nick Cook

  Steve ignored me and carried on walking.

  As I closed on him I noticed something strange about the dancing ribbons of energy. Where some of the stray lightning bolts struck the nearby buildings and treetops there was no damage whatsoever – certainly none of the secondary fires I would have expected to see from a lightning storm this intense. But that would suggest…

  ‘Steve, stop right there! Lovell’s going to be OK,’ I called out.

  He turned to look at me for the first time. ‘What do you mean, Lauren?’

  ‘Think the Van de Graaff generator.’

  ‘Pardon me?’

  ‘Watch and you’ll see.’ I headed straight past him, and with a prayer to the patron god of mad scientists, I closed my eyes and ran beneath the dancing ribbons of energy.

  No searing pain, no final thoughts of What the hell was I thinking? as my brain was fried. Instead I cracked my eyes open to see I was now standing inside the cascading ribbons of energy. A whoop bubbled up from inside me and I spun around, arms outstretched as the lightning bolts streamed on to me with no more effect than if someone had been flicking me with their finger.

  ‘Lauren, are you OK?’ Steve shouted.

  ‘Yes, absolutely fine.’

  He grasped the back of his neck with his hands. ‘You’re either the bravest or most stupid person I’ve ever met in my life.’

  ‘Takes one to know one,’ I replied. ‘But hopefully I’ve just proved to you there’s no need to try to cut any power conduits.’

  ‘So your reckless demonstration was meant to show that Lovell is basically behaving like a gigantic Van de Graaff?’

  ‘You nailed it. When I spotted the lack of damage the lightning strikes were making, I realised there might be lots of volts but little in the way of amps. And even though this light show is beyond spectacular, based on the facts that we are still getting data from the receiver and I’m standing underneath something resembling some crazy experiment from Nikola Tesla’s famous lab, we can now be certain that this EHF signal isn’t doing any real damage to Lovell itself.’

  Steve looked at me for the longest moment and then laughed. ‘Bloody hell, I could seriously kiss you, Lauren. A brilliant bit of scientific detective work there.’ He lobbed his axe away.

  I grinned back at him. ‘Any excuse.’

  A car engine roared and a Volvo sped into the staff car park as if it were in a rally race.

  Steve turned round and shook his head. ‘Graham must have broken a few land speed records to get here this quickly.’

  ‘He obviously didn’t trust you not to try something stupid,’ I replied.

  ‘Look who’s talking.’

  Graham emerged from the car wearing a big puffer red jacket. With his glasses reflecting the lightning storm the director of astronomy ran towards us as he gawped up at Lovell. ‘What the bloody hell have you done to my radio telescope? I saw this place lit up like a rave from at least five miles away.’

  ‘I know I have my moments, Graham, but you really seriously think I could pull something like this off?’ Steve replied.

  ‘Of course not. So what the hell are we dealing with here?’

  ‘To start with we’re almost certain this is some sort of extreme high-frequency signal,’ I said.

  He gestured to the dish. ‘An EHF signal that can do this?’

  Steve shrugged. ‘We’re as mystified as you are. We haven’t had a chance to work out the point of origin yet.’

  ‘Then we should target the same region that Lovell is currently pointed at with the Mark II dish and run an interferometer check,’ Graham said. ‘Although you do realise that should have been the first thing you tried.’

  ‘This isn’t the time to have a go at Steve, Graham. Look what we’re dealing with here,’ I said. ‘It’s not exactly textbook.’

  Graham peered at me and had just opened his mouth to reply when the muffled sound of a phone ringing echoed from the control room.

  ‘That’s one of the MERLIN network landlines,’ Steve said.

  I nodded. ‘They’ve probably registered the data spike from Lovell over the network feed as well.’

  Graham gave each of us a stern glance. ‘OK, let’s start putting practical plans together, but later we’re going to have a serious conversation about following protocols.’

  Steve rolled his eyes at me as we all rushed back into the control room.

  Graham grabbed the ringing landline phone. ‘Oh, hi, Richard, what can I—’ The colour bled from Graham’s face as he listened intently. ‘OK, I’m going to put you on speakerphone so the others can hear this. Please repeat what you just told me.’

  Richard’s voice came over the speaker. ‘We’re experiencing a major phenomenon happening around the Cambridge dish.’

  ‘Don’t tell me, you’ve got serious low amp electrical discharges originating from your radio telescope,’ I said.

  ‘Yes, but how could you possibly know that?’ Richard replied.

  ‘Because exactly the same thing has been happening here,’ Steve said. ‘We’ve also been unable to shut Lovell’s systems down.’

  ‘Same here. Any theories on what’s going on? Because we’ve got none – or at least none we’re ready to seriously put forward.’

  ‘We’re working on it,’ Graham replied.

  From the sound of it, we weren’t the only ones considering the ET calling Earth explanation. Reputations would be made or destroyed by how tonight played out.

  Graham rested his knuckles on the desk and leant in towards the speaker. ‘Richard, record all the data you can please.’

  ‘We’re on it, but it’s already filled up half of our available storage.’

  I crossed to one of our computers and checked the stats. ‘Bloody hell, we’ve so far received over two thousand terabytes of data. At this rate, we’re going to have to start plugging in additional storage arrays.’

  Graham nodded. ‘Do it. And, Richard, good luck with whatever this is.’

  ‘You too,’ Richard replied.

  Graham replaced the receiver as every other phone connected to the MERLIN network started to ring simultaneously.

  For the next ten minutes between us we fielded every call. The sheer extent of just how crazy this situation was became clearer by the second.

  At last Steve finished the final call and shook his head. ‘So that confirms it. Nearly every radio telescope across the MERLIN network around the world has been swamped with the same signal. The only notable exception being the St Petersburg telescope in Russia, who I’ve been unable to contact for confirmation. They aren’t picking up for some reason.’

  Graham nodded. ‘And the strangest part is that every telescope seems to have been pointed at different regions of the sky when it happened.’

  ‘I know I’m the least experienced here, but surely that’s impossible for a radio signal? Wherever it’s coming from, there has to be a common source,’ I said.

  ‘You’re right of course, and that means the only logical answer is that the signal is coming from multiple targets all at once,’ Steve replied.

  In the distance I became aware of the faint drone of a helicopter getting louder.

  I cast Graham and the others a puzzled frown. ‘I thought we have clear airspace around here as otherwise it interferes with all our equipment?’

  ‘We do unless it’s an emergency,’ Graham replied.

  We followed him outside as the trees around the car park began to whip. A large white helicopter was coming in to land. With a roar of buffeting rotor wash, it settled on to the grass.

  The moment the helicopter landed a team leapt out and started unloading silver flight crates.

  A woman in a trouser suit, with short blonde hair and hard eyes, ran towards us under the still-spinning blades. When she reached us she raised an MI5 identity card displaying her photo.

  The woman thrust out a hand. ‘Kiera Owen, field operations director.’ She gestured towards the lightning storm erupting around Lovell. ‘A
nd I’m here to help with your little problem.’

  ‘And MI5 is involved with this because…?’ I asked.

  ‘Because Jodrell Bank is ground zero for an event that has become an issue of national security. I can’t stress enough the urgency of this situation and that we need to work together so we can understand what we’re dealing with before it’s too late.’

  Steve, Graham and I traded shocked looks as Kiera ushered us all back towards the control room.

  Chapter Four

  Kiera’s men had ferried a procession of silver crates into our control room from their helicopter. They’d already set up all manner of scientific kit from banks of oscilloscopes to a very serious-looking rack computer, which was liquid-cooled and had been built into one of the bigger crates. One of the lids had been removed to reveal ten black boxes with miniature LCD displays on each of them. One of Kiera’s men, a bald-headed guy called John, their computer and encryption expert, had explained to me that it was a solid-state mass storage system that could store over a thousand terabytes. The plan was they’d use it to augment our own systems to make sure that every byte of data was successfully captured from the signal, which was showing no signs of abating anytime soon. Who knew what the other teams were doing across the rest of the MERLIN network to keep up with this huge influx of data.

  Kiera gestured towards the meeting room. ‘Graham, if you could gather your team in there please.’

  John intercepted us as we walked past him. ‘All your mobiles, please. This site is under a communications blackout until this crisis is over and that means all other forms of electronic communications, including web and email.’

  ‘So it’s a crisis now?’ I asked.

  ‘You’ll be fully briefed in a moment,’ Kiera said.

  We started to hand over our mobiles.

  ‘I’m not sure what good this will do. The mobile networks have already crashed around here,’ Steve said.

  ‘It’s a precautionary measure.’

  We followed Graham into the meeting room.

  Kiera took out two official-looking documents from her briefcase. ‘Steve and Lauren, you’ll need to sign these copies of the Official Secrets Act.’ She slid them across the table towards us.

  Steve gave her a narrow-eyed look. ‘And why do we need to sign these precisely?’

  ‘So I can fully brief you about what’s been going on.’

  A knot of irritation tightened inside me. I’d always had a bit of an issue with authority figures. Who was she to march in here and start telling us what to do?

  I crossed my arms. ‘And what if we don’t want to?’

  Kiera’s gaze tightened on me. ‘Then that particular person will be escorted from this facility.’

  I knew I needed to keep a lid on my annoyance, because if I didn’t I would probably miss out on the biggest moment of my career. Time to toe the line, at least for now.

  I took an inward breath and nodded. ‘OK, OK.’

  ‘And why aren’t you asking Graham to sign one as well?’ Steve asked.

  Graham sat forward. ‘That would be because I already have.’

  Steve gave him a surprised look. ‘When exactly?’

  ‘We’ll discuss that later, but first I want to hear what Kiera has to say.’

  ‘And you will, once your team has signed their documents.’ She proffered her posh pen to me across the table.

  I scowled at her, took the pen and signed.

  With a slight head shake Steve did the same and then rolled the pen across the desk back to Kiera.

  ‘So what’s going on?’ Graham asked.

  Kiera leant back in her chair. ‘Thirty minutes ago, the signal you picked up with Lovell was also detected by our systems at GCHQ.’

  ‘That’s the government communications intelligence facility, isn’t it?’ I asked.

  ‘Yes, and that’s why this situation has rapidly escalated. You see, since receiving this signal, the GCHQ systems have been jammed across multiple radio frequencies.’

  ‘You mean it’s wiped out your ability to eavesdrop on the rest of the world’s communications?’ Steve asked.

  It seemed I wasn’t the only one with a bit of an attitude towards authority. I was starting to see Steve in a new light.

  ‘We prefer to call it “intelligence gathering” so we can protect this country and its citizens. However, the impact of this signal doesn’t stop with GCHQ’s systems. You see, all transmitted communications, including satellite networks, even those with the most secure encrypted channels, are all currently offline. This signal, thanks to its sheer power, has even managed to take down our mobile phone networks. Since twenty minutes ago, the only form of viable communication has been landlines, which seem to have been spared the worst of the disruption.’

  ‘And there was me thinking the signal was just disrupting the mobiles around here,’ Steve said.

  ‘If it were, we wouldn’t be taking this as seriously as we are. Now we need answers and we need them quickly.’

  Graham tapped his fingers on his chin. ‘Could this all be down to some sort of solar flare activity on the scale of the Carrington Event back in 1859, which knocked out much of the telegraph network?’

  ‘You know your history,’ Kiera replied.

  ‘I should hope so. Astronomy is my job after all.’

  I managed to hold back a smile as Steve’s nose twitched.

  Kiera narrowed her gaze at Graham. ‘A major solar flare was our first assumption too. However, the solar observatories show that there’s been no significant electromagnetic activity in the sun over the last seventy-two hours, certainly nothing to warrant the scale of this phenomena. Also, according to our final readings from GCHQ before our own systems were taken offline, Jodrell Bank seems to have been at the epicentre of this signal, which then proceeded to ripple out around the globe in a matter of seconds. It’s the reason we’re here. There have been huge consequences because of the effect of this signal; that’s why we need to come up with a viable alternative theory.’

  ‘A viable alternative theory to what?’ I asked.

  ‘That Russia is testing out some sort of new space-based jamming device.’

  Steve gave me an I told you so look.

  Graham shook his head. ‘That sounds like raging paranoia to me.’

  ‘I wish I could confirm that was all it was. Unfortunately, in addition to the signals, there have been other effects on our communication’s infrastructure – the West’s early-warning radar network that alerts us to ICBM launches has also been taken offline. We’ve tried reaching out to Moscow for answers, but so far nobody over there is prepared to talk to us.’

  I thought of the St Petersburg team not responding to our calls and my blood chilled.

  ‘Is this situation as dangerous as it sounds?’ Graham asked, his voice almost a whisper.

  ‘Yes, and that is why I need your help to prove it’s not the Russians behind this,’ Kiera replied.

  Steve clenched his hands together. ‘Well, there is certainly one major flaw in that theory. If it were a space-based weapon, we would be able to triangulate its position. However, we’ve already learnt from the other MERLIN receivers that this signal seems to be coming from all areas of the sky at the same time.’

  ‘Yes, we realised that, but that idea has already been countered with the suggestion that Russia has somehow managed to launch hundreds of stealth satellites into low Earth orbit.’

  ‘Oh, come on,’ I said. ‘How would you not know about a single one of these launches? And anyway, a satellite with a miniature nuclear reactor on board wouldn’t be able to sustain the level of power we’re currently seeing in this signal. Do you really think the Russians have made some sort of major breakthrough that would allow them to pull this off?’

  ‘That’s precisely the question that has got the security agencies of all the Western powers currently scratching their collective heads,’ Kiera replied. ‘We’ve certainly no previous intelligence to suggest that Rus
sia was anywhere near developing this sort of capability. However, if they have and are happy to reveal it in such an audacious manner, it raises a more serious question.’

  ‘Which is?’ I asked.

  ‘Is this a prelude to something much, much worse?’

  Graham blinked fast and took his glasses off to wipe them on his jumper. ‘Please tell me that doesn’t mean what I think it does?’

  Kiera gave him a thin smile. ‘I wish I could, Graham. However, over the last thirty minutes, the world has been propelled towards the equivalent of a modern-day Cuban Missile Crisis.’

  I let out a small gasp. ‘You’re not seriously saying this signal could be the prelude to all-out nuclear war?’

  She gave me a straight look. ‘That’s exactly what I’m saying.’

  It felt as if the air had emptied from the meeting room for a moment as the implications of her words sunk in.

  Graham scraped his seat backwards and stood up. ‘I need to ring Sarah so she can grab the kids and take them to their grandparents in—’

  Kiera quickly held up her hand to silence him. ‘That’s not going to happen, Graham. The knowledge that I have just shared with you is obviously highly sensitive and certainly not to leave this facility – hence our communications blackout.’

  Graham’s expression darkened. ‘What if I ignore you and just walk out of that door and head home anyway?’

  Kiera pulled her jacket aside just enough to reveal a pistol in a shoulder holster strapped over her white shirt.

  I jumped to my feet. ‘You can’t threaten us like this.’

  ‘I don’t want to, but I can and I will if it’s the only way to get you to cooperate.’ She gestured for me and Graham to sit down. ‘Let’s try again. I need your help, not your anger, however justified you feel it is.’

  I traded glances with my colleagues. Graham looked angrier than ever but Steve’s expression had become unreadable as if he were considering a chess move – a game he loved to play against the computer. I wish I knew what was going on inside that skull of his sometimes.