FILE: LOST SIGNALS

The following are transcribed data from a series of broadcasts of indeterminate origin recorded by NORAD radio wave monitoring systems.

June 25th, 2140

Broadcaster: Hello? Is this thing on? I hope so, otherwise I’m just talking at a mic without a purpose. Uh, okay. 

[A pause, where shuffling is heard]

Broadcaster: So here’s the thing, my therapist thinks that if I have something that’s a scheduled event every week, I’m not gonna off myself like I tried to last month. I dunno how well it’ll work, but I figured that trying out a radio show wouldn’t hurt. Even if nobody’s listening, I can just use it as my own personal venting space. Ha, literally just screaming into the void, aren’t I? Hell, nobody uses these things much these days anyways. Plenty of unused frequencies to choose from, but if someone is out there listening, I’ll be back every week to just… tell you about my life I guess. Oh, the name’s Mike, that’s probably important. Anyways, I’ll be back next week, probably.

July 9th, 2140

Mike: Oops, forgot to hop on last week. That’s fine, it’s not like there’s anyone out there listening to me rambling about the dumb shit happening to me. There’s talk on the news about escalating tension somewhere overseas. Hopefully the problems stay over there, I’d rather not get involved in someone else’s fight. There’s enough bullshit happening here that the government needs to be focusing on. I tried baking some brownies today but they just ended up as a mushy burned goop. I must have measured something wrong. Ma always told me that cooking is an art, but baking is a science. I’ve never been too good at science.

Broadcasts continue for the next few months, detailing everyday occurrences in the life of “Mike”. Nothing of note is mentioned.

October 22nd, 2140

Mike: Okay listeners, today is an important day, as I’m sure you’re all aware. The national draft was announced to be active once more, following the most recent attack. I’ve been trying to avoid talking about all the bullshit happening overseas, but now they’ve gone and attacked us?! They’re either fools or know something we don’t. I’m not gonna stick around to see which one it is. My family owns a cabin up in the hills, and I’m moving up there, best to get far away from concentrated population centers. If I miss a show next week, it’s because I’m still getting everything set up.

November 5th, 2140

Mike: Have any of you ever tried to move up to the mountains at the start of winter? I wouldn’t recommend it! Hauling all of my equipment through three feet of snow was a pain in the ass. I managed it though, so here I am back on the air. I brought Rena with me too, and she’s settling in well. Loves to sleep next to the fireplace and run around the property chasing squirrels. I have to practically wrestle her inside out of the cold. I don’t care that she’s got thick fur, I’m not leaving her out there with bears, cougars, coyotes, and god knows what else. Don’t you be calling me a draft dodger either, I still get mail, and if I get a summons I’ll answer it. I just didn’t want to be anywhere near the city in case bombs start going off. With how things are looking… I don’t think that’s such a far-fetched possibility. Apparently someone violated some of the laws of the Geneva Convention, though it’s not really clear who did it, just that someone gassed some of the Canadian forces. Knowing what I do about Canadians, I think that once they figure out who did it, they’re gonna make ‘em regret it.

The broadcasts continue weekly, Mike discussing various aspects of his new rural life. Chopping firewood, trying his hand at hunting some of the nearby deer, and of course– the heavy snowstorms.

December 31st, 2140

Mike: Can’t believe it’s already new year’s eve. Are any of my listeners out partying tonight? Who knows, it might be the last time we get to have this sort of celebration. I’m not much of a social type though, Rena and I are going to spend the evening watching TV and enjoying our cozy fire. I think that’s enough excitement for us. I’ll pour one out for all you soldiers out on the front lines, the media coverage makes it look like hell. I hope if any of you are listening, you know that all of us back home are rooting for you.

January 14th, 2141

Mike: Sorry for the missed broadcasts, I was spending some time with family. Something is happening over on the coasts, Dad was talking about it while we had dinner the other night. Apparently a ton of refugees are fleeing the war over in Europe and Asia, trying to come here. The media isn’t giving it much coverage, so I’m not sure how he knew so much about it. Maybe he was just exaggerating, he’s never liked immigrants too much. Seems like things are just getting worse by the day.

The following broadcasts detail further information about the refugee crisis, as well as the government’s attempts to mitigate the negative impact of it on civilians.

February 14th, 2141

Mike: Okay yeah look, I know it’s not my normal broadcast day, but something happened and I need to talk about it. The media hasn’t said a damn thing, but Dad told me that something bad just happened overseas. Something that there’s no going back from. A bioweapon was released… or escaped from a lab. Nobody is really sure which it was, and nobody’s taking responsibility for it. They’re calling it Insanity, or the Insanity virus. It sounds like something straight out of science fiction, some sort of weird mutated super-rabies. All they can tell right now is that it’s extremely infectious, airborne transmission a la common cold style. I was smart to get out of the city when I did. Whatever it is, I’m not going anywhere near there any time soon. Might not broadcast every week, gonna try to stock up on some necessities.

March 18th, 2141

Mike: I can’t believe it took this fucking long for the government to make an official announcement about this… this thing. That damn bioweapon, the Insanity… It’s worse than anyone thought. You’d think that any nation developing such a powerful pathogen would ALSO think to create a cure for the damn thing, right? But no! There’s no cure out there! Airborne super-rabies, and there’s no cure. No treatment. Once you show symptoms, you’re a lost cause. And it doesn’t just kill either, oh no. That would be too merciful. It transforms you, warps your mind and body until you’re nothing but a husk of yourself, operating on nothing but basal instincts. God… what have we done to ourselves? 

May 20th, 2141

Mike: It’s been a while, huh? Not sure if anyone’s still tuned in to this station anymore, but I needed… I needed to talk, to hopefully leave something for the future, if there is one that’ll ever find this. It’s not a radio show anymore, it’s a record. Rena’s been acting weird lately. She doesn’t really seem too interested in her toys, when she used to go nuts for them. When I feed her, she almost looks… disgusted? As if the thought of eating her favorite kibble is an insult. She’ll glare at me while I eat my own dinner too, like she’s jealous. I’ve seen her watching the TV too, not how she used to, where she was just curious about the moving images. I used to turn on the animal channel for her to look at all the time. No, now it’s like… she understands what’s being said, what’s going on. She’ll growl at me if I try to change the channel when the news is on.  It’s like she’s listening to the reporters.

June 3rd, 2141

Mike: They’re rounding up all the dogs for extermination. Apparently they’re carriers of the Insanity– dangerous, volatile. The national guard came to our town in hazmat suits to make the declaration at the town hall meeting. I… I’m not gonna give them Rena. I can’t. She’s… she’s too smart to die. She knows things now, things she didn’t know before. I can see it in her eyes that she’s… aware now. She’s like me, an intelligent and conscious being. She’s a person. I can’t just send her to her death. If they want her, they’ll have to go through me. I really do hope that some of us make it through this to the other side. If not, well… I’ll see you all in Hell.

End of Recorded transmissions

The following is a report on Test Subject: Michael Roux, a young single man who had spent the year leading up to the release of the Weeping living in Teton county, Wyoming. He is thought to be the originator of the broadcasts.

Subject: Michael Roux

Testing reason: Apparent Immunity to Insanity Infection

Result: Inconclusive

Michael Roux was apprehended at his home following refusal to surrender his dog to proper authorities. On further inspection, his dog, classified as Subject D-549, showed clear symptoms of infection and carrier status of the Insanity. However, when cognitive testing was performed on Michael, he showed no signs of infection. He remained rational, logical, and composed throughout. Through all of his testing, he only expressed discomfort at the amount of blood tests being run, as the draws gave him a mild headache.

This analysis of symptoms was misaligned with his testing results, as he showed positive immune markers of an infected subject.

Observation was performed for the following month, in which time Michael developed no symptoms of the Insanity. Aside from the expected psychological effects of semi-isolation, he suffered no adverse effects.

Following the tentative conclusion that Michael was somehow an asymptomatic carrier of the Weeping, an attempt was made to collect sperm samples in the hopes that his quasi-immunity was due to a genetic factor that could be inherited. Unfortunately, he also struggled with unrelated infertility issues, and attempts at artificial insemination of donor eggs resulted in zero viable embryos.

Due to escalating concerns of governmental collapse, Michael will be transferred to a long-term research facility located in Sweden. This is done in the hopes that they might be able to unlock the secret to his quasi-immunity. His former pet, Subject D-549 will accompany him.

End of Report.